The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
New core prepared to lead Cougars
Katy Yopko ran Lake Catholic’s offense for four years and racked up 2,142 assists in the process of helping the Cougars advance to the state final four three times. Taylor Resetar’s name is next to Yopko’s on a banner commemorating the 2016 season, when the Cougars went 27-1. Ainslie McLaughlin was the focal point of Lake Catholic’s offense the past two seasons.
Those prominent faces of the program graduated in 2020, leaving voids in leadership and production. Junior outside hitters Jessica Wilson and Norah Vargo are primed to step up in each regard.
Wilson ranked second on the team with 2.5 kills per set as a sophomore, a season capped by a 26-kill performance in the Cougars’ five-set loss to NDCL in the Jefferson District final. Vargo averaged 2.3 kills per set and notched a team-high 48 aces.
The junior outsides’ production will be counted on by coach Rob Cline, and their teammates look to them for leadership. Lessons learned from playing alongside Yopko, Resetar and McLaughlin helped Vargo and Wilson prepare for additional responsibility.
“I learned that you always have to work hard,” Vargo said. “You always have to go 100 percent if you want to win and you just have to be a really good leader — be loud and not be afraid to tell people what to do.”
McLaughlin, a 6-foot-2 middle, anchored the offense the past two years. She averaged 3.3 kills and 0.8 blocks per set as a senior. Vargo and Wilson will be able to account for some of the scoring lost from her graduation. Blocking will need to be a team effort. Cameron Gabele, a 5-foot-10 senior who played 38 sets last year, 6-foot senior Mackenzie Kerestman
and 5-foot-11 junior Kyra Walnsch are the three middles vying for time in Cline’s rotation.
“We don’t have a 6-foot-2 kid in the middle,” Cline said. “That’s going to change quite a bit. Blocking, we’ve got to block a lot better, we’ve got to do a lot more team concept blocking and defense. I think our ballhandling, our passing, defense, setting, that’s still pretty good.”
In the back row, sophomore Emma Briganti returns at libero. She earned a starting role as a freshman
and led the team with 3.9 digs per set. Next to her, senior Kailyn Krahe adds a steady presence as a defensive specialist.
While players like Yopko, the program’s all-time leading passer, are irreplaceable, the Cougars are excited about freshman Hannah Pattie. A 5-foot-6 setter, she’s already demonstrated captain-level leadership throughout practices and scrimmages. The presence of Caitlin McCrone, a 5-foot11 junior, affords the Cline enough flexibility to run a 6-2 offense.
Next to Pattie, the Cougars also expect contributions this season from freshmen outsides Mia Schaefer and Katie Sowko.
Wilson and Vargo will become the focal points for Lake Catholic, although Cline expects the Cougars to be more balanced than in years past. From Vargo, who swings hard and is excellent at the service line, Cline looks for improved consistency. Wilson moves to the outside after hitting on the right side last year and Cline expects her to benefit from increased hitting
opportunities.
The Cougars begin the season motivated by last year’s end. Lake Catholic’s run of three straight state appearances was halted in a loss to rival NDCL at Jefferson, after the Cougars won the teams’ two regular-season meetings.
“Any NDCL game is definitely competitive,” Wilson said. “Now, I feel like after losing that game, I have that competitive mindset on every match that I play — even scrimmages and practice, just very competitive. I think my team is doing the same.”