Prep volleyball: New-look Fremont outlasts Clearfield in 5 sets to win Region 1 opener
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- Fremont High’s Atley Mitchell (14) passes the ball during a prep volleyball match against Clearfield on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022 at Fremont High School.
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- Fremont High’s Audrey Cooper (10) tries to tip the ball past Clearfield’s Brooklyn Hawks (13) during a prep volleyball match Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2022 at Fremont High School.
PLAIN CITY — When the sun rose Tuesday morning, a young Fremont High volleyball team had one match — a three-set loss at Northridge almost two weeks ago — and a few weeks of practice with a new head coach under its belt in the 2022 season.
On Tuesday evening, the Silverwolves played their first Region 1 match. There was plenty of cause for pressure.
It didn’t matter in the end as Fremont beat Clearfield in five sets (22-25, 25-15, 25-22, 18-25, 15-9) to open its account in both its overall and Region 1 win columns.
A tense affair turned outright nervy once it got to the fifth set, where teams exchanged errors at the start of the set and the end, with an 8-3 Fremont run serving as the difference.
“They had ups and downs, but they worked through it and they’re showing me maturity. It’s pretty fun to watch because it’s hard to do five games,” new Fremont coach Analaine Mailoto said.
Clearfield (5-9, 0-1 Region 1), aiming for a rebound after going 1-3 in a tournament last weekend, took control of the first set with a 4-0 run on Brooklyn Hawks’ serve to make the score 16-12.
The Falcons, who last year finished third in Region 1 and had their best season in nearly a decade, led by as much as five points in the first set and closed it out with an ace by libero Eliza Jones.
Clearfield has a new starting setter, sophomore Madison Yeager, returned two of its top four hitters from 2021, McKenna Steiner and Brooklyn Hawks, and was identified by some Region 1 coaches this offseason as a team that could finish in the top half of the region.
An early 4-1 Clearfield lead in the second set turned into a 10-6 Fremont lead and off the Silverwolves (1-1, 1-0) went. They closed the set on an 8-1 run and had good serving and hitting largely to thank.
Fremont then led 17-11 in the third before Hawks had a kill for Clearfield that started a good period of play and eventually resulted in a 22-22 tie near the end of the set. The Silverwolves won the next point (23-22) and libero Keysha McKean hit two really good serves to put Fremont up two sets to one.
“It was really good to see all the progress that we’ve had come together in the game. I think that’s a big reason why we won is we’ve had so much progress over the last week,” Fremont outside hitter Averie Olsen said.
Clearfield found its attacking rhythm again and got the Silverwolves out of system in the fourth set. Saydee Heslop hit a big kill to get Fremont within 17-15, then Clearfield won the next point and it became Jones’ serve.
After another good serving run by the Clearfield libero, Fremont called timeout with the Falcons ahead 21-15. Clearfield sent the match to a decisive fifth set anyway, where the Silverwolves pulled away.
There’s a lot of change on the Fremont volleyball team this year with Mailoto as the head coach, a young and inexperienced team overall, and a Maggie Mendelson-sized hole at the net.
It’s why any preseason projection for the Silverwolves was tough to make but, for now, Tuesday is one five-set win in the back pocket to lean on later.
Connect with reporter Patrick Carr via email at pcarr@standard.net, Twitter @patrickcarr_ and Instagram @standardexaminersports.