LOYAL. LOCAL. COMPLETE.
Following a 17-18 finish last season, third-year PHS Volleyball Coach Clay Bess has worked extensively to realize the fullest potential of a young but eager Tiger squad.
“Last season’s team had strong pieces… but was mired by a deteriorated culture, and that hindered us in the big matches,” Bess explained, adding, “This year, we’ve focused on culture, and the first two weeks have been evidence of that. We are very young, one senior and three juniors, but talented and hungry.”
Fortunately, the long wait that began on October 24, 2023, is finally over, and the Tigers are back on the court and satiating their appetite for success. Led by sophomore libero Sara Staley and sophomore setter Kailey Young, the Tiger offense will look to replace lost production. Kylee Kleptz, Abby Clodfelder and Rayah Smith will all step into greatly increased roles on this year’s squad.
Despite their youth, Bess is confident in his players.
“I think there’s a collection of talent in this group, and each individual could have a breakout season,” he explained.
Clay and Co. hit the court twice this week, opening the season 1-1 with a win against Heritage and a loss to North Vermillion.
North Vermillion 2 – Paris 0
Visitors from Cayuga, Ind. traveled to Paris, Tuesday, Aug. 27 for an inter-state matchup.
The Tigers jumped out to a 4-1 lead after Kylee Kleptz and Abby Clodfelder went back-to-back on kills. Paris stretched the lead to four points, 8-4, with another Clodfelder swing. From there, North Vermillion found their stride. They scored the next three points and would go point-for-point with Paris until they took the lead 13-12, amidst a run of seven straight points.
Paris picked up points while North Vermillion was out-of-rotation on four Falcon errors, a Kylee Kleptz kill, a Jacie Young kill and a Kailey Young kill, but ultimately lost the set 25-20.
Despite a few bright spots, Paris did not have enough consistency on defense or offense in set number two. North Vermillion’s middle hitter, Addie Burns, who finished with nine kills on 30 attacks as well as 10 digs, proved too tough for the Tigers to tame. She was the setter’s main target on offense and proved to be a magnet on defense as well, working all six rotations.
Morgan Coombes took advantage of the opponents’ front row when Burns was in the back row. She tooled the block to score and bring the Tigers within four, 9-5. Kleptz killed a North Vermillion run when her cut shot landed on the 10-foot line, set by Kailey Young. The score was 11-7 at that point.
The Tigers would pull within two when Peighton Smith and Kleptz blocked Burns out of the middle. But the next three points were scored by North Vermillion.
A minute-long rally a few points later again gave the Tigers life. They were back within three at 16-13. Sara Staley served for the Tigers, but a net violation sent North Vermillion back to the service line.
The teams traded points for the rest of the set. A Coombes kill made it 18-15, but a Tiger serving error gave it back. Coombes again killed a Young set, but North Vermillion answered.
Out of the final Paris timeout, trailing by five, Kleptz picked up a kill. Peighton Smith earned another block on Burns, but the Falcon answered with a kill around the block. The final two Tiger points came from a Rayah Smith kill and a Kleptz ace. North Vermillion scored the final three points to win the in two sets.
Staley had 19 serve receptions with only one error in the match and led her team with 11 digs. Kleptz paced the offense with five kills. Kailey Young finished with 13 assists.
Paris 2, Heritage 0
The 2024 Paris High School volleyball team raced out of the gates on Monday, Aug. 26 en route to a two-set sweep of the visiting Heritage Hawks.
When the varsity lineup was announced, six of the seven players called were running through the intro tunnel for the first time in their careers. But just a few minutes later, the nerves had disappeared, erased by the excitement of a 6-0 lead.
The Tigers struck immediately out of serve-receive. Rayah Smith’s pass set up the Kailey Young and Peighton Smith connection for a kill. Sophomore setter Young proceeded to rattle off five points from the service line, including three aces. Heritage called a timeout and froze Young. But the next serve-receive led to a Young tip over the block for a kill.
The teams would trade serving errors back and forth – Paris recorded 14 in the match. Still, the offense was able to overcome those mistakes.
Paris’ lead grew to 16-10 thanks to a couple of Heritage attacking errors. The Tigers made a few of the same mistakes, and let Heritage crawl back within three points, but a Heritage net violation, a Heritage attacking error, an Abby Clodfelder ace and a Morgan Coombes kill ended the set in Paris’ favor.
Young led off the second set with another ace on her way to five in the match.
When Paris played through their offense, the results were typically favorable for the Orange and Black. Only service errors could slow them down and keep Heritage close. The first timeout of the set was taken by Heritage, who trailed 15-9 at the time. Rayah Smith’s kill from the right side would extend the Tiger lead to 17-12. Then Kailey Young attacked a tight pass and pushed the lead to six.
However, Heritage responded with four unanswered and forced a Tiger timeout. Three consecutive errors, two from Heritage, made the score 20-17. Coombes would take over from there, serving three aces. Another Paris point and Peighton Smith kill later, Paris had secured victory number one on the season.