The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Freshmen step up for Gilmour
Lancers to play in fifthplace match at Mentor’s NEO Power tournament
Gilmour enjoyed the most successful day of the area teams at Mentor’s NEO Power tournament on Sept. 23.
The Lancers defeated host Mentor, ranked No. 14 in Division I, and Walsh Jesuit to advance to a fifth-place match against Massillon Jackson on Sept. 24.
Seniors Ella Grbac and Katie Forsythe performed to their usual standard for Coach Danny Coughlin. But Coughlin also credited the play of freshmen in the Lancers’ victories.
At times, Gilmour played with four freshmen on the court.
Caroline Rarick and Brinn MacLellan, already established on the front line, played at middle blocker. Emmy Klika stepped in at libero, and Ava Nestor filled in at setter for Megan Brzozowski. Victories at a showcase filled with elite competition are important.
But to the future prospects of the team, how the four freshmen performed bodes well.
“It means a lot more to me in the sense that at some points today, we had four freshmen out on the court,” Coughlin said. “That means a lot going forward with our future beyond this season.”
Gilmour opened with a slow start against Walsh Jesuit in its first match. The Warriors bolted to a 13-3 lead and won the first game, 25-19. The Lancers rallied to win game two, 25-21, and took the match with another 25-21 victory in set three.
“That first game against Walsh was really out of sorts,” Coughlin said. “But going into sets two and three, they kind of started to get in their rhythm, get in their flow.”
Part of the slow start was the play of Coughlin’s upperclassmen, who sent a few too many shots out of bounds or into the net during the first game.
During the match against Walsh, Coughlin personally challenged Forsythe, Grbac and Kenzie O’Connor to clean up their play.
“It can’t be done from
those three,” Coughlin said. “If we’re going to have that much youth out on the court, these experienced kids got to play like experienced kids.”
No. 5 Gilmour dropped its second match to Mason, ranked No. 6 in D-I, to set up a match against Mentor.
The Cardinals remained within arm’s reach of the Lancers until the late stages of the match. Gilmour pulled away for a 25-19 win. Mentor rallied when the Lancers reached set point, 24-17, in game two before Gilmour put the match away, 25-21.
Coughlin anticipates a quality match against Jackson on Sept. 24.
“It’s going to be wellcoached kids that play 100 percent on every single play,” Coughlin said. “We’re going to have to match that, so I look forward to it.”
Lake Catholic tested
Lake Catholic volleyball coach Rich Severino knows for the Cougars to find postseason success, they’ll have to figure out how to compete against bigger teams.
At Mentor’s NEO Power tournament on Sept. 23, Division II No. 7 Lake Catholic received plenty of exposure to teams with height on the front row. The Cougars defeated Holy Name before they dropped matches to St. Joseph Academy and Massillon Jackson, as each team’s size advantage provided an edge.
To boot, Lake Catholic’s top offensive player, Ila Angermeier, battled a cold as the Cougars played three consecutive matches on Sept. 23.
After the Cougars defeated the Green Wave, 25-14, 25-23, they took the Jaguars to three sets. St. Joseph, ranked No. 10 in D-I, boasted six players of at least 6-feet on its roster, and outlasted Lake Catholic in three sets.
“I loved the effort against St. Joseph Academy,” Severino said. “That was great. If Ila’s healthy, who knows when we get in a third game with them.”
Between a grueling match and sick players, the Cougars were ragged by their third match against Jackson. The No. 17-ranked Polar Bears beat the Cougars, 25-17, 25-16.
Lake Catholic next plays No. 14 Mentor in a seventhplace match at 11:30 a.m. on Sept. 24. The Cardinals’ sizable frontline, led by Alexis Falzone and Ashleigh Barton, will again challenge the Cougars.
Mentor seeks improvement
Mentor’s NEO Power tournament showcased some of the state’s top competition on Sept. 23.
Likewise, Coach Stephen Scherlacher looked for the host Cardinals to measure themselves against their visitors.
After two losses in three matches on Sept. 23, Mentor’s performance left much to be desired from its coach.
“I think we underperformed,” Scherlacher said. “I think we know what problems we had and we weren’t able to fix them today. Our best players didn’t play well enough.”
The Cardinals won their first match in two sets against Andrews Osborne, 25-9, 25-12. Their second matchup in pool play pitted Mentor, ranked No. 14 in Division I, against D-I No. 1 Cincinnati Ursuline.
The undefeated Lions opened a 19-10 lead in game one before Mentor rallied to pull within a point, 21-20. After an Ursuline timeout, the Lions scored four unanswered points to close out a 25-20 set win.
The Cardinals hung with the Lions early in game two as Ursuline led, 12-10. As Mentor mistakes compounded, the Lions cruised to a 25-15 victory and a 2-0 match win.
The match against D-II No. 5-ranked Gilmour followed suit. The Cardinals trailed 20-18 before the Lancers capped a 25-19 set one win. Mentor rallied on match point with a 24-17 deficit, but couldn’t make up enough ground in a 25-21 Gilmour win in set two.
Scherlacher looks for his team to improve in pressure-packed situations, especially against the caliber of teams which could potentially await the Cardinals at the regional level.
But when bad sets or passes lead to poor shots and extra points for opponents, chances to win decrease.
“There’s a multiplying effect we’re doing in all of our skills,” Scherlacher said. “That happens when you play really good teams, Ursuline and Gilmour are better than anyone we played this year with the exception of Strongsville.”
AOA develops
Andrews Osborne’s volleyball team lost one match last season. The Phoenix competed in Lake Effect Conference play, and then a program unsanctioned by the OHSAA, a schedule that offered minimal challenge.
As the school vies to rejoin the state athletic association, Andrews Osborne also hopes its programs will continue to develop. Such growth entails the Phoenix measuring themselves against superior competition.
At Mentor’s NEO Power Tournament on Sept. 23, Andrews Osborne shared the court with some of the state’s best teams. So, although the Phoenix lost their three matches, Coach Rich Walton was not discouraged by his team’s performance.
“After our first two matches the girls were not embarrassed,” Walton said. “They were very proud and I thought they did a great job.”
Andrews Osborne opened with a match against Cincinnati Ursuline. The Lions entered the day undefeated at 12-0 and a legitimate claim to state superiority as Division I’s No. 1-ranked team in the most recent state coaches poll. Ursuline defeated the Phoenix, 2-0, with 25-7 wins in each game.
Host Mentor was the next opponent for Phoenix. The No. 14-ranked Cardinals beat Andrews Osborne, 25-9, 25-12.
Andrews Osborne ended its day against Walsh Jesuit and fell, 25-11, 25-11. Although the Phoenix didn’t win on Sept. 23, Walton thought his team improved with each game and saw firsthand the state’s elite volleyball programs.