After a slow start to their 2024-25 season, the Huskies have officially picked up their first win in their Coach Michael Chaffee era.
After a slow start to their 2024-25 season, the Huskies have officially picked up their first win in their Coach Michael Chaffee era.
Despite starting out 0-3 with losses against Garrettsville Garfield, West Geauga and LaBrae, Cardinal picked up its first new-season win against Madison during a tri-match Aug. 24 at Chagrin Falls.
“Our energy was amazing throughout the entire time; even when we got down on ourselves, we picked ourselves up after a couple of points,” said junior captain Ali Puruczky. “We came out of a huge hole, and I think that carried the energy for us.”
The Blue Streaks took set one, 25-21. A hitting error by Madison would get the Huskies on the board first, which was followed by an ace from sophomore setter and right side Olivia Krebs.
Back and forth it would go to start the second set, and the Huskies took their first timeout of the set while trailing 15-11.
Senior libero Shay Roby put on a show at the service line, stringing along a 7-0 run, but Coach Chaffee had to burn his second timeout after falling behind 18-11 and it looked like the Huskies had run out of steam.
A little bit of magic from senior middle blocker Morgan Csontos proved to be the touch.
Csontos would string together a 10-0 run to come from behind and win 25-23. During that rotation, Csontos recorded four aces, while the Huskies’ defense forced the Blue Streaks into two hitting errors, including one to snag set two.
“It’s really hard to get out of a hole, especially that big,” said senior setter Maddy Ehrhardt. “After dropping the first set and then a huge hole in the second, we came out and we were so excited to get that win.”
The Huskies claimed set three 25-17 and the match 2-1, improving to 1-3, while Madison fell to 1-4 to start the season.
“I’m thrilled with the comeback in game two of the Madison match,” Coach Chaffee said. “Scoring the final nine points was amazing. We’ve been struggling to put scoring runs together, and that one certainly energized us.
“Getting our first win together was a relief. We’ve played very competitive matches this season, and I’ve been very happy with our effort and our willingness to learn a new system with different roles. It’s an adjustment for all of us, players and coaches. I’m confident we’ll keep improving.”
After a strong showing against Madison, the Huskies quickly jumped out to a 4-0 lead over the host team, Chagrin Falls. With a kill out of the middle from Csontos and an ace from sophomore Natalie Soltis, the Huskies looked like they couldn’t be stopped.
Chagrin Falls reclaimed the lead midway through the first set 11-10 after a hitting error from the Huskies. A mid-rotation change for the Huskies proved beneficial after setting Puruczky out of the middle.
Early injuries to middle blocker Lizzy Lucariello and junior hitter Maggie Grant have plagued Cardinal, forcing different starting lineups and changes to start the season.
“We tried a new lineup out so that we could get some girls that are our stronger hitters,” Puruczky explained, “move around so that our opponents block them, so they aren’t constantly on them and know exactly where they are going.”
A kill from the back row by Puruczky forced the Tigers, trailing 17-12, to call a timeout. Then Gianna Calabrese read the floor and scored on back-to-back tip kills.
A couple of kills from Krebs and Puruczky solidified a set-one Cardinal win, 25-19.
Set two would be all Tigers. A quick 7-4 lead eventually grew into a 18-11 lead before Coach Chaffee took his first timeout of the set. The Tigers were picking apart the Huskies’ defense, including back-to-back kills by the setter in Audrey Holmes.
Coach Kelly Holtz’s crew took a commanding set-two victory, 25-16, evening the match at one set apiece.
“Our goal was to find the empty spots on the other side of the court, hit deep corners, tip short, and play smart volleyball,” Holmes said. “I think we executed that pretty well.”
Another quick start in the third set forced the Huskies to call a timeout after trailing 5-0. Holmes recorded two aces in the opening rotation before a hitting error gave the ball back to Cardinal.
But a balanced offense between Calabrese and outside hitter Anna Topel would prove to be too much for the Huskies. Chagrin Falls built a 17-9 lead before taking a timeout to talk things over. The Huskies would be within three late in the third set, but it was the Tigers who pulled away victoriously, 25-23, taking the match 2-1.
“We are excited to get to play teams that we know and teams that we feel like we have big competition against,” Holmes said.
Junior outside hitter Anna Topel led Chagrin Falls with 13 kills on 25 swings, while Calabrese and Anna Michalek added nine and seven respectively. Topel led the way with five aces, while Michalek added three blocks to lead the Tigers’ defense. Sophomore Sadie Conrad paced the back row with 20 digs while Holmes added 12. Holmes added to her double-double with 12 digs and 21 assists.
The Tigers improved to 3-2 overall and will get their conference play underway later on in September. As for the Huskies, their conference season began Aug. 26 against Grand Valley.
“We are excited to play a couple home games because we have been away a lot,” Maddie Ehrardt said. “We are eager to get back home.”
During the tri, Cardinal was led by Puruczky with 23 kills; Ehrhardt with 21 assists; Grant with 27 digs; and Csontos with seven aces.
