Storm Overcomes Pesky Sartans
St. Pius Takes Cleveland To 4 Games in Match
By the middle of November, it is possible that both the Cleveland Storm and St. Pius Sartans will have reached the summit of New Mexico prep volleyball.
On Tuesday at St. Pius, the Sartans and Storm had a night, and a gym, to themselves for a one-on-one showcase.
“They’re a very dynamic team,” Cleveland coach Brian Ainsworth said of St. Pius. “They run the ball real fast, and it was good that we had to play some defense and put up some blocks.”
The Sartans — arguably Class 4A’s best team — pushed the Storm — almost certainly 5A’s best right now — to four games Tuesday night, but Cleveland got out of the St. Pius gym with a 25-18, 25-14, 18-25, 25-19 victory.
The Sartans, the 4A state runner-up four consecutive years, proved to be a tough out.
“That third game,” said senior outside hitter Courtney Lawson, “our passing was off and so as a team we were off. But in the fourth game, we were able to run our weapons.”
In Game 4, Cleveland ran off seven straight points for a 7-2 lead. Later, two straight aces from Cassie House gave the Storm a cushion (12-7) it was able to protect until closing the match out on a Lawson kill up the line.
The Sartans, however, were persistent. After dropping the first two games, St. Pius got things going.
“For my team, it’s mostly mental,” St. Pius coach Diana Strickland said. “I told them they needed to turn their mental games around. They had to continue to push and continue to play.”
The Sartans were in control the entire third game. And St. Pius outside hitter Lexi Biondi provided the most unbelievable shot of the match in that game. One of the best shots of the season, too.
From the back row, and with the Sartans leading 23-18, she blasted a kill — from a stationary position — from one back line to another. It fell just inside the line for a crackling winner. St. Pius blocked Cleveland’s House on game point moments later to extend the match.
“There’s a lot of things we need to work on,” Lawson said. “We settle sometimes instead of going hard every time. We need to play every game like it’s the state championship.”
House had 17 kills, Lawson 12 for Cleveland. Briana Ainsworth added 44 assists, and Lindsay Bost had eight digs.
Biondi, one of the state’s best players, had 15 kills and six digs for the Sartans. Lauren Roveto had six kills and seven digs, and Julia Landavazo recorded 10 digs.
“Their outsides were real strong, and they ran a real quick middle,” Ainsworth said. “It kept us off balance. But we were able to pass in the fourth game and to separate us.”
Cleveland (5-2) plays host to Mayfield on Saturday afternoon at 1. St. Pius (5-2) takes on Rio Rancho tonight. The Rams finished as the metro tournament runner-up to the Storm last weekend.
“We knew (Cleveland) was big and that we’d have to play defense,” Strickland said. “This is probably the biggest team we’ve seen. I don’t know if (my team) was nervous or tired, but a lot of times my team loses focus.”