Claremont had a pretty tough time putting Anaheim away Wednesday evening, even though they did it in straight sets, 25-21, 25-23, and 25-14.

In fact, the Colonists were ahead 13-9 in the first set, and seemed to have momentum before Claremont made a late run assisted by Caedin Miller’s five kills. Miller would stack on another seven kills over the course of the night for game high 12.

“He is a good kid and hard worker,” Coach Bernie Wendling said of Miller’s performance.

The second set was the most entertaining, with the score tied three times, including in the closing moments when Anaheim came back from a three-point deficit. However, Claremont took command and Chasen Greene got a solid kill to put the set in the books.

The final set was more lopsided as the Anaheim boys could sense this one was slipping away.

“We didn’t play our best [tonight], but we had a great tournament over the weekend. We played some outstanding teams, so that raised our level. Now, when we play someone who isn’t quite as strong, we tend to play at their level,” Coach Wendling said.

“We played San Clemente and lost in two sets, (29-27 and 25-23). They are a really strong south [Orange] County team, so it forced us to raise the level of our game. But we are still learning. That is the only thing I want to see, is for us to bring our ‘A’ game all of the time.”

It was an interesting contrast in styles on Wednesday, with Anaheim engaging in constant banter while the Pack was more subdued. The Colonists would yell out “jumper” every time a server would leap to gain a higher angle for his serve.

One of those “jumpers” was David Deanda, who delivered a series of withering serves throughout the match “He has a great serve. It’s a weapon, and we like to use it whenever we can,” said Coach Wendling.

Besides Miller, who is Claremont’s big outside hitter, Christian Kim and Skyyler Allred had a great match, each notching seven kills.

Coach Wendling also had praise for Greene. “He is a heck of an athlete. He hasn’t played a lot of volleyball, but the kid is so coachable and works so hard.”

The varsity team is made up of all juniors and seniors, but that doesn’t mean they have been playing together for years, which could be a challenge, facing teams that have a more native cohesion. “About half of the kids played JV last year so it’s kind of a mix,” Coach Wendling said. “We’re learning to find that place where we play hard but we don’t have to be emotional,” said Coach Wendling. “We are finding that balance.”

Claremont is now 9-6 and will face Providence at home on Tuesday, with Hacienda League play beginning on March 27.

Stags make second round of NCAA championship

For the second year in a row Claremont-Mudd-Scripps squared off with the number-two team in the first round of the NCAA Division 3 Men’s Basketball Tournament only to face the number-one team in the second round.

In the first round last Friday in Walla Walla, Washington, the Stags and Whitworth Pirates traded the lead 16 times in the contest with neither team holding more than a seven-point advantage. But when the dust settled after 40 minutes it was the Stags who earned the hard-fought 83-82 victory, according to a news release from CMS athletics.

The following night CMS took on number-one Whitman Blues in the second round and for the second year in a row, the Blues walked away with the victory and a trip to the sweet 16.

—Steven Felschundneff

steven@claremont-courier.com

CHS mountain biking team attends first competitions

The Claremont High School mountain biking team had its first competition last weekend at the Beach to Boulders race in Perris.

In the freshman class, Arlo Tanenbaum got 28th place, and right behind him was Daniel Hodde, who placed 29th. A few spots after was Christian Moreno in 32nd place, all in a field of 44 riders. It was the first time the freshman competed in a SoCal High School league mountain bike race.

In the sophomore class Adam Grubb  held a near podium finish in sixth place, and right behind him was Garrett Cox in seventh. Jack Tipping got 20th, Jackson Futscher 23rd, Chris Garner 24th, and Colin Jaques came in 31st place. All sophomores had raced before, except for Jaques, who is a first-timer. There were 36 riders in their field. 

The only JV rider was Noah Libeskind, who scored eighth place in a field of 44 riders. The other two JV members, Alexander Harris and Nolan Applebee, are injured and sick.

Three riders got “call-ups,” which means that due to their good performance at this race, they will start at the front of the group of racers at the next competition.

The trail conditions were dry and dusty with lots of sand. The course actually cuts across the Lake Perris beach three times, which was difficult due to windy conditions and deep sand. All in all it was a successful weekend of racing with no crashes for Claremont riders.

The Pack’s next race was at Vail Lake in Temecula last Saturday. Libeskind took fifth in the JV race, which was his best performance so far. Cox and Grubb were neck in neck, taking sixth and seventh in the sophomore race.

—Noah Libeskind