Girls volleyball: Cloverleaf comes through in clutch to beat Field

BRIMFIELD TWP. — When the Cloverleaf volleyball team needed clutch points Thursday night in a 25-23, 25-23, 18-25, 25-21 Metro Athletic Conference win over Field, the Colts delivered time after time. Cloverleaf (14-6, 8-4) trailed late in each of the first two sets before coming back from 23-18 deficits to score the final seven points. "We always say our comfort zone is when we're down," said Cloverleaf senior Madi Young, who had 35 assists to move past 500 on the season. "That's where we get the most energy. Losing those points makes us want to work harder." The momentum swung multiple times in the first set, with Cloverleaf getting the final one via the 7-0 run. Four points came on kills from sophomore Marlo Downing. "You had to have control," Downing said. "We were going back and forth so much but near the end, we started to pick it up a little bit, which really helped." The Colts then never led in the second set until they took a 24-23 lead after trailing 20-13. Once the Colts got on a roll, they sped up the pace, which worked to their advantage. "They're really a clean team. They don't make a lot of errors," Young said. "I think we just had to play our game but also play smart at the same time and play at a fast pace." The Colts dropped the third set but came out fast in the fourth, jumping to a 13-6 lead before Field tied at 19. Cloverleaf then scored six of the final eight points to finish the match. "We did play kind of sloppy, and our communication wasn't really there (in the third set)," Young said. "I think like that did make us lose that set. We needed to have our communication up and bring the energy from the first two sets over to the fourth set." Downing led the Colts with 19 kills to put her over 200 on the season. Dixie Potter had 11 kills, Kenna Kohl had eight, Chloe Bene added five, Raina Walters had two and Young had one. Contact Ryan Isley at sports@medina-gazette.com.