Clinton High volleyball team logs season of growth

By Charlie Rook

After finishing the season with a 7-18 record, it’s easy to be frustrated, but the Clinton High School volleyball team continued to grow and improve throughout the season. The team ended their season with a 3-2 set victory against St. Andrews Episcopal School, leaving a positive taste in their mouths after a season filled with difficulty.

The team began the season with a 2-11 start, before ending with a second half stretch of 5-7. It was a team that struggled but set the stage for Clinton teams to come in the next few years.
“Our team is building a competitive mindset, and I see that continuing to develop as we move forward,” said Head Coach Natalie Duvall. “I think our players bought into what we are trying to do with the program, and that is going to lay the foundation for what CHS volleyball will do in the future.”

Ending with a stretch as well as the Lady Arrows did shows the improvement the team saw in the second half of the season, says Duvall.

Duvall talks about the development of the players throughout the season.

“I saw a significant improvement in the team’s passing accuracy, particularly in their ability to pass to target for the setter, which was a major focus in our drills,” said Duvall. “Beyond the technical, their communication on the court became much stronger, and they really started to function as a cohesive unit as our season progressed, supporting each other through tough points and difficult games.”

Duvall said a large part of the team was the chemistry that was being built on the court. In a team game such as volleyball, the communication aspect is perhaps the most important quality of a good team, and Duvall highlights how the bond of the team grew both on and off the court.

“Developing a team bond is something that we as a coaching staff wanted to focus on, in addition to training skill, because we want the players to develop trust with each other and have a good court chemistry,” said Duvall. “I am proud to see that transpire throughout the season on and off the court.”

Two highlights that Duvall had for this season was the improvement the team saw in close games, as well as the five-set win in the final game of the season.

“A challenge that we faced for the duration of the first half of season was finishing when games were close or forced into an extra set,” said Duvall. “We worked on overcoming this, and results were shown once we entered mid-season.”

“Finishing with an exciting win was a great way to end the season,” said Duvall. “Watching our players fight to finish the game and continue to push no matter the score is what we wanted to see as a result of their hard work and overcoming the challenges that were ahead of us this season.”

The Lady Arrows have concluded their season, and will begin again in August of 2026.