On May 20, the Chardon Hilltoppers boys volleyball team took on the Independence BlueDevils for the OHSAA Regional Title.
Match photos click here.
On May 20, the Chardon Hilltoppers boys volleyball team took on the Independence BlueDevils for the OHSAA Regional Title.
The Hilltoppers won the first set, 25-23, but then lost the next three sets, 25-18, 25-23 and 25-16.
“Tough loss, we lost 3-1,” said junior Logan Bryant. “First set, we were getting down, but we rallied back. In the second set, we couldn’t really find our place.
“It happens in sports. Even the best of us lose sometimes, and I feel like that was the case here.”
Added senior Juan Panella, “We knew the game was going to be hard. I think the pressure and nervousness got to us.”
As team leaders, both Bryant and Panella remain optimistic about the future. It was amazing, they explained, how much the team accomplished, since it was everyone’s first year playing organized volleyball.
Bryant recounted that after football season, during off-season training, an administrator asked him and Joseph Evans if they would be interested in starting a boys varsity volleyball team.
They responded enthusiastically and began to go through the formal steps of assembling a team.
It was not an easy task. However, with the support of the administration, Bryant and Evans worked hard to organize a varsity volleyball team for Chardon athletics.
“We got signatures together, took it to the board, and we got a team,” Bryant said. “We’ve only been practicing for six months, and we’re already here, so it’s great. … It’s good to see what we’ll have with an off-season under our belt and going into next season.”
Although the Hilltoppers will lose two top players, seniors Nolan Kirsch and Joseph Evans, to graduation, talent will be back next season.
“We got a bunch of people coming back,” Bryant said. “I mean we’re losing our outsides, Nolan and Joe, but we got people coming up behind them.
“Our right side, Ian Galati, he’s a freshman — so he’s just going to keep getting better. Then our middle, his brother Noah Galati, he’s going to getting better.
“Our other middle, Jackson, is going to get better, (too).”
Offensively, soon-to-be-graduates Evans and Kirsh were leaders this season in serving and kills. Evans led the team in average aces per set, and Kirsh led the team in serving aces. They also led the team in kills, with both players having accrued more than 140 each entering the regional final game.
Kirsh and Evans were defensive team leaders, too, in digs per set and in service receptions.
