Canfield advances; Fitch ousted in 3

October 17, 2014 at 12:06a.m.

STOW

Despite a school-record winning streak (23), Canfield High School volleyball coach Maria Householder understands why her Cardinals were seeded sixth in the Division I district tournament at Stow-Munroe Falls High School.

“I was not real happy with that, but they play better competition up here, I know that,” Householder said. “I was hoping for four — maybe five — but I was a little disappointed in six.”

By defeating third-seeded Kent Roosevelt on Thursday in three games, Householder’s Cardinals, in a way, gave their first-year head coach her wish. The sectional final victory (by scores of 25-20, 25-21 and 25-20) lifts Canfield into the district semifinals.

Canfield (23-1) will take on top-seeded Walsh Jesuit (15-12) at 7 p.m. Tuesday for a berth in the district final. Walsh Jesuit advanced by defeating Austintown Fitch by scores of 25-13, 26-24 and 25-18.

“It’s a whole different ballgame, Division I,” said Householder, noting that when Canfield advanced to regional final three years ago, it was in Division II. “But we’re handling it.”

Last year, Walsh Jesuit ousted Canfield in the tournament opener.

“I hope Canfield beats them,” Fitch head coach Steve Mohr said. “It would be great for the area to have a team going to the [Divison I] district final. We haven’t had a team do it for a long time. Canfield plays better defense.”

Canfield-Kent

“We did expect to get [seeded] a little higher,” said Canfield senior Krista Kollat, who made eight kills.

Did Householder use the seeding as motive to inspire her team?

“Oh, absolutely,” Householder said. “I came back and said, ‘They don’t think much of you up there, so we need to go in there and show them what we’re about.’ ”

After a five-game victory over stubborn Stow-Munroe Falls on Tuesday, the Cards were in control from the start with a balanced attack against the Rough Riders.

Sophomore Maddy Johns made 13 kills while junior Emma Hartshorn scored six points and made nine kills. Senior Darby Hepola made five blocks and senior Janie Rafoth had 36 assists.

“That’s how we’ve played all year,” Householder said. We’re so strong all around. That makes up for lack of height.”

Kollat said the struggle against Stow “helped because it showed we could bring it for five games and still come out with the win.

“We showed we could keep pushing no matter what.”

In the third game, the score was tied at 20 when Canfield earned a side-out. On the next four serves, Hartshorn and junior Morgan Leonard each made two kills to seal the victory.

“It was really important to show that with those last five points, we were consistent, we were strong and we could finish it out,” senior Rachel Rafoth said.

Householder said the struggle against Stow paid off.

“It was an eye-opener that these teams aren’t going to roll over just because we have a record of [23-1],” Householder said. “We had a lot of nerves. We have a lot of young players, so we had five sets to get those nerves out.

“Today, we were able to come here like ‘we’ve been here, we’ve done that.’ Nerves were gone tonight.”

Walsh Jesuit-Fitch

In the second game against the Warriors, the Falcons (10-14) threw a scare. With the Falcons trailing 23-19, they got the serve and senior captain Katarina Lewis scored four points for a 24-23 lead.

“It’s always great to try and come back after a loss,” junior Sarah Obradovich said. “You always work your hardest and put your heart out on the court. We just pushed and gave them a tough game.”

The Warriors tied the game and scored the next two points to set up the sweep.

“We were starting to make blocks,” Mohr said of the run. “We had good coverage on their hits. At the end, mental mistakes killed us as they did all season.

“We let a ball fall in on a serve and then a couple of hits out,” Mohr said. “It’s the story of our season — coming ever so close and never capitalizing.”

Obradovich led the Falcons with seven kills and 17 digs. Lewis made 13 assists while senior Andrea Fitzgerald made three blocks. Sophomore Keara Katchers had 15 digs and scored seven points.

Lewis expects a close game between the Cards and Warriors.

“I think Canfield can compete,” Lewis said. "Canfield has a great team.

“They were cheering for us,” Lewis said of Canfield. “We don’t like each other when we’re playing each other, so [for them] to step up and cheer for us was pretty nice.”