Clarkton Reindeer continue winning streak against Malden volleyball

Malden junior setter Khyrie Mathies completes a bump set for outside hitter Harper Murphey to get a swing against Clarkton.

Photo by Kaelin Triggs, Delta Dunklin Democrat

MALDEN, Mo. - The Green Wave volleyball team faced off against the Reindeer of Clarkton on Tuesday, Sep. 17.

As Malden looked to snap their losing streak, Clarkton searched to continue their own winning streak. Malden lost in a 3-0 shutout and fell to 3-9 on the season.

The Reindeer were coming off a 3-0 victory over Twin Rivers from the previous night. They were able to continue their momentum in the first set which they won 25-20. Malden sophomore Carsyn Cohen had three kills while being set up by junior Khyrie Mathies who had three assists.

Despite their attacks, Clarkton was able to pull away with a 20-16 lead. A couple service runs led by Junior Nayely Rivera and senior Nabriya White helped the Reindeer secure a 25-20 set win.

The second set was also a close match, with Clarkton winning 25-19. Malden then dropped the final set 25-12. Cohen, at the net, had one kill in both of those sets while Mathies added four assists to her statline.

Mathies finished with seven assists total to help run the Green Wave offense. Cohen had five kills on the night. Along with those two, Senior Mikalyn Vipperman and junior Camryn Ellison helped set up the offense through their passing.

Vipperman had 35 completed passes along with two kills while Ellison completed 25 passes.

Clarkton's Brinley Cowart sets up to serve during the match-point against Malden.

Photo by Kaelin Triggs, Delta Dunklin Democrat

Despite dropping another match, senior setter Mariah Loya has faith her team can bounce back from their losing streak. She said she can see the potential as the team is competing hard through every set they drop and still making the other team fight for a win.

According to Loya, she feels confident facing talented teams will help them later on in the season.

“This is what we needed,” Loya said. “We need to face better talent so we can play up. The games have been really close for us. We really hyped up Clarkton and psyched them up so much. I think we got in our own heads so we are just going to have to not only hype the other teams up, but ourselves as well. We have to start giving ourselves some more credit and confidence.”

For Clarkton, this match was a testament on how well they can play when they control the pace of the game.

Senior Brinley Cowart said everything started going in their favor when they worked together and took control.

“At first we were down,” Cowart said. “But towards the end we all figured it out and worked together and brought each other up and made the game fun.”

With this victory, Clarkton is now 11-2 this season. They suffered their only two losses in the Dig for Life tournament in Cape Girardeau.

Both teams will have a one day break before going back into play on Thursday. Malden will face Twin Rivers at home on Sep. 19 while Clarkton will host Risco. Both games will start at 6 p.m.

Clarkton High School will also honor Angel Johnson and Brinley Cowart at the start of the Risco game for setting school records and individual milestones over the weekend at the Dig for Life tournament in Cape Girardeau.