MIDDLEFIELD—Cardinal has won or shared the last four Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division titles but league rivals aren’t going to roll over for the Huskies this season.
Thursday’s league opener against visiting Kirtland was confirmation of that as the Hornets gave the Huskies fits all evening despite Cardinal pulling away for a 3-1 win.
“Even though the CVC (title) is in our mind we have to take care of each team in the CVC. We can’t overlook anybody,” said Cardinal coach Karisca Chambers. “Kirtland is always a tough team and they did a good job tonight. They gave us a run for our money but our girls were focused from start to finish and they had that determination that they weren’t going to let this one go.”
Kirtland jumped out to five point leads in both of the first two sets before the Huskies rallied for 25-17 and 25-14 wins.
“That’s the fun thing about volleyball; it can change at any moment,” Chambers said. “You can be down by seven points and then come back and win. I always tell the girls, no matter what rut we get in just keep your spirits up, shake it off and get the next play because volleyball is such a game of mistakes that it can flip at any time.”
It flipped in the next game when Kirtland rallied from behind to win 25-17 and forced a fourth game.
The Huskies closed out their win with a 25-20 victory in the fourth and final set.
“We weren’t really sure what to expect coming into this because we saw that Kirtland also beat West Geauga in three and we beat West Geauga in three, so I knew this was going to be such an evenly matched game,” Chambers said. “I warned my girls that they need to show up ready to go.”
Senior Megan Zeigler led the Huskies with 10 digs, nine kills and five aces. She also recorded 11 straight service points to close out the second game.
Zeigler moved from libero to the front row this season to take advantage of her power and ability to get above the net.
“It’s kind of funny, I watched over the summer and saw she was one of our best hitters so I knew I had to have her on the front row,” Chambers said. “Not only is she a great passer but we need to have her attacking. Getting her serve consistent was huge for her this year but we just had to have her in the front row, there was no other choice. She crushes the ball. She’s the second tallest girl on our team and she will do good things for Cardinal volleyball, especially in her senior year and as a captain.”
Hanna Traggiai recorded 31 assists and nine digs, Kaylee Klepper had a team-high 11 kills with three aces and two blocks and Kaitlyn Shantery pitched in with seven kills, seven blocks and three digs for the Huskies.
Camille Cummins led Cardinal with 11 digs and also recorded four blocks and three kills and Ashley Gubanyar finished with 10 digs. Faith Peters, who led the Huskies in singing the National Anthem, recorded four kills and two blocks. Anne Rupinski and Alaina Strever both recorded nine digs for Cardinal.
“Cardinal is a good team,” said Kirtland coach Bob Schenosky. “They move exceptionally well on the court. That’s where we struggled a little bit and that’s where we’ll work the most.”
The Hornets had their moments as Katherine Skrbis recorded a team-high 12 kills with 10 digs and Krista Robejsek and Anna Shuppe both had five kills.
“I thought when we got swings off we were solid with that,” Schenosky said. “Robejsek in the middle had some nice shots. Katherine didn’t necessarily get as many opportunities as she did on Tuesday, which was unfortunate but I’m pleased. It’s the second game of the season for us and we’ve only had two practices together. I told the girls this is really something to build on. I saw some great individual effort. I saw some good team play when we were getting to balls that most people would think was going to hit the floor. I was pleasantly surprise with our effort tonight.”
Robejsek also contributed with seven blocks and a pair of serving aces while Shuppe recorded 12 assists, seven digs and an ace. Elise Frazee finished with 23 digs and three aces.
“Team-wise, I think these girls play well together,” Schenosky said. “I think they all like each other, which is great. We keep telling them if they’re not going to play for yourself, play for each other and I don’t think I had to say that. You can see what they’re doing on the court. They’re playing for one another and communicating. When somebody makes a great play you see everyone else right on top of her cheering her on and congratulating her and it’s just the opposite when someone makes a mistake, they’re there to pick her up. The team camaraderie and energy I think is there. I’m optimistic.”
