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Instead, the V-Hawks got a wake-up call.
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Viterbo's Missy Glenna spikes the ball over Clarke's Erin Scheiber in the second game.
Erik Daily |
Clarke College (Iowa) beat Viterbo 3-1 (21-30, 30-28, 30-24, 30-28) in an MCC match at Beggs Gymnasium.
The V-Hawks could have clinched a share of the conference title — the team’s last was 1990 — with a win. But the loss dropped Viterbo (29-12, 6-2) to third. It will host seventh-seeded Ashford (15-18, 2-6) at 7 p.m. Saturday in the first round of the MCC Tournament.
“It’s disappointing and it’s going to hurt for a while,” V-Hawks coach Ryan DeLong said. “We’re also proud that we put ourselves in this type of position, where we had a chance to win the conference. Now we have to remember how we feel tonight and refocus and use this loss as motivation to play the way we did all year.”
With or without a conference title this season, the Viterbo volleyball program has turned a corner under DeLong.
When DeLong, formerly the head coach at Aquinas High School and Western Technical College, took over in 2005, the V-Hawks were on a run of eight straight losing seasons.
DeLong went 14-21 his first season, then broke through with 30 wins last year while placing second in the MCC. DeLong said Wednesday’s loss doesn’t take away from the good things that continued to happen in the program this fall.
“I’m extremely proud of how we played this year and we just have to understand it’s a new season Saturday,” DeLong said. “With the playoffs, we start over.”
Said V-Hawks sophomore libero Heather Harelstad: “We just have to come back to practice and focus on Saturday and then come play our hearts out.”
Viterbo jumped on the Crusaders (25-10, 5-3) in the first game, taking a 19-8 lead before winning 30-21.
But Clarke, coached by former UW-La Crosse assistant Chris Miron, turned the tables to win the second game and didn’t look back.
“We never got the momentum back after the first game,” DeLong said. “(Clarke) played well and it was a battle and we lost a couple of close games.”
The key difference in the second through fourth games was the Crusaders’ defense, which kept the V-Hawks’ hitters in check. Clarke’s hitting percentage was .236 compared to Viterbo’s .196.
“They seemed to get the touches on everything and kept a lot of balls alive,” DeLong said.
Nicole Valencia had 14 kills to lead Viterbo and Missy Glenna added nine kills and 20 digs.
Hillary Waddell had 12 kills on 19 attempts for Clarke.
Joel Badzinski can be reached at (608) 791-8402 or joel.badzinski@lee.net
