The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Winless Clearview works toward the future
Clippers first-year coach Katlynne Baker has a young squad that is learning to play as a unit as they seek their first win. Plus, the Top of the Crop and volleyball statistics.
Clearview is still search- ing for its first win with two weeks left in the reg- ular season, but first-year coach Katlynne Baker isn’t deterred.
No doubt an 0-15 record is disappointing, but with a young, inexperienced team, Baker knows the best is yet to come.
“We’re searching for our win (and) I keep telling them that they do have the potential, they just haven’t unleashed it yet,” Baker said.
The season has been a learning process for both the players and coaches. With a team that has just three seniors and a firstyear varsity head coach, the Clippers are figuring out how to work together as a unit while Baker determines what does and doesn’t work on the court.
So far, the work hasn’t translated into wins. But it has translated into a stronger, more trusting Clearview team as it perseveres through a challenging season — especially for the seniors who are playing for their third coach in as many years.
“Every game we’re improving,” Baker said. “We’re getting better every single day — whether it’s communication, teamwork. We’re still trying to find different things. I’m working with different lineups, but for the most part I can put them in any position and they accept the challenge and go after it. They don’t ever say, ‘Oh no, I can’t do that,’ so I think that’s one of the biggest positives of them all — facing adversity.”
One aspect of the Clippers’ game that has been relatively successful is the block.
Anchored by 6-foot-4 sophomore Briana Cirilo, who’s averaging 1.0 blocks per set through 26 sets, Clearview has seen steady, fundamental improvement at the net.
But Baker is looking for more consistency from her young team.
“Three of my strongest blockers are all sophomores, so they’re all young, they’re developing, they’re still working on fundamentals of blocking and we do put up a big block,” Baker said. “My middle is 6-4, so she’s dominant in the front row.”
Finishing the season on a strong note and capturing their first win is important for the Clippers, but that won’t happen until complacency
is no longer an option for the young squad.
Overcoming mistakes and staying mentally tough has been difficult for a team with so little varsity experience, Baker said, but once everything clicks together, she’s convinced her team will be a threat in the Patriot Athletic Conference.
“Because we’re so young, they’re still working on the consistency aspect of it all and they’re all new to playing with each other,” Baker said. “I think consistency and mentally, that’s our two biggest things because they are young. They have skill, potential — it’s there it’s just those two things. Once we get those — because one day it’s there the next day it’s not — but if we put those two things together, I think we’ll be OK.
“We have a lot of skills if they can just trust in each other . ... We’re looking for little goals here and there, and those will keep us motivated to keep doing better and better from here on out . ... I think we’re definitely going to be a threat in the future.”
Milestone
Avon Lake senior Emily Schillinger reached a milestone in the Shoregals’ 3-0 victory over visiting North Ridgeville Oct. 2.
Schillinger, a four-year letter-winner for Avon Lake, totaled 21 kills in the match to put her at 1,001 for her career.
The senior has been putting up huge numbers all season. With 284 total kills in 56 sets this season, Schillinger’s 5.1 kills per set average is the best in the Morning Journal area by a significant margin. Columbia’s Hannah Paukovich has the second-best average at 4.4.
Schillinger’s 2.8 digs per set ranks her among the area’s best defensive players as well.
Avon Lake (14-4, 10-4) is in third place in the Southwestern Conference with two weeks left in the regular season. The Shoregals travel to first-place Amherst on Oct. 3.