MIDDLEFIELD—Cardinal’s volleyball team learned a lot about itself in a two-match sweep on Saturday.
The Huskies opened their home tri-match with a 3-0 sweep of new Chagrin Valley Conference member Edgewood then ended the day with another 3-0 sweep of LaBrae.
“It was awesome starting out the season 2-0,” Cardinal coach Karisca Chambers said. “We weren’t sure what to expect because we hardly play these teams. I think the girls were high energy and excited to play.”
Cardinal beat Edgewood, 25-17, 27-25, 25-21.
Jessie Proch led the way in that match with 14 kills and she also contributed four aces. Andrea Mack added six kills and seven blocks. Haley Domen recorded 33 assists and three aces and Taylor Soltis posted a team-high 12 digs and also added three aces.
“Building some early confidence is always a nice way to begin,” Chambers said. “We’ve changed our lineup a few times in the preseason and today was a true test to see who plays better next to who. A lot of volleyball is team chemistry and flowing together and I thought we did a nice job of that.”
The Huskies defeated LaBrae, 25-13, 25-17, 25-22.
Karalyn Rutkowski led Cardinal in that match with eight kills and four blocks. Alaina Strever posted a team-best 15 digs and Domen finished with 19 assists.
Proch finished the day with 16 kills and four aces while Rutkowski and Lorelei Hutchinson both contributed with 11 kills. Rutkowski added seven blocks.
Domen closed out the two-match day with 52 assists and six aces. Mack added seven blocks to go with her eight kills. Soltis finished the day with 26 digs and six aces.
“The focus moving forward is just to eliminate more of our errors,” Chambers said. “Our motto this season is to make the other team earn every point they get. We don’t want to give them many points off of unforced errors. If we clean up a few errors on our side, stay aggressive and play together, I believe we will continue to be a successful team and program.”
LaBrae topped Edgewood in the first match of the day, 3-2 (25-27, 16-25, 25-14, 25-18, 17-15).
