The Seeley Lake Elementary Eagles worked their way up through the loser bracket and beat Clinton twice for the Small School Copper League Championship. Full story see page 14. Pictured front (L-R): Aubrey Matthew, Hattie Batchelder, Amaiya Dalrymple & Rilyn Richardson. Back (L-R): Cora Stone, Dani Sexton, Grace Mercado, MacKenzie Little Coyote, Emily Maughan, Tru Good, Ava Thornsberry & Coach Kristy Pohlman.
Eighth-grader Dani Sexton gets under the ball for a return to Clinton, Oct. 9
Eighth-grader Grace Mercado served seven times in a row before the Eagles lost the serve in game two against Clinton, Oct. 9.
Eighth-grader Cora Stone sets up a play during the Oct. 9 home game against Clinton.
The Seeley Lake Elementary Eagles were undefeated this year in the five-team small school Copper league heading into tournaments. After Clinton sent them to the loser bracket, they worked their way back into the Championship game where they beat Clinton twice to win the tournament. This is the first year they have won the tournament.
"The players are awesome," said Head Coach Kristy Pohlman.
Pohlman is back in the coaching seat after coaching in Potomac for the past couple of years. She coached at SLE several years ago with Assistant Coach Angela Harris. Harris took the team for the past couple of years and now Pohlman is back at it.
"She just handed me the book and said here you go," said Pohlman. "We are continuing what has been in place."
Early in the season, the girls worked hard at learning their setups and serving. Pohlman requires the seventh and eighth grade girls on the A team to overhand serve.
Now, they have been focused on their net play. If the ball comes over close to the net they return it for an unassisted kill or unassisted tip. They are also worked on blocking to keep the other team from playing the net.
The Eagles hosted Clinton Tuesday, Oct. 9. The first game the teams traded points and stayed within a three-point spread. Clinton came out on top with a final score of 24-26.
The Eagles answered back putting seven points on the board to start game two. Clinton answered back immediately but the Eagles stayed just out of reach. The final score was 25-22.
Game three the Eagles ran away to a 14-6 spread. After several good volleys, Clinton was able to come back but was not quite able to catch them. Eagles won the final match 15-12.
Pohlman said Clinton is a tough team but thought they rolled pretty well against them.
Heading into tournaments, the only loss for the Eagle's A team was to Target Range, a team in the large school division of the Copper league.
Saturday, Oct. 13, the Pohlman had high hopes that the girls would take the Championship as they took the court during the Copper League Small School double elimination tournament. They beat St. Joes and took their first loss of the season to Clinton.
The Eagles were matched against the Potomac Pioneers for the first time this season and won. This put them up against Clinton again for a chance at the Championship.
The Eagles handed Clinton their first loss of the tournament and had to play them a second time for the championship.
Clinton won the first game, forcing the Eagles to pull together. The second match the Eagles were down 8-19.
"They dug deep, came together as a team, and pulled off the win 25 to 21," said Pohlman.
They came back to win the third game of the match for the championship.
"The girls did an outstanding job to come together for the win," said Pohlman. "It was a true joy to watch the bench cheer them on and the players on the court cheer each other on and up as they worked together for the win."
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