CLINTON —
Clinton has to win one more game to earn a berth in the Class 5A state volleyball tournament.
The opponent for the River Queens is familiar — Mississippi Athletic Conference rival Bettendorf, on Tuesday in Davenport.
“We’ve already beaten Bettendorf once,” Clinton senior Alyssa Wing said. “They beat us before. It’s going to be a good game. We’re definitely ready for them.”
Clinton (21-9) won at Bettendorf in five games in the regular-season finale for both teams on Oct. 16 and lost to the Bulldogs 2-1 at the North Scott Tournament, early in the season.
“We had a pretty good focus down at their place,” Clinton coach Mark Massey said. “We have to play with consistency across the board, as well as intensity. I’m confident that we will.”
The past two seasons, the River Queens advanced to the regional semifinals. Clinton lost in five games to Marion Linn-Mar two years ago and in five games to Bettendorf last season.
“Linn-Mar we don’t really think about because it was only me and Mo on the team,” Wing said, referring to junior setter Monique Harris. “Last year, we lost to Bettendorf and it was really upsetting. We’re glad that we get to play Bettendorf because we want revenge. That’s basically our thing.”
Wing said the River Queens felt they let opportunities slip away in both game, especially last year when they led 2-1.
“I’m not saying they didn’t deserve it, but we felt we should have won,” she said. “We’re coming at them this year. They’re going to come at us, too. It’s going to be tough.”
Massey summed up Clinton’s key to winning pretty simply, saying the River Queens had to play better than the Bulldogs.
“If we pass-serve well — move our feet and pass — we become pretty good,” he said. “We’re going to hit the ball. There’s no question about that. We’ll block the ball. We want to serve well and get them out of system.”
Wing said winning could come down to intangibles.
“Focus, that’s our word, that’s our main thing,” she said. “Focus and next point. That’s what we say in timeouts, and that’s all we think about. If we focus and we play our game, we play to our full potential.
“We know how to win, put the ball away, pass-serve; we know how to do all that. We just need to focus, so we can do that.”
Clinton is ranked sixth in Class 5A and Bettendorf (19-11) is seventh.
“It’s going to be a battle,” Wing said. “We’re not going down without a fight.”
Local Sports
Focus is key for River Queens to earn state bid
- Local Sports
-
-
Clinton wins River City Classic title
Clinton trailed Davenport North by two points with 10 seconds left in the championship game of the River City Classic on Saturday afternoon, but sophomore Brady Ernst came to the River Kings’ rescue.
-
Clinton has three champions, finishes second
Clinton had three champions Saturday and finished second as a team at the Dubuque Invitational wrestling tournament.
-
Day's wait pays off for Clinton track teams
Clinton High's boys and girls both had successful nights Friday at their state-qualifying track and field meets in Dubuque.
-
Camanche boys, Northeast girls win track titles
Camanche and Northeast both enjoyed good days on the track in boys and girls competition at state-qualifying meets, with the Camanche boys winning the title and Northeast's girls tying for top honors.
-
Irish's Evers advances to district golf meet
Connor Evers of Prince of Peace placed third Friday at the Iowa Class 1A Calamus Sectional golf tournament, giving him a spot in the district meet with hopes of qualifying for state.
-
Erie's Johnston is Herald's Player of the Year
Erie's Jacob Johnston heads the Clinton Herald's All-Area Boys Basketball First Team and is the Player of the Year.
-
Lawrence named Coach of Year
Clinton High's Nick Lawrence is the Herald's Coach of the Year in boys basketball.
-
Northeast girls claim track title
Northeast finished first and Camanche was third in girls competition Saturday at the Tri-State Small School Invitational indoor track and field meet at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.
-
Trojan trio leads way in Big East
Preston dominated the All-Big East Conference awards in boys basketball, with Dan Beck receiving Coach of the Year honors and Colton Bormann, Chase Zaruba and Logan Wilhelm all getting named to the first team.
-
Prep bowlers finally get chance to bowl at state meet
The weather-delayed Iowa bowling state tournament takes place Monday in Des Moines, and three area teams enter with high hopes in Class 1A.
- More Local Sports Headlines
-
