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Cards top Girard, eye second district title
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Canfield’s Anastasia Cook (6) and Jacqueline Cook (4) converge on the ball during a volleyball game Thursday against Girard at Canfield High School. The Cardinals downed the Indians, 3-1.
Cards top Girard, eye second district title
By Brandon Judeh
canfield
Falling short of a state tournament berth last year left a bitter taste in the mouths of the Canfield High volleyball team and has them feeling hungry.
The Cardinals showed their teeth Thursday as they devoured Girard 3-1.
“Our goal is a district championship and I think that if we keep working and improving we will get there,” said co-captain Sabrina Mangapora.
Mangapora, who many consider to be one of the best volleyball players in the state, led the way for Canfield (1-2) with 20 kills and four digs. She also came up huge in the clutch.
Down 14-8 in the fourth match and clinging to a 2-1 lead, Canfield coach John Tokash called a timeout to refocus his team.
“Coach told us we needed to get the ball back, relax and start playing our game,” said Mangapora. “We were all tense and feeling the pressure.”
Canfield responded by outscoring the Indians 17-7 to take the final match 25-21 and pick up its first victory.
“We have one of the top-notch players in the state in Mangapora and the idea is to give her the best possible set, and we did that tonight,” said Tokash.
Despite having two girls out with injuries, the Cardinals survived a close, back-and-forth first match.
After a timeout with the score knotted at 21, Mangapora finished off two big rallies with powerful spikes. Canfield prevailed 25-21.
The second match was a carbon copy of the first, with both teams exchanging points and intense rallies. Girard pulled away 25-21 thanks to good play by Bobbi Jo Tuttle and Hailey Noufer.
Momentum changed drastically in the third match as senior co-captain Nicola Luklan helped Canfield jump out to a 9-4 lead. In all, Luklan had 10 kills and an ace.
A quick timeout by the Indians helped them get back into the match, but Canfield was too much in the end and cruised to a 25-19 win.
After losing seven girls to graduation, Tokash knew he would have a young team on his hands that would need time to develop.
“We lost our first two games to Hubbard and Boardman, which are both good teams and the margin of error was minimal,” said Tokash. “We lost a lot of girls coming into this season, but ever since the first day of practice Sabrina has emerged as the leader.”
Mangapora takes pride in becoming the leader of this young team.
“Having a young team is different, but it is something I am excited about and I know we can reach our goals,” she said.
Also chipping in for the Cardinals were sophomore Janie Rafoth with 16 assists, sophomore Rachael Rafoth with 13 digs and freshman Emma Hartshorm had 13 assists.