GENEVA–Geneva needed five sets to earn its first win of the season, a 3-2 thriller over visiting Eastlake North in a nonconference match on Tuesday.
The Eagles won the match, 25-15, 25-15, 22-25, 17-25, 15-11.
“We needed (the win),” said Geneva head coach Annah Haeseler. “Not to say North didn’t deserve it, but we’ve been battling. It’s hard to keep going, but we’re a good team. We play a tough schedule. It feels great (to win).”
Geneva took an early lead in the opening set and finished strong with a 13-4 run. Daniella Bobish secured the final point with a kill from Kailyn Cerjan’s assist.
contributed with two service aces in the second set while Rhiley Williams added a block for a 16-9 lead as Geneva maintained control of the match with a 2-0 advantage.
North found life early in the third set thanks to a pair of Morgan Petrecca blocks and a Grace Piercy kill off a Lacey Staska assist to give the Rangers a 16-10 edge.
Molly Cantrell’s kill sealed North’s win and pulled the Rangers to within 2-1.
North jumped out to an early lead in the fourth set and never looked back in setting up a decisive fifth set.
“(North) changed their offense,” Haeseler said. “They stopped tipping (the ball) so much and started swinging more. It took us a set to see it, and we changed our defense. It worked for it.”
With Geneva leading 13-8 in the fifth set, North grabbed two points quickly with a Cantrell kill and Gianna Latini ace, forcing coach Haeseler to call a timeout.
“I said, ‘Watch for desperation,’” Haeseler said about her timeout. “What do teams do when they’re playing afraid? They tip. We had to watch for tips and take care of the ball. I told them, ‘Don’t let the ball hit the floor.’”
The Eagles closed out the set and the match to notch their first win of the season.
“It was a battle to get that first win,” Haeseler said. “There were a lot of emotions, and both benches were high (on emotion) and loud. The gym was all into it. It was great.”
There were contributions up and down the stat sheet for Geneva.
Williams racked up 15 kills, 10 blocks, and four service aces, while Ella Haeseler pitched in with 11 kills to go with her 18 assists.
Bobish added seven kills, Brooke Wright finished with six, and Claire Cafaro added five more to the Geneva attack.
“They’re making smart plays,” Haeseler said of her teams’ contributors. “They know what they’re good at and rely on each other. Hopefully, this boosts their confidence as we head into conference play.”
Kailyn Cerjan added 18 more assists, with six aces in the service, to help show off the versatility and depth of the young Geneva team.
“I just base (where I go) off the pass,” Cerjan said. “Whoever is ready in that moment (gets it). I trust all the girls to put the ball down, and we work a lot on teamwork and cohesiveness.”
North’s early season woes continued with its second five-set loss in a row, with just a few mistakes holding back the Rangers.
“Our defense and serve-receive need to be cleaned up,” said North head coach Nicole Balsom. “We didn’t make as many serving errors today as we have in the past, and we’ve been working on serving under pressure. We just need to get going before set two is over. We have to start out with our foot on the gas.”
North was in a deep hole, down 2-0, but fought back to push the match into a fifth set.
“I’m proud of the highs we had today,” Balsom said. “A lot of the girls stepped up today. We just need to work on the fundamentals and use our nervousness as a positive. The nerves get to us, and we go on a roller coaster.”
The Rangers had their fair share of contributions with Petrecca leading the defense with 14 blocks.
Cantrell posted 13 kills, Ella Powalie added eight more of her own, and Staska finished with a game-high 24 assists.
Geneva will visit Riverside on Thursday, and North will visit Euclid on Sept. 9.
