BY WENDI REARDON PRICE
Clarkston News Sports Writer
After losing to Birmingham Seaholm during the Power Series, the Clarkston Varsity Volleyball team came back and defeated them last Thursday, 3-1.
The bonus was it was on Senior Night and the Wolves were celebrating Eli Adams, Summer Jidas and Ella Post.
“It was a great night for them,” said Ali Smith, head coach, about the seniors. “They had a huge impact on Clarkston Volleyball and on their teammates. They are not only good players, they are great people. It was nice to have a night to celebrate them.”
Clarkston opened the first set with the lead and soon the battle ensued as Seaholm caught up and they were matching point for point.
The Wolves pulled into the lead and distanced themselves with hits from Addison Newblatt, Paige Giehtbrock and Adams. Giehtbrock closed the set with a kill, 25-21.
The Maples took the second set, 25-19.
“We have been talking a lot about playing to win versus playing not to lose,” Smith said. “I think we needed to be a lot more aggressive and go at them a lot harder. I think we were trying to play it safe. It doesn’t get you anywhere.
“It was not a terrible experience for us as a team,” Smith added. “Overall we are pretty young. We had just had a conversation about playing to win and being aggressive playing to win versus playing it safe just yesterday. So it was a perfect example of the conversation that we had so everybody was able to draw from that to move forward.”
The Wolves took the third and fourth sets, each with 25-19 scores.
The Wolves opened the week with a 3-2 win over Troy, Oct. 12. They won the first set, 25-11. The Colts took the next two sets, 25-19 and 25-23 before Clarkston closed the night winning the next two, 25-18 and 15-11.
“It was exciting,” Smith said. “But the same thing. The first set was 25-11, and we thought we had it in the bag. Also, learning the lesson teams are coming for you every night. Putting together a complete match is very important. Not just a great set, not just a great set of points, but putting together a complete match.”
Giehtbrock had 18 kills and 11 digs. Newblatt had 14 kills and ten digs. Cayla Cogan had 13 kills and Adams had seven kills. Emery Kuebler had 44 assists, 19 digs and three aces. Judas had 12 digs and four assists.
The Wolves opened the week against Stoney Creek and to Lowell on Saturday for the East vs. West Challenge.
“We played them twice in power league and beat them both times,” Smith said. “But it takes a lot of stamina when you have to play a five game set. I hope we can learn lessons from Tuesday and today. They have a good team. We match up well against them, but we will have to play from beginning to end.”

  Clarkston Varsity Volleyball, Volleyball