Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Ridge earns date with top-seeded Mooney
Salem
Confidence can be the ultimate equalizer — just ask the Mineral Ridge High School volleyball team.
The fourth-seeded Rams upset two-time defending district champion South Range on Monday in a Division III district semifinal to set up a date with top-seeded Cardinal Mooney. The Cardinals made quick work of Crestview in the other semifinal at Salem High School.
Mineral Ridge effectively utilized its controlled chaos approach to rattle the Raiders.
“This is awesome,” Rams senior Peyton Allen said. “Last year was such a terrible loss, because we were winning.
“To beat them now is just awesome.”
The Rams dug themselves out of a opening game hole to storm past the Raiders, 17-25, 25-20, 28-26, 25-16.
The Rams’ reward is a determined Cardinal Mooney team that’s had its eyes on a district championship since the start of the season.
While the Cardinals might have been expecting a rematch with South Range, the task won’t be any easier with the Rams on Wednesday.
“Listen, it’s district or bust,” Mooney coach Tony Gorvet said. “Last year, we took the silver medal home here. It wasn’t a good feeling for the girls, it stuck in their minds, and for those seniors, this is what they’re working for.”
The district final is Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Salem High School.
RAMS ROAR PAST RAIDERS
Mineral Ridge coach Clair Ferrando does as much jumping and screaming from the bench as her players do on the court.
So after her Rams finished off South Range in a pivotal third game, 28-26, to go ahead two games to one, it should be no surprise Ferrando’s leg went flying in the air as she gave an emphatic fist pump.
“I was thinking toward the end of that game, we need this, we need the momentum” she said. “If we win this game, we’re going to have the momentum to take us into the fourth game and we did.
“That was huge for us.”
From there, they had the defending champions right where they wanted them — on the ropes. Mineral Ridge finished off South Range in the fourth set with a flurry of crushing blows.
Allen had 20 kills and 22 digs, while fellow senior Breanna Miner led all players with 38 assists and added seven digs for the Rams.
Shaking off the tough first game was all they needed.
“I think it was the nerves,” Allen said. “We just needed to get through that first game and shake everything off just to clear our heads.
“Once we finally came back, let it go, we just went with the flow.”
While South Range had its chances, they couldn’t string together enough points to crack Mineral Ridge’s confidence. After the game, Rachell Storm-Baker’s message to her team was simple.
“Just reminding them that every single team, unless they win state, ends their season on a loss,” she said.
“So yes we lost tonight, but don’t let this be what they remember from the whole season and focus on the things they did accomplish.”
MOONEY ON A MISSION
Last year’s district final loss was “devastating” for Cardinal Mooney senior Gina Patella.
She said it took a while for her and the rest of the Cardinals to get over South Range “demolishing” them in three sets. While they won’t get a chance at redemption on Wednesday, they’ve still got a chance at the ultimate prize.
The Cardinals handled Crestview, 25-19, 25-8, 25-11.
“We’re more than a team — we’re basically a family,” senior Mckenzie Reese said. “And I think it shows on the court a lot that we’re not selfish players.”
Against the Rebels, the Cardinals got 13 kills and 11 digs from Reese, 37 assists and eight digs from Patella and seven kills, five digs, two blocks and two aces from Nichole Webber.
“We have a lot of weapons,” Gorvet said. “Where some teams just have one or two people to go to, we can go to just about anybody.”
As for leadership, he looks toward his three captains: Patella, Reese and Webber.
“They’re our leaders, they’re there all the time for us,” Gorvet said. “Last year, we had no seniors and we lacked a little bit of leadership on the floor.
“They’ve matured a lot and you can tell they’re seniors.”
Wednesday’s championship will provide a different sort of test for Mooney. Can they use their scrappiness to overcome Mineral Ridge’s chaos?
“We know that no one’s going to give us an easy game,” Reese said.