The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Kirtland volleyball team sweeps in semifinal
The Hornets put down Rootstown in a Division III district semifinal. They advance to face CVC rival Cardinal with a regional berth on the line.
The No. 3 seeded Kirtland Hornets girls’ volleyball team conquered a hurdle from last season as it swept the No. 8 seeded Rootstown Rovers, 3-0, in a Division III district semifinal Oct. 28.
Kirtland won, 25-5, 2516 and 25-19. The Hornets advance to face CVC rival and No. 2 seed Cardinal on the road in a district final on Oct. 31.
The Hornets (16-6, 8-1) were facing a familiar feeling entering the contest. They fell short of the district finals last season after falling to Beachwood. There was a sense of urgency from the team to not repeat last year.
“We really wanted to win because l ast year was such a tough loss for us against Beachwood. We really wanted to win but we couldn’t pull through so now we can this year we’re just excited to see how much further we can go,” said Kirtland team captain Stella DeJohn.
The Hornets showed they meant business upon the opening serve. Sophomore libero Ava Golem led the way as Kirtland scored 15 straight points on her serves to take a commanding lead in the first set. Golem led all scorers with 21 points.
“She’s a hell of a player,” said Kirtland Head Coach Arlayna Newcomer. “She does everything we ask her to do and she does it with a good attitude.”
The Rovers (13-9, 7-5) were fighting an uphill battle the entire way. Rovers coach Brandon Thewes could sense the match was slipping away and called an early timeout to refocus the team.
“We have a motto in our gym ‘ Just do your job’,” said Thewes. “They knew they weren’t executing to the best of their ability. They knew it wasn’t going their way. We needed to calm our side. We know this game is all about mistakes. So if we minimize our mistakes, we have a better shot at being in contention later in the match.”
It wasn’t until the third set when Rootstown found its footing. Despite falling behind early the Rovers battled back to go on a 12-6 run to tie the score at 13 apiece. It was the first time the entire match that the Rovers weren’t trailing. Kirtland didn’t panic and closed the final set on a 12-6 stretch.
“I have a ton of confidence in my girls,” said Newcomer. “They know what we needed to do. We had a bit of a lapse but once we regained our composure we went out there and got the job done.”
Kirtland now prepares to face a familiar foe in Cardinal in a district final.
“We’ll be playing Cardinal for a third time. It’ll be kind of like a tiebreaker because we lost one to them and won one against them.
“It’s good that we play Cardinal because we beat them at their home last time we played them so it’ll be exciting,” said Golem.