It’s been since 2017 that the Berkshire Badgers have hosted a volleyball conference championship banner in their gymnasium.
Match photos click here.
It’s been since 2017 that the Berkshire Badgers have hosted a volleyball conference championship banner in their gymnasium.
During the offseason, Head Coach Joni Prots began her 19th season and was set to begin on a redemption mission.
The Badgers began their 2023-24 season with a 3-1 win over Solon, then dropped a four-set match to the Jefferson Falcons. Prots’ team also faced off against a scrappy Eastlake North team that recently picked up a five-set win against Chardon on Sept. 12.
A loaded non-conference schedule would prepare the Badgers for their tough matchups against their conference opponents.
First up? A test against the Kirtland Hornets, who are on a four-year streak of winning the Valley Division. The Hornets are looking to rebrand their team after Head Coach Arlayna Newcomer and seniors Natalie Glowe and Ava Golem all moved on after last season.
The Hornets served first in this contest and scored the first points of the game with a kill out of the middle from Keely Young. Sophomore Marissa Rish answered for the Badgers with a cross-court kill of her own.
A strong serving performance from the Hornets forced the Badgers to call a timeout early in set one, as they trailed 6-2. During that run, senior outside hitter Nina Loncar recorded three aces. The 5-0 run ended after junior middle blocker Kirsten Shaffer caught the defense sleeping for the Hornets. But here came the Badgers behind senior opposite hitter Maddie Smetana.
Strung together behind an 8-1 run, Smetana picked up three kills behind her flat, left-handed attack. She came into the match leading her team with 4.2 kills per set, hitting .333% on the season. It came as no surprise that the comeback would be on the shoulders of her.
Back and forth the two teams went before Kirtland called its first timeout, after another 3-0 run from the Badgers late in the first set. The Hornets trailed 14-11 when sophomore Jill Smetana and Shaffer recorded a timely block. Berkshire led by as many as five points late in the first set.
In his first season as head coach, Ricky Sanders’ group came into the match fearless, ready to go to work. Behind the group was a small but rowdy student section that proved crucial down the stretch. The Hornets cut the lead to one, then Prots called for an immediate timeout.
“We typically don’t get the biggest student section, and to have them here, and come out to Berkshire, was a big help,” Loncar said. “They fed into our energy, and they even got into the other team’s heads, which ultimately was a huge help.”
With experience and poise, the Badgers were three points away from taking the opening set. Up 22-19, it was Sanders’ turn to ask for a timeout and slow down the offense of the Badgers.
Behind some untimely service and hitting errors, the Hornets squeaked out a first-set victory, 25-23; the set was out of reach for junior Hannah Hutchinson.
Kirtland had a strong run to start the second set. The Hornets were led by outside hitter Loncar and middle blockers Young and Kristiana Katic, but were also anchored down by the work of libero Nina Alfieri and freshman Bri Golem.
After back-to-back unforced errors by the Badgers, Coach Prots called her first timeout of the second set to help regroup her team and find a rhythm to get back into.
Kirtland took a 2-0 lead heading into the third set after a 25-21 second set victory. It felt like the Hornets would leave the Badgers’ den in a sweep. The Badgers would record 10 unforced errors in the second set alone.
“You don’t give yourself a chance to beat a team like Kirtland with those numbers,” Prots said after the contest. “Not taking away from Kirtland’s execution of their plan, but we did not help ourselves with that many mistakes.”
An unusual second set from the Badgers did not have them rattled, though. After Berkshire jumped out to an 11-4 lead, it was the Hornets who would need to talk things over in a timeout. Maddie began to heat up, recording over five kills in the set. When the lead was cut to one, 12-11, Coach Prots again found herself discussing the importance of taking care of the volleyball on her team’s side of the net.
After another recorded block from Jill and Shaffer, the unforced error bug struck the Hornets, and the Badgers would win set three, 26-24.
In convincing fashion, the Hornets took set four, though, 25-17, and after jumping out to an 11-7 lead in the fourth set, won the match 3-1. Loncar ended the night with a solo block at the net, then turned around to celebrate with her teammates.
“We went into the match knowing the fire power that Berkshire opposes,” Sanders said. “We just focused on Maddie and tried to not let her go off.
“We stayed the course. I told our players that we’re never get out of the game unless we focused on the task at hand: try to keep them out of system and make them one-dimensional, then we’ll work our way back into the set. Speed up the offense and stay disciplined on defense was our game plan.”
Leading the way for the Hornets was Loncar, who had 13 kills on the night. She also added a team-high three aces to go along with eight digs. Katic added eight kills, while Keely Young and Katie Reynolds each added five.
Reynolds dished out 15 assists and three blocks, while teammate Alexis Schaffer recorded 12 assists. Alfieri and Golem led their team with 16 digs each, Sofia Wojnar added 15 digs, and Loncar added eight.
“Taking that match was very exciting, especially going into a hostile environment, not knowing what to expect,” Sanders said.
“I think this is really going to set off a really great conference play,” Reynolds said. “Berkshire is going to be our hardest competition in the conference, and beating them, knowing that we are at the top of the conference, is a really big boost. I really think if we continue to play how we did tonight, we should be CVC Champs in October.”
The Badgers were led by Maddie, who recorded a game-high 19 kills on 41 swings. She would hit .317% in the evening, and pick up 18 digs, too. Her younger sister, Jill, added 11 kills, recorded one solo block, and assisted on three others. Rish and Shaffer added seven and six kills, respectively. Kate Miller was a force to be reckoned with, recording five aces. Miller also recorded 18 digs, while senior Sammie Winter added 13. Rish led the way with 19 assists, while Winters dished out 12.
“Our game plan was to come in with positive attitudes, putting in 110 percent and watching for certain players. We wanted to make sure that we were covering line and tips,” Winters said. “Our serving was really working well for us in set three. We didn’t make as many errors as we did in the other sets.”
“We were really aggressive at the service line in set three,” Miller said, “and that definitely showed because in sets one, two and four, we were not aggressive.”
