Seeking more perfection
After going unbeaten in regular season, East Ridge tries to extend run in playoffs
CLERMONT — While they hope bigger accomplishments are still in front of them, veteran East Ridge volleyball coach Mayra Cuebas and her players are soaking up their unbeaten regular season as the playoffs unfold this week.
The Knights completed a rare perfect regular season with a 21-0 record after beating Tavares on Senior Night last week. East Ridge improved to 22-0 with a Class 8A, District 5 quarterfinal win Monday and will be at home for district semifinal play tonight. The Knights host East River at 7:30. Friday’s 7 p.m. district final vs. either second seed Windermere High or Lake Howell will also be played in Clermont.
Senior outside hitter and co-captain Nicole Workman said the Knights started talking about the winning streak around the sixth match of the season. Instead of letting perfection weigh them down, the Knights decided to meet the challenge head on.
“We kind of just embraced it. It encouraged us to keep pushing and work harder,” Workman said. “It’s an amazing experience. It’s really been great for us.”
With nearly all of her team coming back from last year’s 23-3 district tournament championship squad, Cuebas, now in her eighth season as head coach, felt good about the Knights’ prospects for 2018. Expectations were high and have continued to build as a senior-laden team looks to make a deeper playoff run that it did a year ago and become just the third squad in program history to post a regional victory.
East Ridge’s 2017 season ended with a 3-2 loss to Harmony in the first round of region play.
“We want to pass that region game, and surpass what we did last year. That was our goal,” Cuebas said. “So expectations … state? Yeah, we talk about state. But we take it game by game.
“We knew that the record would be close to last year, but we didn’t expect to have an undefeated season.”
More than that, Cuebas said she hopes her players have taken the time to appreciate what they’ve accomplished – the first unbeaten regular school history.
“I want them to enjoy this high school sports experience,” Cuebas said.
The Knights’ success has been driven by a roster Cuebas said is the most wellrounded group she’s had at East Ridge.
Leading the way is her daughter, junior setter Naomi Cabello. The University of Texas commit, who plays club ball for Top Select Volleyball Academy in Maitland, was an AAU AllAmerican pick for the Top Select 17 Open team this past summer. Cuebas said Cabello is cementing her place in East Ridge history, like Stephanie Samedy, now a sophomore standout at the University of Minnesota, did before her.
“Having a player like Naomi, having a player like Stephanie, they set an example. They set the bar high,” Cuebas said. “I think those names are going to be [remembered] at East Ridge for the history of the school.”
The 6-foot-1 Cabello, with her extensive club experience, also can be a calming presence when emotions start to run high during a match, said Cuebas.
“She can stabilize the team,” Cuebas said. “If we’re really up, she stays even. If we’re really down, she stays even. She’s capable of managing her emotions really well during the game and she transfers that well to the girls.
“The girls look up to her because of her club experience. They look to her to make a play. They look to her for leadership.”
Cabello leads East Ridge in kills, set assists and service aces, and is third in digs and blocks.
“Personally I like the competition in general, playing for something, playing for somebody, like for my team,” said Cabello, the team’s other co-captain. “I just love the environment and playing a sport that is so competitive. There is nothing boring about it.”
Aside from Cabello, the Knights feature five other players with at least 60 kills: seniors Amanda Morton (108), Kyanna Pacheco (88), Workman (64) and Lateisha Edwards (61), and junior Skyler Ralstin (101). Senior Bethany Cudnick handles the setting duties when Cabello rotates into a hitting season in position.
While the Knights’ 21-0 record certainly stands out, a closer look reveals something perhaps more impressive.
In achieving those 21 victories, East Ridge had to play 62 sets — and they lost just three of those. In fact, the Knights won 45 consecutive sets — covering 16 matches — before losing one.
The match winning streak nearly ended in late September during a road match with Windermere, which is the second seed for this week’s 8A-5 tournament. After winning the first two sets, the Knights struggled to close the door as the Wolverines captured the third and fourth sets. Pushed to a fifth set for the only time this season, East Ridge responded by winning the finale 15-10.
In typical Knights fashion, it was a well-rounded effort. Cabello recorded 19 kills, 18 digs and 25 set assists in the victory. Ralstin finished with 13 kills, while Workman had 12. Sophomore Taylor Sinopoli had 26 digs and Cudnik delivered 28 assists.
And what followed that intense victory may prove to be invaluable during the postseason: more focus.
“I feel like after that game we sort of changed as a team in a good way,” said Cabello. “We started playing harder in practice and motivating each other more.”
Of course, the opponents get tougher from here. The Knights spent most of their perfect regular season rated outside the top 10 in 8A by MaxPreps. If they can defend their district title and then reach a region semifinal as one of the final 16 teams in the class they would be cast as a heavy underdog against nationally-ranked Hagerty.
But they would be an undefeated underdog — and proud of it.