Clark Emerges for an Already Powerful Royal

LANCASTER — Like they needed another weapon.

The volleyball killers’ row at Royal High, which already includes Nick Flanagan, Ryan Denihan, Marc Chaffee and even setter John Baxter, will have to make room for one more slinger, outside hitter Dave Clark.

Clark showed some pop with nine kills and, more important, provided yet another option for the already loaded Highlanders, 15-7, 15-3, 15-2 victors over Highland on Tuesday in a second-round match of the Southern Section Division I playoffs at Highland.

The second-seeded Highlanders (18-0) received their usual attack from Flanagan (nine kills), Chaffee (six kills) and Denihan (five kills, four blocks).

But the emergence of Clark, who missed three late-season matches with a sprained right foot, could help during the playoffs, which continue for the Highlanders in Friday’s quarterfinals against Thousand Oaks at a site to be determined.

“You can’t set up the block against anybody on our team,” Ferguson said. “There’s not a person on our team where an opponent can say, ‘I’ve got him.’ ”

Royal also looked strong on defense and forced Highland standout Tom Haight into 14 errors and a minus-.231 hitting percentage. He finished with eight kills for the Bulldogs (14-2).

“I don’t know how you’re going to stop them,” said Highland Coach Mike Bird, who came up with a pretty good idea at Tuesday’s practice.

The Bulldogs, Golden League champions, scrimmaged against NCAA player of the year Ryan Millar, an ex-Highland standout now at BYU.

Not to be outdone in the tough practice category, Ferguson, for the first time in his 10 years of coaching at Royal, scheduled a Saturday practice. At 8:30 a.m.

It seemed to work.

“We’re on such a roll,” Denihan said. “It’s almost like we’re on a high.”

The last time the successful programs met was in the 1994 Division II championship, where Royal beat the Bulldogs in a four-game, 2 1/2-hour marathon.

This time, it took 60 minutes for the Highlanders.