Cardinal’s volleyball team has one goal in mind—to win another Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division championship—and the Huskies were focused on that in a 3-0 sweep of visiting Hawken on Thursday.
The Huskies won the first set 25-11 then fought off the Hawks to win the second, 25-20. They closed out the match with a 25-14 win in the third set.
“I told the girls that last year for the most part we were worried about Berkshire,” said Cardinal coach Karisca Chambers. “We knew Berkshire was the team to beat last year and we knew they were coming after us. The seniors they had were huge for Berkshire and this year coming in we still have Berkshire we have to get through, but I told the girls the CVC this year and every year to come isn’t going to be handed to us. We have to be ready to go every game. Kirtland has good team, same thing with Hawken, who almost beat Berkshire. Nobody is guaranteed anything. Anything can happen on any given night.”
The Huskies took that message to heart as they played a nearly flawless match.
“I think they were pumped up and ready to go,” Chambers said. “It showed as soon as they stepped on the floor, from the first point to the last point. We had very few errors. That’s something I haven’t seen too much all season except last night. They showed up ready to play.”
It started on defense, where libero Megan Zeigler was diving on the floor and chasing after loose balls on her way to a team-high 20 digs.
“Volleyball is an offensive sport and I think sometimes liberos (defensive specialists) sometimes don’t get recognized all the time,” Chambers said. “She has been playing since her freshman year and she’s now a junior and I haven’t seen her have a bad game. Every game she shows up and leads us in digs. What’s so good about Megan is she’s so diverse and can read the court. Sometimes that’s hard for defenders to do but because of her experience and JO and everything she does in the off-season, she’s always there. There are really no holes on our court and even if there is she steps in and gets the ball. We’re lucky to have her and I have another year with her.”
Maddie Bean recorded 20 assists and 11 digs and Jordyn Schultz had eight kills and nine digs. Kaylee Klepper pitched in with five kills and six serving aces. Trisha Cesar recorded three kills and four digs, Hanna Traggiai had 11 digs and Kaitlyn Shantery blocked four attacks and pitched in with five digs and three aces.
“It was a total team effort last night,” Chambers said. “Kaylee Klepper had a good night and a strong night serving. Kaitlyn Shantery did a great job in the middle. Middles do the dirty work. They’re in charge of blocking the ball and unless we get a good pass it’s hard for them to get set. She ended the third set with a solo block and she’s only 5-foot-6 on a good day. It’s starting to click for her a little bit and she’s starting to understand the footwork. She’s doing a nice job.”
The Huskies host Richmond Heights on Tuesday then travel to Berkshire in a key league game on Thursday.
