HCHS volleyball tops Clarinda in four sets

 CLARINDA (Oct. 5) -- The Harlan Community volleyball team started and finished the night by winning close decisions Thursday and picked up a four-set road win at Clarinda by scores of 26-24, 25-18, 17-25, 25-23.
 Newly ranked at No. 15 in Class 4A, HCHS improved to 5-4 in Hawkeye Ten Conference play (15-8 overall) while the 14th-rated (2A) Cardinals dropped to 4-5 in the league standings with one H-10 match remaining.
 The Cyclones were at their best in Thursday’s first two sets, posting kill efficiencies of .314 and .382, respectively. They finished with a solid four-set mark of .281, led by Olivia Petersen’s 16 kills and .438 efficiency on 30-of-32 attacks. Haley Leinen (.333) tallied 13 kills, followed by Lexie Holloway with 10 (.333) and Lexi Larsen with nine.
 Macie Leinen (2 kills) led the Cyclones with five blocks while Petersen and Larsen both had three. Sidney Craig put up a team-best 23 digs, followed by Holloway’s 12 and Larsen’s 11. Assist leaders were Kara Weis with 28 and Holloway with 12.
3-2 at Western Christian
 HCHS finished with a 3-2 match record and essentially placed fifth at the Western Christian Wolfpack Kooima-Kaemingk Classic Saturday in Hull. The Cyclones’ only losses came against 2nd-rated (3A) Western Christian and No. 3 (4A) Bishop Heelan.