Rockets sweep young Panthers team

Elyria Catholic has gone through some growing pains this season.

Those continued on Sept. 26 as they were swept by the Bay Rockets, 3-0, in a Great Lakes Conference matchup at the Elyria Catholic Coliseum.

Panthers coach Barb Schuckman had high praise for the Rockets, who have turned some heads in the GLC this season.

“Bay is just a very good team. They hit well, they pass well, they do everything well. There are not

not a lot of holes in their game,” Schuckman said.

That is what many coaches said about Elyria Catholic last season. But after losing six seniors, Schuckman is trying to figure out how her team can make up for that lost talent.

“I think here at almost the end of the season, they are still trying to find their way. It’s like you said, I can’t bring in six people that have varsity experience. That’s not an excuse, it’s just the facts,” Shuckman said.

It is the opposite end of the spectrum for the upstart Rockets (9-6, 5-2 GLC), who were glad to finally get a victory against Elyria Catholic.

“Absolutely, we have kind of struggled against them in the past, so it’s good to come out and get the win. Not only get the win, but we did a lot of things right tonight. I felt like we moved well on defense and we haven’t been doing that lately, so that was really big for us,” Rockets coach Katie McCarthy said.

The experienced Rockets quickly jumped on top of the young Panthers (512, 2-6 GLC) in the first set, 5-2, behind a dynamic duo of junior Lauren McClure and senior Jessica Rychel. The pair tallied the early points and played off each other all night, helping fuel the Rockets’ offense.

“It all starts with our passers. They always do a really great job. Lauren always gives me really great opportunities to kill it and so I always feel like it’s my job once I get a good pass,” Rychel said.

She finished with 14 kills, including seven in the first set, while McClure tallied 31 assists.

Bay broke away midway through the first set, eventually winning it, 25-17.

It was more of the same in the second set as McClure continued to feed her teammates with a flurry of beautiful sets that resulted in kills, including a few from Maggie McAndrews, who tallied nine kills for the Rockets.

McCarthy felt that her middle players stood out in the victory.

“My two middles, Jessica Rychel and Maggie McAndrews both do a really good job. We feed them the ball a lot and they are just really confident with each other and they do well together,” McCarthy said.

The Panthers made miscue after miscue, looking flustered as the Rockets surged ahead, 16-6.

The frustrating second set, which they eventually dropped, 25-10, summed up just how young the Panthers are.

Schuckman knew sets like these might come with the growing pains.

“It’s a rebuilding year. It’s a learning curve. It has been much different and I think we all knew that going in,” Schuckman said.

Facing their eighth sweep of the season, Elyria Catholic showed a gutsy effort in the third set, led by senior Meghan Allegretto. The outside hitter added a few kills in the third, but it was her and the Panthers’ effort that helped take it all the way down to the wire, eventually coming up short, 25-22.

“I just try to keep the energy on the court and encourage everybody no matter what happens. Losing is not great,” Allegretto said.

Coach Schuckman was not surprised by Allegretto’s resilience down the stretch.

“Meghan, she constantly hustles. She has a big heart and she wants to win. She has a big drive and she is a very competitive person,” Schuckman said.

Allegretto finished with six kills, while Grace Schuckman led the Panthers with seven kills. Jordyn Kuchta contributed nicely with 21 assists, three aces and nine digs.

While Schuckman tries to rebuild, the Rockets’ McCarthy is happy to see her girls thriving and hopes they can carry their success through the GLC and beyond.

“I love it. I just want them to go out and win and play hard every day. They have been doing a great job in practice and it’s just great to see that show in the games,” McCarthy said.