Elida Lady Tigers pound Clovis Christian

CLOVIS — Playing without their big hitter, Clovis Christian was able to take a game off Elida Tuesday night.

The Lady Tigers, though, got a handle on things eventually and posted a 25-13, 18-25, 25-18, 25-13 win at the CCS gym.

Elida (2-2) saw a 5-0 lead evaporate into a 10-10 tie in the fourth game, but pulled away with a 14-1 surge that included four aces — three by sophomore Margo Ortiz — and a block by sophomore Autumn Thomas-Cathey.

Elida coach Darrell Chenault said his squad is in a rebuilding mode.

“We’ve just got some young kids who are moving up and learning (to play on) varsity in a hurry,” he said.

“We served really well tonight, but we passed very poorly.”

Playing without 6-foot senior Jennifer Schaap, who is out with strep throat, the Lady Eagles (0-2) showed improvement over a season-opening loss to Valley Christian, coach Michelle Wallis said.

“We did better in serve-receive,” she said. “Our communication skills need to get better, but we’ve improved since last week and I think we’ll continue to improve.”

The Lady Eagles knew their work was cut out without Schaap.

“Jennifer at the net is huge for us,” Wallis said. “But without her, Jocelyn (Swann) definitely stepped up. She’s a great leader and competitor.
“Our biggest mistakes were on serves. We just made too many errors.”

Chenault acknowledged that the Lady Eagles were a bit handicapped.

“We feel lucky to get out of her (with a win),” he said. “We knew they were missing their big girl.”