Kuemper advances to face Greene County in second round
By Drew Herron- NT Sports Editor / Oct. 29, 2013
CARROLL – It took a little bit more than a set, but once Carroll Kuemper’s offense started to warm up, it proved awfully tough to stop.
The Knights knocked off Atlantic Monday night in opening-round playoff action, sweeping the Trojans in straight sets.
Kuemper took the match 25-14, 25-15 and 25-2.
Afterwards, Atlantic coach Bonnie Clinch couldn’t do much but tip her hat to the Knights, who improve to 24-4 on the season, and advance into a second round meeting Thursday night against Greene County.
“Kuemper is a very good team, I have to hand it to them, they played well,” coach Clinch says. “But in seeing where our girls started the season to where they are now, I couldn’t ask for more, they did great.”
Atlantic played scrappy out of the gates, matching Kuemper’s intensity early on before the momentum began to swell away from them.
A total of 42 of the 75 points Kuemper scored were off kills and the Knights were led individually by senior Claire Ludwig, who converted 17-of-28 attempts on the night. Three other hitters finished with six or more kills as Kuemper came at the Trojans from all across the front line.
You know it’s coming, but stopping it is a horse of another color.
“There is not much you can do, there were a couple of times that they hit right over the top of our blocks,” coach Clinch says. “I just told the girls, ‘well, that was a great hit, move on and get the next one.’ Our middle hitters got a lot of hands up on their hits, and it helped slow it down. Our front row did everything they could, but sometimes, you just can’t stop a team like that.”
Aside from the blistering offensive at the net, Kuemper served effectively as well, hitting 72 of 74 attempts (a percentage of .973) with eight serving aces.
After taking a two sets to none lead, the Knights started Game 3 with a 6-0 start, then after the Trojans scored the next two points, Kuemper went on a 19-0 run to close out the set and match.
It proved a hard way to end the season, but the Trojans will move forward. Atlantic finishes 2013 with a 3-26 record in Clinch’s first season as coach. The Trojans went winless last year.
Atlantic bids farewell to a senior group of four players as Kristin Johnk, Bailey Walter, Hailey Waters and Breanna Kixmiller have all played their final match for the Trojans.
“I adore those girls,” coach Clinch says. “They worked hard all season, and they were great leaders for us.”
The focus now shifts to club volleyball in the offseason as a means to further the program’s development. Clinch has experience coaching at the club level in Omaha, and is encouraging her girls to make a commitment.
“I keep telling them…we’re not done, I’m not done with you and you’re not done improving,” she said. “There is no way that I am OK with where we are now. Yea, we have improved, but there is so much more work to do. And, I am excited to see where we are at, because we are a young team. We could be great, and I think we will be great, we just have a lot of work to do.”
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