BY STEPHEN LYNCH
Brynna Slayton and her teammates on the Liberty High volleyball team had a little bit of extra motivation for their match against visiting Clovis North on Thursday night.
This past Saturday the Broncos handed the Patriots their only loss of the season when the two teams met in the championship match of the Clovis Challenge.
Thanks in large part to Slayton’s outstanding all-around performance, the result of the rematch was much more favorable for Liberty (9-1).
Slayton recorded 15 kills, 16 assists, and 13 digs to lead the Patriots to a 25-12, 18-25, 25-17, 25-21 victory over previously undefeated Clovis North (8-1).
“It just hyped us up for this (match),” Slayton said. “We knew that this (match) would be more important than the tournament win. We knew it would affect our seeding for playoffs. So, we knew we had to come out and win.”
Liberty began Thursday’s non-league showdown, in front of a large raucous crowd, playing like a team highly determined to avenge the only blemish on its record.
Propelled by the skillful passing and hitting of Slayton plus back-to-back aces by Carisa Barron, the Patriots quickly jumped out to a 15-5 lead in the first set.
Aided by four Clovis North violations, Liberty continued to dominate things the rest of Game 1.
After a lackluster Game 2, that saw Clovis North control the action from beginning to end, Liberty regained its earlier form at the start of the third set.
Jaleesa Caroccio served back-to-back aces to give the Patriots a 9-2 lead. Clovis North, behind the strong play of 6-foot tall outside hitter Jordan Cusator, closed the gap to 11-10. However, Liberty responded with an 8-3 run before Slayton sealed the set victory with a perfectly placed two-handed shot that dropped down in the far corner of the court.
The Patriots continued to have the momentum on their side at the beginning of Game 4. Liberty held the lead until Jessica Drake notched two straight kills and then Cusator pounded the ball to the floor, making the score 13-12 in favor of the Broncos.
Clovis North extended its lead to 18-14. prompting Liberty to call a timeout. After resuming play, the Patriots quickly took back control of things and eventually finished off the Broncos with a kill by Slayton and an ace by Sutton Coffey.
“It’s very big, very exciting,” Slayton said of the win.
The junior setter/right side downplayed her huge role in the victory.
“I just knew I had to play for my team,” Slayton said. “It’s never about myself. It’s always about the team. I knew I had to play with my best effort.”
Barron finished with 8 kills and 17 assists and Caroccio chipped in 21 digs and 4 aces.
Paige Camarillo notched 10 kills and Rylie Duncan and Bree Rodrigues tallied 3 blocks apiece for Liberty, which improved to 7-3 all-time versus Clovis North.
“If you ask the kids, they would say that everything we’ve done in the last two days in practice is to play this match tonight,” Liberty coach Amy Parker said. “…I thought that we executed our game plan other than in Game 2. We executed what we wanted to do really well. I really feel like practice Tuesday and Wednesday transferred to Thursday.”
Despite it being an early-season, non-league matchup, Parker felt that it was extremely meaningful that her team won the match.
“I think mentally and emotionally it was super important for us,” Parker said.
Clovis North coach Travis Herb had a different perspective on the match.
“With them wanting to avenge what happened on Saturday, I knew that this was going to be a coin flip at best,” Herb said. “I knew if we didn’t bring our A-game we were looking at a tough night. I don’t think we did.”
Photos by Nick Ellis
