The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Lake Catholic looks for return to Fairborn
Depth will be key for Cougars; three seniors are multi-year starters
Nate Barnes previews the season for area teams, including a look at Lake Catholic’s bid to return to the state tournament, players and matches to watch and a preseason Top of the Crop.
Lake Catholic’s stretch of state tournament appearances remained uninterrupted in 2018 as the Cougars transitioned from Rich Severino to a new head coach in Rob Cline.
If Lake Catholic plans to return to the Nutter Center in 2019, the Cougars’ season will hinge on collective effort. Ashley Browske, the 2018 News-Herald Player of the Year, played a significant role in every face of Lake Catholic’s game last season.
After Browske graduated and departed for Pitt, the Cougars are prepared to demonstrate their depth and versatility. One player may not command Browske’s status, but seniors Taylor Resetar, Katy Yopko and Ainslie McLaughlin are ready to lead with multiple years of starting experience.
“We’re really flexible this year,” Resetar said. “A lot of people can play a lot of different positions and I think that’s really just going to help us in the long run.”
Resetar and McLaughlin enter their third seasons as starters. Yopko’s played a role since her freshman year, when the setter earned time on the floor during Lake Catholic’s 27-1 season in 2016.
McLaughlin, a Cleveland State commit, is primed for an impactful senior year. The Cougars’ middle led the North Coast League in blocks, averaging 1.1 per set, and ranked second to Browske with 2.4 kills per set a year ago. Resetar will assume a larger role in the offense on the outside after she hit .311 with 1.7 kills per set in 2018.
Yopko, who committed to Northern Kentucky before her sophomore year, averaged six assists per set last season.
The Cougars played in scrimmages at Gilmour, alongside seven elite teams, and Independence with a field including defending Division I state champion Holy Name.
“Everyone has perseverance,” McLaughlin said. “We were all going for the ball all the time, which is really important. No one’s giving up and if we make an error, we try to fix it right away.”
Behind Resetar, Yopko and McLaughlin, the Cougars expect to receive contributions from sophomore hitter Jessica Wilson, junior hitter Norah Vargo, junior libero Kailyn Krahe, sophomore middle Kenzie Kerestman, sophomore right side Caitlin McCrone and defensive specialists Maddie Ulrich and Emma Briganti.
Wilson provided a handful of momentum-swinging kills in last year’s Stow Regional final victory over Gilmour. Cline looks forward to Vargo’s contributions after she was hampered by injury last season. Their progression, alongside Kerestman’s impact next to McLaughlin in the middle, could make Lake Catholic a well-rounded offensive team.
“I think everyone needs to improve in their positions,” Yopko said. “We have a lot of people moving around, we have a lot of depth this year. People can play other positions, we don’t have one person scoring all the time. Everyone helps out the team with the scoring, so I think that’s good for us.”
Errors proved Lake Catholic’s undoing in the 2018 state tournament. The Cougars fell to Columbus Bishop Hartley in three sets as their efforts were hampered by 39 errors across their attack, service and serve-receive.
Ball control is a focus for Lake Catholic entering 2019. Cline’s encouraged by what he’s seen so far.
“This team seems like they’re not going to make many errors,” Cline said. “But we’ll see. That’s what cost us the match in Dayton, was the errors. But this group has been pretty consistent in not making a ton of errors, so we’ll see.”