Clinton vs Dav North

October 12, 2012

Win, milestone highlight Senior Night

Wing records 1,000th kill against North

By Kurt RitzmanAssistant Sports Editor

CLINTON — Midway through Game 2 against Davenport on Thursday night, senior Alyssa Wing knocked down a kill, same as 1,000 times before.

Well, 999 times before to be exact.

It was the 1,000th kill of Wing’s career, making her only the second Clinton volleyball player to reach that number.

“It means the world to me,” Wing said. “I thought it was a possibility, maybe. I really had no clue I would get it (Thursday). I’m really happy about it. When (coach Mark Massey) announced it (after the game), I was really surprised. I was grateful that he said that to everybody in the stands and everybody was watching. I’m so grateful for Massey. It’s awesome.”

What made it even more special was it came during a 25-13, 25-16, 25-20 Senior Night win.

“It was a great Senior Night, a lot of tears,” Wing said. “That’s for sure. I couldn’t ask for a better team to play with.”

Clinton (19-9, 6-2 Mississippi Athletic Conference) didn’t play its best, Wing admitted, but that didn’t matter too much.

“All Senior Nights are good and Senior Nights you get a win are even better,” Massey said.

“Half the team was crying before the game started, so that probably had something to do with it,” Wing said of the less-than-stellar play. “We weren’t playing how we normally do. Our bodies were there, but we weren’t there mentally. Senior night is so overwhelming. What’s really going through the seniors’ minds is, ‘Wow, we’re out of here after this. This is our last home game’ — except this year we have a regional home game. It’s scary to think about. ... I don’t think we were really thinking about the game. We did pull it off in the end. We didn’t do it as well as we wanted to, but we did it. We’re happy with the win.”

Wing finished with 10 kills — four in Game 3 — in her final regular-season home match, joining Riki Stahl, who played for Clinton from 1990 to 1992, as the only River Queens to reach 1,000 kills.

“One of the special things about volleyball is the team aspect,” Massey said. “Most every kill that she gets — probably around 95 percent — reflect three good plays — the dig, the pass and the hit. Having said that, we’ve had a lot of great competitors and athletes that have played in this gym for 40 years and to be one of two to have 1,000 kills represents some things like consistency of effort. Alyssa has a tremendous passion for the game.”

While the night may have been about Wing — and fellow seniors Marquel Schultheis, Devin Matheny and Brittny Jewel — it was the junior class who provided a lot of the oomph.

Erin Wenzel knocked down a match-high 14 kills and served three aces. Monique Harris had 30 assists, three aces and three kills.

“The juniors have played a lot in the back row and been pretty dependable,” Massey said. “Mo, we hardly consider her a junior anymore. We get a lot of swings at the ball for a high school team and that’s what Mo does. It’s like having a great point guard who finds a lot of open people for shots.

“Erin Wenzel, teams may have overlooked her early in the season. I don’t think any have recently. It creates tough matchups for people because she jumps so well. ... They kind of jump-started us a little bit early.”

Wenzel had only one hitting error in the match.

Massey credited Matheny and Schultheis with great blocking games, which he said would be crucial as the River Queens near postseason play.



Clinton JV tops North

CLINTON — McKenzie Petersen had five kills and two blocks to lead the Clinton junior varsity to a 21-11, 21-12 win over Davenport North on Thursday.

Jordan Nelson dished out eight assists for the River Queens, and Gabby Haan came up with eight digs.

CHS sophomores fall

CLINTON — Rhegan Paulsen served eight aces and had five kills, but it wasn’t enough to lead Clinton over Davenport North.

The River Queens lost 21-25, 25-21, 15-6. Raven Jones had eight assists in the loss.

Clinton got three kills and a block from Cheyenne Johnson and a block from Haleigh Parr.



CLINTON 25-25-25, DAVENPORT NORTH 13-16-20

Individual statistics

Kills — North (Clarissa Blick 6, Amanda Staack 4, Maggie Runge 3, Chloe Blick 3); Clinton (Erin Wenzel 14, Alyssa Wing 10, Marquel Schultheis 5). Assists — North (Anna Dressler 13); Clinton (Monique Harris 30). Ace serves — North (Dressler 1, Taylor Powell 1); Clinton (Elle Tubbs 4, Wenzel 3, Harris 3). Blocks — North (Runge 5, Ch. Blick 2); Clinton (Schultheis 2, Wing 1, Harris 1). Digs — Clinton (Wing 16, Gabby Haan 11, Harris 7).

Clinton vs Pleasant Valley

October 10, 2012

Spartans hold back Queens

PV wins showdown 3-1

By Jon GremmelsHerald Sports Editor

RIVERDALE — When Clinton built an 18-13 lead in Game 3 on consecutive kills by Erin Wenzel, Elle Tubbs and Alyssa Wing, the volleyball team seemed ready to end second-ranked Pleasant Valley’s 23-match winning streak.

Minutes earlier, the River Queens had ended the Spartans’ string of game shut-outs that went back to Sept. 22 when they overcame an early deficit to win Game 2 in the matchup of teams that entered the Mississippi Athletic Conference showdown with one loss each in conference play. Riding the momentum, the Queens still led at 21-17, just four points away from taking a 2-1 edge in games.

“We thought we had it going good,” Clinton senior Devin Matheny said.

Then, things came crashing down on the Queens.

The Spartans (28-1) served three aces and surrendered just two points the rest of the game to pull out the win. Pleasant Valley used another similar run in Game 4 and stayed in a tie with North Scott for first place in the MAC with the 25-20, 20-25, 25-23, 25-16 win.

“Clinton is a momentum team,” Pleasant Valley senior Chloe Miller said. “We started to calm down a bit and took the points one by one.”

Miller started Pleasant Valley’s comeback with a kill that cut the deficit to 21-18 in Game 3, and Megan Paustian followed with an ace. Moments later, Allie Carter delivered an ace that cut Clinton’s lead to one, then the Spartans pulled even at 22 on a block.

The Queens took one last lead when Carter served deep, but a kill by Maddi Theisen tied it again, then Miller served an ace before a hitting error by Clinton ended the game.

“We just had some situations where we had chances to finish in Game 3, and obviously we didn’t,” Clinton coach Mark Massey said. “Then there were a couple of spots in Game 4 that got away from us.”

Clinton had appeared to right itself early in Game 4, taking a 6-5 lead early. But Theisen drilled a kill inside the back line that the Queens questioned and Miller followed with two aces for an 8-6 lead. Next, came another call questioned by the Queens, who argued that a PV kill had hit the antenna in front of the official.

The Queens never could overcome the 10-6 deficit.

“We gave them too many opportunities,” Massey said.

While the outcome wasn’t what he hoped for, Massey found little to fault. The two teams treated the large crowd to an exciting match full of outstanding action.

“It was fun to coach, too,” Massey said. “There weren’t too many errors. If there were aces, it was because somebody’s serving was tough. Good players made big plays.”

Many of them came from the Spartans’ back row, keeping the ball in play on excellent scoring chances for the Queens.

“We knew their libero (Morgan Watermann) would get everything, so we had to play short and play deep,” Matheny said.

The Spartans made more big plays than Clinton in Game 1, including aces from Paustian and Carter during a 7-1 run that took PV from down 12-11 to ahead 18-13.

But the Queens battled back in Game 2 despite falling behind 6-2.

A turning point came when PV was called for a violation after appearing to have a kill for a 12-10 lead.

Clinton took the lead for good at 15-14 on a kill by Wing, then Monique Harris finished an exciting rally with a kill to push the lead to 16-14.

Moments later, the Queens seized control by scoring five points in a row, including back-to-back kills by Wenzel (16 kills).

“Nobody plays perfect, but we played close to that for much of Game 2 and Game 3,” Massey said.

Unfortunately for the Queens (18-9), they still headed home with their second loss in seven MAC matches. They have little time to recover, though, with a home match Thurs-day vs. Davenport North.

“We can’t forget tonight,” Matheny said. “We’ve got to want our next games and work harder.”



Clinton sophomores fall

RIVERDALE — Pleasant Valley defeated Clinton 25-14, 25-18 in the sophomore game Tuesday.

Raven Jones had seven assists and two ace serves. Rhegan Paulsen and Cheyenne Johnson had three kills apiece, and Johnson had one ace.



CHS falls in JV action

RIVERDALE — McKenzie Petersen led Clinton with four kills in the River Queens’ 21-8, 21-15 loss to Pleasant Valley in junior varsity play Tuesday.

Shannon Shovlain added three kills; Jordan Nelson led Clinton with 11 assists and Hannah Dehner came up with six digs.

Clinton at Bettendorf Tourn

October 8, 2012

Queens hope to rebound

Clinton takes learning approach to setbacks during weekend tournament

By Jon GremmelsHerald Sports Editor

BETTENDORF — Bumps in the road can be beneficial in sports. They can serve as an alert to oncoming danger.

Clinton’s volleyball team certainly is hoping to use its experience Saturday at the Bettendorf Invitational that way with a Mississippi Athletic Conference showdown awaiting it.

The River Queens, ranked sixth in the Iowa Class 5A state ratings, dropped a pair of three-set matches to teams ranked in the top five in their respective classes. Clinton also won a three-set match against Moline as it took third place in Pool B.

“I don’t know if we needed to lose two three-set, close matches,” Clinton coach Mark Massey said, “but it certainly was good competition.”

The losses to Iowa City High, No. 4 in 5A, and North Scott, No. 5 in 4A, should make the Queens better, according to senior Alyssa Wing.

“We definitely needed this, especially going against Pleasant Valley on Tuesday, we needed matches as competitive,” she said.

All three matches had a familiar tone. The Queens lost the first game, then rebounded to win the second and force a third.

“We were just right there,” Massey said. “Our best against the other guy’s best wasn’t too bad most of the day.”

Both losses came against teams that also beat the Queens (18-8) earlier in the season.

North Scott, which went on to lose to top-ranked (5A) Ankeny in the championship match, pulled out a 21-19 win in the first set against Clinton before the Queens roared back to win 21-5 in the second. The Lancers came back to win the deciding game 15-8.

Still, it was a much better result for Clinton than when North Scott swept the Queens in the conference opener.

“North Scott beat us earlier with much less difficulty, and I thought we showed a lot of improvement,” Massey said.

“We lost the first game by only two (points), then Game 2 definitely boosted our confidence,” Wing said. “We made some adjustments.”

City High, which beat Clinton 23-21 in the deciding third set Sept. 8 at the North Scott tournament, opened with a 21-17 win against Clinton on Saturday, but the Queens won Game 2 21-8. The Queens then battled back several times in the third set before falling.

The Little Hawks built leads several times early, only to see Clinton come back. They appeared in control at 12-9, but Clinton scored three points in a row, pulling within 12-11 on a kill by Wing and tying the score on an ace serve by Elle Tubbs. The Little Hawks then scored the next three points for the 15-12 win.

“We just dominated Game 2,” Massey said, “(but) we didn’t finish Game 3.”

Wing said: “Losing two again sucks, but it helps us. We have to finish our game.”

The Queens did just that as they concluded pool play with a 19-21, 21-18, 15-13 win against Moline.

They pulled out the second set by scoring the final three points, with Monique Harris and Wing scoring them. A block by Harris put Clinton ahead 19-18. Next, Wing passed from the left to side to Harris on the right side, and she returned the ball with a set that Wing crushed to the center for a kill. Game point came on a set from Harris, who finished the day with 68 assists, to Wing for the kill.

The third game went back-and-forth early, but Moline appeared to have the upper hand when Rachel Wilson capped a four-point run with an ace that put the Maroons ahead 11-8. But Clinton responded with kills from Tubbs and Wing to get within 11-10.

Moline scored the next point, but a diving save by Harris kept the ball alive on the next rally and helped ignite a three-point run that put Clinton ahead 13-12. Moline evened the score, then Wing finished off the victory with a pair of kills. They were the 16th of 17th kills of the match for Wing, who finished the tournament with 34.

“To come back from a real tough match with City, we didn’t get off to a great start against Moline, but we battled and found a way to win,” Massey said. “I’m proud of the effort (today) but not surprised by it. The best thing from a day like today is it points out the need for consistency.”

The River Queens hope that lesson benefits them Tuesday when they hit the road to face second-ranked Pleasant Valley in a match that will help to determine the conference title. The Spartans are tied with North Scott for first place at 6-1 in conference matches, while Clinton is one-half game back at 5-1.

“We’re not really scared to go there, but we’ve got to be sure to do the little things,” Wing said. “We’ve got to pass — today we didn’t pass well. We have to do all the little things against Pleasant Valley.”

Massey said: “Pleasant Valley presents a lot of challenges, not the least of which is back-row defense. We’ve got to keep our serve-receive tight and challenge them with our serve.

“I hope we play our best. PV is one of those teams where you may have to play your best and get a few breaks and make them not play their best.”

BETTENDORF INVITATIONAL

Championship — Ankeny def. North Scott 25-15, 25-23.

Semifinals — Ankeny def. Iowa City High 25-10, 25-10; North Scott def. Bettendorf 25-18, 26-24.

Pool A — Ankeny def. Kaneland (Ill.) 21-10, 21-19; Bettendorf def. Waukee 21-15, 24-22; Ankeny def. Waukee 21-11, 21-17; Bettendorf def. Kaneland 21-12, 21-17; Ankeny def. Bettendorf 21-19, 21-19.

Pool B — North Scott def. Clinton 21-19, 5-21, 15-8; Iowa City High def. Moline (Ill.) 21-15, 21-8; North Scott def. Moline 21-10, 21-11; Iowa City High def. Clinton 21-17; 8-21; 15-12; Clinton def. Moline 19-21, 21-18, 15-13; North Scott def. Iowa City High 21-7, 21-9.

Clinton d West

October 3, 2012

Queens dominate on court

Clinton volleyball team has ‘easy’ time vs. West

By Jon GremmelsHerald Sports Editor

CLINTON — Early on, fans in the Clinton High student section chanted “Too easy” after several points.

While one could question the sportsmanship — Clinton coach Mark Massey did between games and asked them to stop, which they did — their assessment seemed spot on Tuesday night.

Little went wrong for the River Queens as they swept Davenport West 25-7, 25-14, 25-12 in a Mississippi Athletic Conference volleyball match at Yourd Gymnasium. The River Queens, No. 7 in the Class 5A state rankings, won their ninth match in a row to improve to 17-6, 5-1 in the MAC. All but two of the 17 wins have been shutouts.

“We didn’t give up points on too many rotations,” Massey said. ”The thing I like is an analogy of basketball — there were not a lot of turnovers or a foul fest. It was us smoking the ball.”

Clinton’s dominating performance featured a .667 attack percentage for the Queens (45 kills and just five errors in 60 attempts). West, meanwhile, scored consecutive points only twice in each game, and only once did it string more than two points together.

“No disrespect to them, but when our kids are passing the ball like this, we are going to get quality swings,” Massey said.

The Queens certainly came out swinging, and the fans liked what they saw.

Clinton scored nine of the first 11 points in Game 1, as junior Monique Harris set up senior Alyssa Wing for three kills, junior Erin Wenzel for two and senior Marquel Schultheis for one. Harris also delivered one of her match-high six aces during the fast start.

“We just made sure we were ready to go,” said Schultheis, whose ace finished off a four-point run that made it 13-4.

Another run, capped by a Griffin Rasche ace, made it 18-5, then Clinton closed the set with Wenzel serving a seven-point run that included double blocks by Harris and freshman Elle Tubbs for two of the final three points.

Harris and Tubbs opened the second game with another block, and Harris assisted on a Tubbs kill that made it 2-1.

West scored the next point, but Clinton went ahead to stay on a left-side kill by Wing. Harris’s serving came into play on the next three points. Wing hammered a kill on an overpass of serve-receive to make it 4-2, then Harris followed with an ace. Her next serve sent the Falcons scrambling, and they were unable to return the ball on three hits.

The Falcons stayed relatively close for a time, trailing just 10-6, but Wing had four kills during a stretch in which Clinton outscored West 6-2.

The Queens finished strong again, scoring seven of the final eight points.

Game 3 was more of the same early.

“You hope you’re still focused on the little things, and I think we were,” Massey said.

Clinton scored the first five points and built an 8-1 lead. West responded with its best sequence of the night, scoring five points in a row. Jasymn Dennis had three aces during the stretch, and Alisa Behrens and Jessie Wehrle added kills.

But Clinton regrouped, responding with three straight points for an 11-6 lead. The Falcons got within 14-10 later before the Queens scored 11 of the game’s final 13 points. Wing delivered six kills in that span, including one to end the victory.

Both Schultheis and Massey said the decisive play gave the Queens opportunities to experiment.

“We tried to run some different plays and get some things worked out,” Schultheis said.

“It gives Monique a chance to try some different things as a setter,” Massey said. In addition to her team high for aces, Harris finished with 37 assists, four blocks and 10 digs. “Monique obviously is pretty valuable to us. Alyssa and Erin don’t need much room to get good swings, and she does that, and I’m not sure any setter plays any better back-row defense.”

After playing three straight weeks of Tuesday-only matches, the River Queens return to action Saturday at the Bettendorf tournament. Schultheis said the team had developed a pretty good rhythm.

“It’s definitely a good rhythm,” she said. “The feeling on Tuesday is it’s game day, and we’ve had a day to recoup from the weekend. It gives plenty of time to recoup and get ready for the next Tuesday.”

CLINTON 25-25-25, DAVENPORT WEST 7-14-12

Clinton statistical leaders

Kills — Alyssa Wing 23, Erin Wenzel 13, Elle Tubbs 4, Monique Harris 3. Assists — Harris 37, Tubbs 2. Ace serves — Harris 6, Griffin Rasche 3. Blocks — Tubbs 4, Harris 4 (1 solo). Digs — Wing 12, Harris 10, Hannah Dehner 7, Gabby Haan 7.

Facebook newsfeed post by: Mark Massey

Mark Massey wrote:

Volleyball (like life, occasionally) throws us challenges....we had some today. Disappointed ONLY in the scores, switch a few pts & we're right there. Have to say, I was very impressed w/our effort vs Moline. Kids had played 6 tough gms vs 2 of the best teams in the state & they persevered. I have been proud of this group... Yeah, I still am. Clinton Volleyball, one last home game Thurs-check them out!
Sent from my U.S. Cellular BlackBerry® smartphone

Bett Var Tourn

9am vs North Scott
10am lines
Noon vs Iowa City
1pm vs Moline, Ill
2pm lines
Sent from my U.S. Cellular BlackBerry® smartphone

Duke Slater from Wikipedia- Duke was an All-American FB Player & an All Pro in the NFL!

Check out the article about Duke at wikipedia at:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Slater

Duke was definitely one of Clinton High School's all time bests!!

College career

When Slater arrived at Iowa in 1918, eligibility rules had been suspended due to World War I. Therefore, Slater was able to play and letter at Iowa as a freshman. He was selected to the all-Iowa team as a freshman by the Des Moines Register. As a sophomore in 1919, Slater was a unanimous first team All-Big Ten selection and a second team All-American.

Slater was again a unanimous first team All-Big Ten selection in 1920. In his senior year in 1921, Slater led Iowa to a perfect 7-0 record and its first Big Ten title in 21 years. Slater helped Iowa defeat Notre Dame, 10-7, to snap a 20 game winning streak for coach Knute Rockne's Irish. One of the greatest photographs in the history of Iowa football is from that game, depicting a helmetless Slater clearing a hole for teammate Gordon Locke by blocking three Notre Dame defenders.

Sportswriter Walter Eckersall said, "Slater is so powerful that one man cannot handle him and opposing elevens have found it necessary to send two men against him every time a play was sent off his side of the line."^[2] Fritz Crisler said, "Duke Slater was the best tackle I ever played against. I tried to block him throughout my college career but never once did I impede his progress to the ball carrier."^[3] Slater's Iowa teams had a combined record of 23-6-1. Duke Slater was not only named first team All-Big Ten for the third consecutive year in 1921; Slater was also a first team All-American, making him the first black All-American at Iowa.

Duke Slater is a member of The Pigskin Club of Washington, D.C. National Intercollegiate All-American Football Players Honor Roll.

Honors

In 1989, Iowa fans selected an all-time University of Iowa football team during the 100th anniversary celebration of Iowa football, and Duke Slater was selected as an offensive tackle. Slater was one of just five football players inducted into the Iowa Sports Hall of Fame in the Hall's inaugural year in 1951, joining Nile Kinnick, Aubrey Devine, Jay Berwanger, and Elmer Layden.

Duke Slater is one of two Iowa players who was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in its inaugural year of 1951 (Nile Kinnick was the other). In the 1960s, before Iowa Stadium had been renamed after Nile Kinnick, some suggested that Iowa should name the stadium after Slater.^[6] Instead, the University of Iowa named a residence hall after Duke. Slater Hall in Iowa City bears Duke's name; it is the only residence hall at Iowa named after a former athlete.

References

1. ^ ^a b Greatest Moments In Iowa Hawkeyes Football History, by Mark Dukes & Gus Schrader, Pages 18-19 (ISBN 1-57243-261-6)
2. ^ Hawkeye Legends, Lists, & Lore, by Mike Finn & Chad Leistikow, Page 33 (ISBN 1-57167-178-1)
3. ^ 75 Years With The Fighting Hawkeyes, by Bert McCrane & Dick Lamb, Page 73 (ASIN: B0007E01F8)
4. ^ Dan Daly, Washington Times, February 4, 2006 This Duke Deserves Induction in Hall
5. ^ Kinnick: The Man and the Legend, by Derald W. Stump, Page 62 (ASIN: B0006ETB3W)