BURTON—Cardinal opened the postseason with a dominating 3-0 win over Conneaut in a Division III sectional semifinal at Berkshire on Tuesday.
The Huskies won the match 25-13, 25-10, 25-18.
“Tonight was a good win for us,” Cardinal coach Karisca Chambers said. “We scrimmaged Conneaut early in the season and they put up a good fight. My girls took care of business tonight and we are looking forward to the next game in districts.”
Haley Domen led the Huskies with four kills, five service aces and 16 assists and Taylor Soltis posted a team-high 15 digs.
With the win, the fifth-seeded Huskies advanced to Thursday’s sectional championship game against No. 4 Grand Valley.
Cardinal and Grand Valley are all too familiar with each other.
The Mustangs ended Cardinal’s season in the district tournament in 2016 and 2017 while the Huskies returned the favor last fall.
Grand Valley joined the Chagrin Valley Conference this year and the two teams split their regular-season matchups.
“The rivalry with Grand Valley is fun,” Chambers said. “We both beat each other and have seen each other in the district before. My girls have to stay focused and show up ready to work hard. Practices have been intense, which helps get us ready.”
The Huskies, who improved to 16-5, enter Thursday’s showdown riding a nine-match win streak. Included in that stretch is a 3-2 win at Grand Valley that prevented the Mustangs from winning the CVC Valley Division title outright. Grand Valley also enters the match 16-5.
“We are ready,” Chambers said. “I have no doubts we will show up ready to compete. We’ve done it already this year, so we know what we are capable of.”
