Coming into Senior Night, the Hilltoppers were on an 11-game win streak, including having won 25 of 33 sets. A win against South, 3-1, would be no different.
Match photos click here.
Coming into Senior Night, the Hilltoppers were on an 11-game win streak, including having won 25 of 33 sets. A win against South, 3-1, would be no different.
The night was all about the team’s three seniors and what their accomplishments have meant to the program, and all three shined brighter than ever before.
Setter Annabel Frieden and middle hitters Izzie Ivanovics and Natalie Zemba were all recognized before the first serve against their conference rival, the Rebels of Willoughby South.
Back-and-forth the teams would go in the first set. Neither needed to call a timeout until late. Second-year Head Coach Mark Ridley directed his team during a timeout after trailing 21-16. A miscommunication error and recorded hitting error slowed down the grit from the Rebels.
Junior libero Grace Legan recorded two aces, while Frieden and Zemba registered their first block of the evening.
Chardon took set one, 25-16. Leading the way for the home team was junior outside hitter Emma McCartney, who put down four kills in the opening set.
“Our game plan was to just go crazy tonight,” said Frieden after the game. “To have the last, best home game we could ask for.”
“We definitely wanted to use Senior Night to our advantage,” Zemba said. “Since we were all excited about that, we wanted to roll with it.”
Zemba would account for one kill and one block in that first set.
To start the second set, Chardon took a 3-1 lead after kills from McCartney and Zemba. However, the train began to fall off the track for the Hilltoppers as a miscommunication error, and a couple points awarded to the Rebels, paced the opponents for a 7-4 lead.
Chardon would tie things up at seven, but a 3-0 run by the visiting Rebels forced Head Coach Alison Fisher to call her first timeout of the match.
Out from the timeout, McCartney added another kill to her stat line, this one down the line. A cross-court kill from junior outside hitter Skylar Toth, and another kill recorded by Zemba, pulled the Hilltoppers within one.
After a great dig out of the back row by McCartney, Frieden had to track the ball down to get it over the net. Sending a free ball over for the Rebels, Frieden hustled back to the net and got a touch on the block, resulting in an opportunity for her team to win the point and tie the set at 11.
Chardon then jumped back in front, thanks to a 7-4 run by their offense.
Coach Ridley took the first of his two timeouts after trailing 18-15, and his team responded well out of the timeout when senior setter Carli Veri recorded a kill of her own.
Exchanging points late in the second set, Chardon was forced to call its final timeout after losing the lead, trailing 21-19. With back-to-back kills from sophomore outside hitter Maddie Luciano, the Rebels tied the match at one set apiece, taking set two 25-20.
The Hilltoppers would record nine errors in the set, a combination of service and hitting errors.
After the second set, Chardon recollected itself and started set three 13-9, at which point Coach Ridley would use his first timeout.
“We had a lot of adrenaline,” Ivanovics said. “We had ups and downs tonight.”
During that run, it was the seniors who provided a much-needed spark for their teammates. The three combined for six of the third set’s first 13 points early. There’s one thing the Hilltoppers do very well at, and that’s grinding out a win, no matter what.
Set three easily went to the home team, pulling them within one set of the match, after a 25-13 victory. Late in that set, the Hilltoppers went on a 8-3 run, calling for their coach to call his final timeout of the set.
They finished the set with a 4-1 run.
“In all honesty, what worked well for us tonight, because they were picking up everything, was our energy and how we held ourselves tonight,” Frieden said. “It was our night. Our senior night, we needed to kill it, and that’s what gave us the win.”
Ultimately, Chardon would take set four 25-19, and the match 3-1. At times the match was close, but being in the Western Reserve Conference, every opponent is tough. When the Hilltoppers started to generate, they were nearly unstoppable, whether it was Frieden going all-out for a ball, Zemba finding an open spot on the court for a tip kill, a timely block from Ivanovics, or a Grace Legan ace at the service line.
Dominating their way on paper, McCartney led all attackers with 18 kills on 42 swings. Zemba and Toth each contributed 11, creating a balanced offense for Frieden to orchestrate. She finished with 42 assists along with eight digs and two aces.
Legan led all with six aces at the service line, and picked up 12 digs. McCartney and Toth each added 14, while Zemba recorded two solo blocks and assisted on four. The Hilltoppers out-blocked the Rebels 9-4.
So what have these seniors provided the Hilltoppers’ program in their last four years? Frieden surpassed her 1,500 career assist earlier in the week, and continues to add to her stat line. She has over 500 digs in her career, along with 90 aces. Zemba has recorded over 200 blocks and 350 kills for the program.
When asked what these seniors have meant to this program, Coach Fisher couldn’t thank them enough.
“Your dedication and commitment to the Chardon volleyball program is appreciated more than you know,” Fisher said. “You are amazing volleyball players with a true passion for the sport. You constantly push yourself to get better, and in the process, make those around you better. You have helped this program to hit new records and milestones, and this is a legacy you should be proud of! Off the court, you are equally incredible. You have such kind and caring hearts. I know the future is bright for all three of you!”
And where does this team want to go this season? First and foremost, it’s still hunting for a conference title. The team prepared for a big matchup against Riverside this week on the road, and of course its Oct. 11 game against Kenston.
The Hilltoppers then aim to get past regional semifinals. They lost a four-set thriller last year against Massillon Jackson. Unfortunately, their route to the game was detoured after their bus took a blow to a deer.
“To get past the regional semifinals, I need my seniors to continue bringing positive leadership, as well as their intense passion and love of the game,” Fisher said. “Knowing it is your last season and your last year of high school always ignites a little bit of extra motivation, and this perspective they bring to the team can really help to engage their teammates in our ultimate season goals. … As a team we are really working to buy into the mindset of playing for the person next to us. Working as a team and fully trusting is so critical to success, and they will be key to helping model this mindset.”
