If there is ever a doubt as to how bright the future is for Clear Creek’s volleyball program one just has to look to Haleigh Washington and Courtney Joyce. You might want to look up, though.
The Golddiggers’ freshman and sophomore are a dominating presence on the front line, as The Academy found out Oct. 14 at Clear Creek High School. The duo combined for 17 of Clear Creek’s 30 kills in a 25-20, 25-19, 25-22 victory over the visiting Wildcats.
The win looked as if it was in the bag until The Academy rolled out to an early lead in the third game, but Clear Creek wasn’t about to let the match last any longer than it had to.
“I knew we were going to get it. We always do. Sometimes we get down, but we always get back up,” Joyce said.
And while Washington and Joyce, both middle blockers, are rarely on the court together — that might weaken the team’s back line — the rotating system gives Clear Creek a front-line threat on every play. That was certainly the case in the opening set when Washington had a hand in eight of Clear Creek’s points, and the Golddiggers scored seven straight points — six off the serve of outside hitter Kendra Henderson — after falling behind early.
The second set was almost a carbon copy of the first, with Clear Creek (10-6, 8-2 3A Frontier League) closing out the frame by scoring six of the final nine points. But the third set was a fight to the finish.
The Academy (9-8. 7-3) jumped out to a 5-0 lead, but Clear Creek roared back with 10 of the next 11 points and never trailed again. The Wildcats clawed back to tie the set three times, but the Golddiggers scored four of the final five points, ending it with back-to-back kills from Washington.
“All the time we start off strong and big, but sometime we lower our intensity level. In that third game, they were up 5-0 and we realized we had to bring our intensity level back up and push. We came together as a team and pushed to the very end,” Washington said.
So what about talk of putting the two on the front line together?
“We’ve discussed it sometimes because Courtney and I are two dominating players in volleyball,” Washington said. “It has never come across with the coaches, but we’ve talked about it back and forth every now and then.”
Clear Creek head coach Heather Haase can see the move as a possibility, but, then again, why break up a good thing.
“There will be a possibility of them at the same time, but I like if the players are spread out with our two powerful hitters spread out even across the court,” Haase said. “I wouldn’t want to stack one front row heavier than the back row. With the players we have right now it’s a better option to keep them split up.”
It’s hard to argue with that considering the success they enjoyed against The Academy.