The last time the Huskies started their season 0-4 was in the fall of 2014. Cardinal would finish the season as the Division III district runner-up, falling 3-0 to Northeast Ohio powerhouse Gilmour Academy.
Match photos click here.
The last time the Huskies started their season 0-4 was in the fall of 2014. Cardinal would finish the season as the Division III district runner-up, falling 3-0 to Northeast Ohio powerhouse Gilmour Academy.
The Huskies began this season with a tri-match against West Geauga and Garrettsville. They tested both teams, but fell short in both contests.
Their home opener Aug. 22 ended in a 3-0 loss to LaBrae.
Then second-year Head Coach Anne Mann hosted a tri-match with Chagrin Falls and Madison.
The Huskies opened their morning up against the Tigers. On the flip side, the last time the Tigers opened their season up 3-0 dated back to 2012, when they finished the season 17-7 and won their first eight matches.
Cardinal jumped out to an early 7-3 lead, forcing the Tigers to call a timeout. Senior Carissa Loucks proved to be strong behind the service line, stringing together a 4-0 run, and another strong serving performance sophomore Maggie Grant extended its lead to seven.
The home team went up by eight before a big block from Peyton Pierce and Lily Victerof slowed Cardinal down with its comfortable lead of 13-6.
But here came the Tigers. A strong kill from senior Isabel Nerpouni helped her team put together a 5-0 run. During the rally, Nerpouni recorded two kills, while freshman Molly Nightwine put together a couple aces.
Behind a 14-kill performance from sophomore Ali Puruczky, who led the team much of her freshman season, Cardinal got a 25-15 first set victory and felt on the brink of picking up their first win of the season.
The Tigers had a different plan. The second set began much like the first, with a large Huskies lead, 10-2, after a foot fault violation on the Tigers at the service line.
Chagrin Falls Head Coach Kelly Holtz would find success, though, when her team was attacking quickly out of the middle blocker position. Clara Ives cut the Huskies’ lead to five, forcing a kill through the block.
Stringing together an 8-3 run forced the Huskies to call a timeout, and their lead would be cut to one, 20-19. Nerpouni then recorded another kill, and her tip would tie the set at 20.
The Tigers found their first lead at 21-20, and then again forced a timeout at 22-20. Sophomore Gianna Calabrese finished the set, 25-22, with a kill, evening the match at one apiece.
Chagrin Falls eventually won the third set, 25-19, capitalizing off of the Huskies’ timely errors. Puruczky led all players with 14 kills and 11 digs. Nerpouni led the Tigers with 11 kills on 37 swings. Calabrese added nine kills to balance the front row for the Tigers, while Holmes Audrey and Pierce each added 13 assists.
Lauren Burgess commanded the back row with 18 digs, while junior Maddie Ehrhardt picked up 16 digs and senior Emma Geesling pitched in with 14.
After dropping the first set against Madison, the Tigers assembled a strong second and third set, winning 25-18 and 25-12. Calabrese led all with six kills, while Nerpouni and Nightwine added five and four respectively.
Nightwine added seven aces, the most of the morning. Burgess again took control of the back row, picking up 11 digs, and Pierce added 14 assists.
“We really pride ourselves on having fun on the court while learning how to have fun and win,” Burgess said. “We had to do what we do in practice, and it was a group effort to come back and win.”
Although the Tigers didn’t come away with a win in the first game of their season against Lakeview, they pushed the Bulldogs to the max, forcing a set three.
“All of us are very competitive, and we try to get into the right headspace when we drop a set and just try to come back from that,” Nightwine said.
As for the Huskies, it’s been closing out close sets that has been a struggle so far. Cardinal took the first set against the Wolverines, 25-22, before dropping the second and third sets.
The Huskies put together a strong opening set against LaBrae before creating a large lead in the third and dropping both.
However, in their matchup against Madison, the Huskies would not have their first victory slip away. It would be on the arm of Puruczky again, this time leading with 10 kills. Junior middle blocker Lizzy Lucarellio added five, and Morgan Csontos, three. Grant pitched in with four aces in the 2-1 victory.
Puruczky led the back row with 22 digs, recording her third double-double of the season. Ehrhardt added 15 digs, while Geesling had 14. In the win, Ehrhardt recorded 16 assists.
After the win, Puruczky and Lucarellio talked about the adjustments made between the morning matches.
“We picked each other up, and communicated better. We supported each other better,” Lucarellio said.
Madison recorded a team-high eight blocks against the Huskies, but that didn’t scare them.
“I hit different shots,” Puruczky said. “I tried going line, and then the next one I would go
hard cross. Then, when they would shift their block, I would just go wherever they weren’t.”
The Tigers improved to 3-1 on the season, while the Huskies went 1-4. Chagrin Falls would have another non-conference matchup against Kirtland on Aug. 28 before hosting Brush on Aug. 31, while Cardinal would next travel to Ashtabula Lakeside to take on the Dragons.
