Match photos click here.
In a highly touted match-up early on in their respective schedules, the Berkshire Badgers made the 15-minute drive to face their archrivals, the Cardinal Huskies.
Both programs entered the Sept. 4 game undefeated. The Badgers got off to a hot 4-0 start after two hard-fought wins: a five-set winner against Smithville and a three-to-one win over Jefferson.
As for the Huskies, after a five-set winner to open their season on the road at LaBrae, it was smooth sailing, and they rattled off five straight three-set sweeps over their opponent.
Before the first serve, Athletic Director Jimmy Soltis recognized senior outside hitter Ali Puruczky with the game ball, as she surpassed 1,000 career kills against Mathews on Aug. 26. Puruczky is a four-year starter and a staple for the program, which has just four seniors on its roster.
To open the first set, it was the Badgers who jumped out to an 11-7 lead, forcing the Huskies to call a timeout. Berkshire bragged a balanced and experienced offense led by the league’s MVP a season ago, Marissa Rish, who recorded an assist to four different Badgers in the front row.
“Coming into the game, we were really focused on two parts of it,” said senior Kate Miller. “One was our communication, and the second was staying calm on the court.
“Last year, it was rough when we came to Cardinal. We went to five sets when we shouldn’t have, but a lot of that was because things got chaotic. This year we tried to keep the chaos off the court, stay calm, and just communicate, and that worked really well for us.”
Second-year head coach Michael Chaffee called his second and final timeout of the first set, trailing 20-11, to do his best to calm down his team and reiterate their style of play. A kill out of the middle from senior Jill Smetana ended a commanding set-one victory for the Badgers, 25-12.
The Huskies regrouped at the end of set one, and debriefed about spreading the ball on offense. After the Badgers’ big height advantage recorded a few blocks, the Huskies had to find a different way to score points on their side of the court.
Back-to-back kills from junior outside hitter Natalie Soltis gave the Huskies a 11-7 lead early in the second set. After four ties midway through the set, the Huskies called their first timeout, trailing 17-16. A quick lineup change for the Huskies brought in freshman Lily Rulong to open up the offense for Soltis and Puruczky and give a different look for returning setter Olivia Krebs and first-year starter Lucy Klepper.
Rulong recorded a kill late in the set and provided a much-needed spark for the Huskies. Now trailing 22-21, the Badgers called the next timeout. Krebs then recorded an ace to give the Huskies a two-point advantage.
Sophomore Moira Wonders tied the set up by recording a kill and a Huskies’ hitting error. Then the Badgers fought off two set-points to come from behind and take set two, 27-25, and lead 2-0 on the match.
“A lot of our success came from our bench energy,” said sophomore Stella Bateman. The middle blocker made her presence known, recording three kills, one solo block, and five block assists. “We were keeping each other hyped up the entire time, and when we got low, you could tell we were playing low.”
Despite a late surge from the Huskies, they still trailed 16-9 at the end of the set three, forcing
Chaffee to call his final timeout. Cardinal would cut the lead to five, but the Badgers still walked away with a 25-19 third-set victory to sweep the evening.
“We were mostly trying, at the pin positions, to go line a lot,” Miller said. “We noticed their block was more in the middle of the net, and we had the line completely open. Once their defense adjusted, we started to play around with different shots.”
The senior finished her final game against the Huskies in volleyball with 11 kills on 43 swings along with 18 digs and three aces. Smetana led the way with 14 kills and six digs with one block and one ace. Senior opposite hitter Emma Rickelman also added six kills.
The offense was led by Rish and senior Ava Chua who recorded 28 and 10 assists, respectively.
Defensively, the Badgers were led by junior Maddie Bower and senior Delana Kellogg, with 12 and nine, respectively.
“The six seniors on this team are really close, on and off the court,” Miller said. “Coming in, we knew that it was our last game against the Huskies, and it’s sad. It made us want to win it more.
“We grew up playing Cardinal, and it’s a really big thing because we are so close — Middlefield and Burton. It’s a really big rivalry, and it means a lot to us to win this game.”
The Huskies fell to 6-1 on the season, but picked up a convincing win two days later against the visiting Mogadore Wildcats in a 3-0 sweep. They are in good hands with four starters returning in key positions, and still have a strong chance of making another strong run in the postseason, where they finished last year as regional runners-up.
