The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
NDCL varies offense, sweeps Lake Catholic
Lions will face Coventry with berth in Division II state final four on line
STOW » Have you ever seen a batter come to the plate against a f lame-throwing pitcher only to be sent back to the dugout after a steady diet of curveballs and changeups?
If so, then you know what it was like to be the Lake Catholic volleyball team on Nov. 5.
Oh, the Lions brought the heaters, all right. The hard spikes were there. But the tips, well-placed hits, the precise serving — THAT is what Lake Catholic couldn’t handle.
It all spelled out a 25-19, 2522, 25-22 NDCL win, the third time this season the Lions beat the Cougars.
NDCL 3, LAKE CATHOLIC 0
Next, the Lions face Coventry at 2 p.m. on Nov. 7. The winner advances to the state final four.
“I think NDCL is known for banging the ball, banging the ball and banging the ball,” said NDCL coach Tom Ray. “We tried to mix it up. We tired to move the ball around and run different offensive plays and attack different areas of the court with different tempos.” It worked.
The blend of power and finesse — not to mention the attack coming from countless different players — gave Lake Catholic fits.
And it ended the Cougars’ season.
“They have huge guns over there. They can really pound the ball,” said Lake coach Rob Cline. “Tonight, they didn’t have to.
“They can do power anytime they want. What I saw tonight was a lot of finesse shots, rolls, good shot s and well-pla ced balls. And we didn’t have the effort to keep the ball in play.”
The pivotal first set featured eight ties and four lead changes. A Lauren Janosy ace serve and a Eva Wheeler block gave the Lions the early and important momentum win.
“We made the analogy tonight — be the gnat,” Ray said. “That gnat that is in your ear the whole time and then all of a sudden gets stuck in your eyes. That’s really what we were trying to do tonight.”
Lake (13-8) went relatively quietly in the second set. Janosy served up an ace and Caroline Jurevicius hammered two kills to open a quick 7-2 lead. Lake never led in the second set, and at one point gave up five straight points on unforced errors before a Missy Sterkel ace and a Hanna Bissler kill closed it out, 25-13.
“Too many errors,” Cline said. “You can make seven a
game against a good team. I’m sure we made more than that.”
To its credit, Lake came out on fire in the third and took a fast 7-2 lead thanks in large part to some big hits from Norah Vargo. Wheeler served up four in a row, though, capped by a Bissler kill, that gave NDCL a 22-20 lead that it didn’t lose.
Lake didn’t answer this time.
“I think I used every club in the bag,” Cline said of lineup changes he made. “We couldn’t find a group to put in the time and effort to getting the ball up. We let a million balls hit (the floor).”
Vargo’s 13 kills led Lake. Hannah Pattie and Caitlin McCrone combined for 31 assists, but Cline pointed to his team’s digs. Pattie and Emma Briganti had eight each to lead the team.
“Digs — that’ll tell the story there,” Cline said. “We didn’t have anybody in double digits. When the ball drops on the floor, they give the ball to the other team. That got us tonight.”
Bissler (10), Sterkel (8) and Janosy (5) led NDCL’s hit parade. Wheeler had 29 digs, while Sterkel (6), Janosy (6) and Wheeler (4) put up a defensive wall with blocks.
“We preach being consistent,” Ray said. “Worry about our side and our side only. If we do that, I feel we are one of the best teams in the state.”