The Morning Journal (Lorain, OH)
Young Cards return to D-III district final
Brookside beats conference foe Black River, advances to face No. 1 seed Independence
For the second straight season, the Brookside volleyball team is headed to a district final.
The sixth-seeded Cardinals won a hard-fought road match over fourth-seeded Black River in four sets, 25-15, 18-25, 25-21, 25-20, in a Division III Northeast District semifinal on Oct. 28.
Brookside improves to 17-5 and will take on top-seeded Independence for the second straight season in the district final on Oct. 31.
“It feels great and it’s funny that we are playing Independence again,” Brookside junior Leah Musall said. “It’s great. Last year we were a different team and this year, we are a way different team. It feels good to actually make it again.”
The young Cardinals had their hands full against a scrappy Black River team. Brookside pulled away to take the first set, 25-15, before the Pirates bounced back to take the second set, 25-18.
Brookside trailed, 13-5, early in the second set before rallying to pull within five at 23-18. The Pirates stood their ground and closed out the second set to tie the match at 1-1.
The third set was a battle. Black River held a three-point lead early on at 10-7. The Pirates had momentum on their side but Brookside kept its composure and responded by taking seven out of the next eight points. The Cardinals didn’t surrender their lead the rest of the set and took control of the match with a third set win, giving them a 2-1 lead.
“We just continue to play our game. They battle every point and find a way to get it done. It’s such a fun team to be around.” — Brookside coach Jenn Larrick
Both teams traded leads early on in the final set before Brookside flexed its muscles. The Cardinals took a 10-9 lead and never looked back, winning the fourth set, 25-20, to take the match and punch their ticket to the district final.
“We had a whole game plan going into tonight and every time I think that we are growing, because we’re such a young team, they remind me that the more information (there is), they can’t handle it,” Brookside coach Jenn Larrick said with a laugh. “We just continue to play our game. They battle every point and find a way to get it done. It’s such a fun team to be around.”
Brookside and Black River are familiar with each other as both teams are members of the Lorain County League. The win signified the Cardinals’ third triumph over the Pirates this season.
“We knew it was going to be difficult,” Musall
said. “Black River always has something to come out with but we were prepared and we worked on all of our
fundamentals. We played strong today.”
Musall was impressed with her team’s resilience, especially at times throughout the match when things weren’t going their way.
“This team this year, we’ve been very good (with) keeping our heads up,” Musall said. “We know that we are young and we’re going to make mistakes but we just have to keep pushing forward.”
Brookside has one senior on the team in Ava Miller.
Musall led the way for the Cardinals with 17 assists, 13 kills, 1 ace and 20 digs on the night. Junior Jenna Rothman was another top performer, racking up 11 kills, 4 blocks, 1 ace and 4 digs.