Volleyball is just a game.

Bella Clevenger has already won at the game of life.

The 16-year-old Princeton junior is a cancer survivor. She was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia at age 2, a cancer that claimed her great uncle to ALL, and the 2001 loss of Bella’s great-grandfather to CML (Chronic Myeloid Leukemia).

Cancer-free for more than 10 years, Clevenger played her part off the bench in Princeton’s 25-19, 21-25, 25-9 victory over the rival Red Devils in Thursday’s breast cancer awareness night at Hall.

She said it was a special night for her.

“Not only did I have cancer, but my great-grandmother I love had breast cancer as well. She’s still with us,” Clevenger said.

Clevenger didn’t want to draw attention to herself when cancer survivors were asked to step up, but Hall seniors Caroline Morris and Natalia Zamora presented her with a rose and a hug.

“[My teammates] were all telling me to go out there, but I was scared to. It was very special. I don’t like to bring attention to it, but it was just nice I was included,” Clevenger said, appreciating the hugs from her teammates when she started tearing up.

Princeton coach Andy Puck was pleased to see Clevenger have her night.

“We talk about pushing through adversity in sports. This girl and her family had to push through adversity in life, had to deal with things we’ve never even come close to experiencing,” he said.

“Yeah, it was an emotional night for her.”

After dropping the first set, Hall gained some late momentum in the second to tie the match. The Red Devils scored six straight points, taking a 17-12 lead on a kill by Zamora. Princeton tied the match at 20 on hits by Keighley Davis and Keely Lawson and a Hall hitting error.

Lefty-serving Mia Wenzel had an ace on a serve that trickled the net on the way to a 22-20 Hall edge. Morris made a deep push at 24-21 before the Red Devils finished the win to even up the match.

Princeton ran away with the third set, using 6-0 runs to take leads of 9-3 and 16-5, with Ava Kyle and Davis each serving up five-point runs.

Kyle came back with a four-point run capped by an ace for a 24-8 lead. The Tigresses took the game and match at 25-9 on a Hall hitting error.

“We played smarter and not harder,” Puck said. “We started blocking 1-on-1 instead of having two blockers. They tip a lot of balls, and they were hitting balls off our blocks. We just seem a lot more disciplined and kind of shored up our defense a little better. We relaxed and just trusted our training.”

Hall coach Carolyn Foster said the Red Devils ran out of gas in the third set.

“I thought we played well in the first two games, especially with our passing, but we just didn’t hit as well as I would have liked,” she said. “The third game, we didn’t have enough to finish through. We have been a little run-down and fighting fatigue and sickness, so hoping we can get healthy and focus on the next few weeks and concentrate on the postseason.

“No one likes to lose, especially me, but I keep telling our girls what really matters is the postseason, and this is preparing us for it.”

In the opening set, the Tigresses jumped to a 9-3 lead after a dig by Camryn Driscoll. The Tigresses took leads of 14-9 on a kill by Danika Burden, 16-10 on an ace by Caroline Keutzer and 20-15 on a kill by Keutzer.

Charlie Pellegrini hit for the sideout at 22-18, but Hall came up short 25-19.

Keutzer (12) and Lawson (10) combined for 22 kills for Princeton, with Davis adding six kills and four blocks. Makayla Hecht – who just recorded her 1,000th career assist Tuesday – dished out 30 more to go with 10 digs. Kyle tallied 14 points, Davis had 11, and Keutzer had eight points, including three aces.

For Hall, Zamora had six kills and four blocks, Morris five kills and three blocks, Emma McCook 10 assists, Leah Burkhart 15 digs, Charlie Pellegrini 13 digs, Evelyn Bryant nine digs and Wenzel two assists.

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Princeton volleyball players Ava Kyle, Camryn Driscoll and Keely Lawson on Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025 at Hall High School. (Scott Anderson)