The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Kasper leads Blue Streaks to regional final
Players like Madison Kasper and Kimmy Sweeney are known commodities for Beaumont coach Pat Royer.
Kasper, a singular force capable of winning a match for the Blue Streaks, and Sweeney, the team’s reliable senior setter, together constitute the focus of their team’s offense.
How Beaumont performed when Kasper was rotated off the floor during its Division II regional semifinal match against Triway at Stow on Nov. 2 helped determine the Blue Streaks’ 3-0 victory. Beaumont advances to a regional final on Nov. 4 where a rematch against Lake Catholic awaits.
Triway controlled sequences with Kasper off the floor, but timely plays by Cacey Cook and her teammates halted the Titans’ runs. When Kasper returned to the floor, the Blue Streaks immediately regained control.
Kasper posted 16 kills, freshman Darby Leininger added 11 and senior Cacey Cook posted 10 as some of Royer’s new contributors this season stepped up at opportune moments.
“It’s that freshman mat- uration that you’ve got to have for years to come,” Royer said. “Then you rely on Kimmy and Madison to take the game, to play. It’s nice to see those guys getting healthy and playing a little bit.”
Beaumont opened the match with a 4-0 run. When Kasper was substituted off the floor, Triway appeared to take command with a 8-0 run to go ahead 17-11. A Cook kill out of a timeout brought Kasper back on the floor, and the Blue Streaks proceeded to win the first set, 25-21.
Beaumont led in the second set, 22-12, before Triway closed within three points, 22-19. A Leininger kill stopped the run and Cook put a ball down for a 25-21 win.
When the Titans’ energy waned in the third set, the Blue Streaks took the match, 25-18, as Cook registered match point.
“She is a little smaller, too, but she makes shots,” Royer said. “That’s one of those if the setter isn’t on or getting the ball where she wants it and can put it in, you’re done.”
The Blue Streaks lost to Lake Catholic in the same regional last year, and Lake Catholic beat its fellow North Coast League foe twice during the 2017 regular season.
After a victory against No. 3 Gilmour in the Lyndhurst District final, the Blue Streaks are eager for a rematch with the Cougars.
“We want to show them we’re not the team that was 4-18,” Kasper said. High school football