The postseason continued on Saturday with several Chagrin Valley Conference teams in action.
Lutheran West’s volleyball team highlighted the action with a 3-1 win over Holy Name that secured the Longhorns’ 20th win of the season for the first time since 2016.
“It was great,” said Lutheran West coach Laura Thrasivoulou. “We had some nerves to start with and we’ve had some illnesses and girls missing practices, so it was nice to get them all back in the gym and work those nerves out. I was proud of them.”
Lutheran West improved to 20-3 on the year with its 25-23, 25-21, 22-25, 26-24 win over the Green Wave in a highly competitive match.
The Longhorns seemingly responded to every Holy Name run with one of their own and stepped up in all aspects of the game to secure their victory.
“It was awesome,” Thrasivoulou said. “They all came together as a team and just did what they needed to do.”
Senior middle Sophia Simon put the team on her back and dominated the attack.
Simon finished with 27 kills, three service aces, and a block.
“She was just a calming presence on the court,” Thrasivoulou said. “We wanted the ball to go to her whether she was in the back row or the front row, and she just delivered. She had 27 kills and she only had six errors, that’s what’s amazing. She plays at such a high level and doesn’t make those errors. It’s just amazing what she can do out there.”
Junior Aryana Garcia may have been the unsung hero of the match.
She recorded an eye-popping 40 assists to go along with 17 digs, two blocks, and a team-best six service aces.
“The craziest part is that Aryana isn’t a setter,” Thrasivoulou said. “Her freshman year, she was a libero for a couple of games and a DS, but we decided to make her a setter her sophomore year and now she has 999 career assists. It’s pretty impressive. She set her mind to step into that role for us and has exceeded all expectations. She comes from a DS background, so she always plays phenomenal defense for us, and she has been working really hard to get her setting where it needs to be. She’s running a great offense right now.”
Junior Ella McCarty contributed to the win with 10 kills and a team-high three blocks and senior Morgan Morley led the squad with 27 digs.
“Ella McCarty just played phenomenally and had a breakout match,” Thrasivoulou said. “We’re excited to see what she can do.”
Lutheran West’s success this season isn’t surprising.
The Longhorns won 18 matches last season and returned a large portion of their roster.
“I knew our team could do this,” Thrasivoulou said. “I’m very happy with what they’ve done, but we’re not satisfied. We want to keep winning and we want to keep pushing to go as far as we can and do the best that we can as a team. We’ve focused a lot on teamwork this year and coming together as a team. Everybody needs to do their part to get to where we need to go. Right now, we’re playing the best volleyball we have this year.”
Lutheran West rode into the postseason on a high note after closing the regular season with a 3-2 win over league-rival Independence. That win snapped Independence’s 137-match conference winning streak and earned the Longhorns a share of the Chagrin Valley Conference Metro Division title.
“That was an amazing confidence boost for them,” Thrasivoulou said. “I knew they could do that, and seeing them do it and come through in such a close, long game was just amazing.”
Lutheran West will play Padua in a district semifinal on Wednesday.
Other CVC postseason scores
Boys Soccer
- Harvey 6, Madison 1
- Hawken 2, Orange 1 (shootout)
- Canfield 8, Edgewood 0
- CVCA 5, Chagrin Falls 0
- Hubbard 3, West Geauga 0
Volleyball
- Kirtland 3, Berkshire 1
- Jefferson 3, Struthers 0
- Girard 3, Perry 0
- Lake Center Christian 3, Cardinal 0
- David Anderson 3, Richmond Heights 0
- Aurora 3, Crestwood 0
- Hubbard 3, Geneva 1
- Columbiana 3, Grand Valley 0
- Triway 3, Trinity 0
