Senior Night is always a big deal but for the Clarence girls volleyball team’s three 12th graders it has been a vital part of championships galore.
The Red Devils made sure to make sure their final regular season home match was a winner.
Seniors Lexi MacDonald, Lexi Ballard and Kayla Brady led the way as the Red Devils tuned up for the Section VI playoffs with an impressive 25-18, 25-11, 25-12 win over perennial-power Eden on Tuesday night.
“You have three great seniors that have done a lot for the program,” Clarence coach Mike Meyer said. “Lexi MacDonald has been with us since eighth grade and she’s really been the heart and soul of the program the last three or four years. The other two anchor our middle attack, which you saw tonight, is pretty good. So it was nice to get them a win on Senior Night.”
Clarence rolled to an impressive sweep over an Eden team that won 23 straight Section VI titles and won a State Championship nine years in a row before losing the last two Section VI Class C titles to Portville. It is believed this was the Raiders first visit to Clarence to play girls volleyball.
“I’m so proud of us,” Brady said. “We’ve really come together. So many of us got in today and we really got to showcase our talent. That’s a good team to play heading into playoffs.”
Eden wasn’t the only local power to have a championship run ended. Clarence had won four straight Section VI championships and was on the verge of a fifth when rival Orchard Park rallied for a five-set victory.
The Red Devils and Quakers are favored to meet again in the sectional title game this season … not that anyone’s been thinking about that possibly since the day the season calendar was released.
“We really hope to face Orchard Park on Nov. 7 and hopefully we can come out with a win,” MacDonald said.
By any chance, has MacDonald been thinking about a revenge match?
“Oh yes, definitely … since last year,” she said with a smile.
Olivia Walczak had 13 kills and nine digs for the Red Devils against Eden. MacDonald had 13 digs and eight service points. Brady had four kills and three blocks. Ballard had six blocks to lead the Red Devils and ranks fourth in the category in New York state.
“After a long season of bonding, we’ve really made a connection. We really came together as a team together and played a great game,” Ballard said. “I think we’re ready for playoffs this year. We all have our own personal motivations and then we have our team motivation. So we’re all really excited.”
Bringing the sectional trophy back to Clarence will be a challenge. Orchard Park won both regular season matches, three games to one. The Red Devils finished the regular season at 12-3 overall and 12-2 in ECIC I. The non-league loss was a five-set battle against St. Mary’s.
“I like where we’re at,” Meyer said. “I think the girls are motivated to get there but all the teams in Class AA are very good. But, yeah, it’d be really great if we could face them again.”
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