After coming up short in the quest for the second state volleyball title in school history with a third-place finish last year, the Clifton-Clyde volleyball team is geared up for another stab at the postseason.
Returning the all-league duo of seniors Sevy Wurtz and Calyn Baker alongside three other starters, this Eagles volleyball team has a strong mix of talent, experience and youth to not only compete in the immediate, but also for the future.
“I think we have really good bones for our program, the foundation is there,” said head coach Molly Skocny. “We’ve spent the last several years building and preparing all of the girls of the past seasons and using their contributions to get us where we are with our expectations.”
Clifton-Clyde entered the 2024 state tournament as the seventh seed with a 26-17 record and defeated South Gray in the opening match of pool play, then falling to eventual champions Little River, before defeating St. John to advance to day two. The Eagles matched up with NCKL foe Centralia, falling to the Tigers, before defeating Flinthills to earn third place.
The gauntlet of the Twin Valley League will test the Eagles, for the past two years, the Eagles have finished higher at state than what they finished in the TVL, with the Eagles having a 4-6 league record last year.
“I look at that and think about it in two ways; I am a very patient person when it comes to the development of this team, I’m ok with understanding that it may take us 10 matches, halfway through the season before we find our groove... we dropped a couple matches last year, a couple we shouldn’t of loss... but once the state tournament rolled around, we were probably a different team when we played those (TVL) games,” Skocny said.
Sports In Kansas predicted Clifton-Clyde to be the number three team in Class 1A Div. I this year, finishing behind NCKL rival Hanover and defending state champ Little River, but Skocny believes this team can handle the expectations.
“As we’ve developed our program, we reviewed the steps that we took to this point... first it was to do better in league play, get back to state appearances, trying to see saturday, last years’ goals are this years expectations. We are in the hunt for the next few years for a state title, that is the goal,” Skocny said.
Skocny understands the bigger picture as well for this team, as a member of the 1996 Clifton-Clyde volleyball team that won what still stands as the only state title for volleyball, what this sport can mean to the players.
“It is more important to me that these young ladies have a positive experience and make lasting memories, that they are having fun together... that’s really important to me, I want them to be successful in every aspect of their lives,” Skocny said. “Anything I can do to give these girls that experience, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
Clifton-Clyde opens up the season on the road with Blue Valley-Randolph in a triangular with Onaga, then another triangular at Centralia with Axtell, before technically having their home opener with the
Clifton-Clyde Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 13, with teams from other classes, and even Nebraska participating, then hosting Hanover in a double dual on Tuesday, Sept. 16.
