By Danielle King & Chris Parker
Clever volleyball’s goal of the program’s first state championship came up two matches short, as the Lady Jays lost both their semifinal and third place matches on Thursday to finish fourth in Class 3.
Ursuline Academy swept Clever 3-0 (25-20, 25-10, 26-24) in the semifinal. The Lady Jays lost to Pleasant Hill 3-0 in the third place game (25-20, 25-21, 25-20).
Addie Gilmore led Clever’s attack on the day with 22 total kills over the two matches. Morgan Bos was just behind her with 17 total kills. Audrey Riley handed out 28 assists over the two matches. Chandlyr Friend was strong defensively with 24 total digs.
CLICK HERE FOR PHOTOS OF THE MATCH
The season did not end how Clever wanted, but the Lady Jays still had a historic season with 31 wins and the program’s second appearance in the final four.
“If you win 31 games in a season, that is a great year,” Clever head coach Dan Evans said. “I am proud of the girls for being here. Everything in sports there is lessons to learn in life. This is one that no matter what happens you keep going and keep moving forward tomorrow.”
The Lady Jays also felt the support from the community both in person and from afar, as two pep buses and a community bus made the 4 ½ hour trip to Cape Girardeau.
“I think it speaks to the whole Clever community. They back their school not just in athletics but in everything they do,” Evans said. “I think that is one thing that made the girls a little more disappointed. They wanted to perform good for all those (fans). I think we brought two pep buses. We brought one coummity bus. They were showing it in our auditorium at school today so people in the community could come up to watch. We are very happy that they did that. It speaks volumes about the town of Clever, Missouri.”
Clever loses a quality senior group to graduation, but the future remains bright.
“We have four starters back,” Evans said. “We have some good young kids. I think from our seventh grade through our varsity this year we were about 80-8 or something like that. We have a lot of good kids coming.”
