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By bus or car, Canfield volleyball keeps cruising
BERLIN CENTER
Because of a busing problem, Canfield’s volleyball team needed an alternative form of transportation Saturday morning, but, otherwise, the Cardinals drove home their dominance with a double win at Western Reserve High School.
Canfield is 17-1 after sweeping a double-dual match against Crestview and Western Reserve.
A busing problem complicated Canfield’s arrival, although, via car, the Cardinals were on time for their match against Western Reserve.
Once in the gym, Canfield built on its winning streak, which stands at 17 straight since losing its season-opener to Salem in the Cuyahoga Falls tri-match on Aug. 16.
Second-year coach Maria Householder said her squad has been full-speed ahead since.
“They haven’t stopped yet. We’ve got such a strong team, overall, and don’t have one standout,” she said of her team’s strength. “Everybody plays really, really well.”
In the opening match, Canfield defeated Western Reserve 25-19 and 25-11; then the Cards beat Crestview 25-15 and 25-13 before the day’s third and final match in which Crestview downed Reserve 25-11 and 25-23.
Beside’s Canfield’s 2-0 day, Crestview’s 1-1 Saturday lifted its record to 10-6, while the home team’s two losses dropped the Blue Devils to a still-impressive 13-3.
Against Reserve, Canfield had a slow start.
“We were down by six or seven points early in the game, but, when they decided it’s time to play, they go hard,” Householder said. “They talk to each other and coach each other on the court. I’ve never seen a team that works so well together.”
In the win over the home team Blue Devils, Canfield junior outside hitter Morgan Leonard had 11 serving points, junior right-side hitter Emma Hartshorn had 12 kills, senior libero Rachel Raforth had 15 digs and senior middle hitter Darby Hepola had four blocks.
Householder said “consistency” made the difference vs. Crestview.
“They [Canfield] don’t ever shut down — no matter what the score — whether we’re losing or whether we’re winning by a lot,” she said.
Sophomore middle hitter Maddy Johns had an outstanding game against the Rebels.
Householder said she’s pretty sure Johns broke a finger on a block during the second play of the day in the match against Reserve.
“She’s tough; it was pretty painful, but it wasn’t her hitting hand,” Householder said. “We taped it up. We’re excited to have her for another couple years.”
For Crestview against Canfield, junior libero Sierra Rance had 17 digs and junior outside hitter Brooke Harper had six kills.
In Crestview’s win over Reserve — a one-time match this season — the Rebels stressed strategy.
“We knew that they had some very strong outside hitters, so we keyed our defense toward them,” Crestview coach Alisha Auer said.
Freshman Mackenzie Daub had the match-deciding point via kill.
“She’s very aggressive on the net and, in a couple games this week, she’s gotten the game-winner on either a block or a kill and today she went up on a tight ball and pressed [pushed the ball down],” Auer said.
Also in the win, Rance had 21 digs and one ace; Harper had two aces, five kills and eight digs and senior middle hitter Lauren Harrold had seven kills and two blocks.
Reserve coach Jennifer Lorenzi said the loss was the result of a (hopefully) soon-to-be resolved problem.
“We’ve struggled a lot in game one and struggled in different aspects, so we’re working to improve that,” Lorenzi said.
Against Canfield, Rachel Maslach had five kills and five digs and Aleah Hughes had six kills and five digs. Against Crestview, Hughes had seven kills, four aces and two digs, while Maslach had seven kills and four digs.
“Canfield and Crestview were two good teams,” Lorenzi said of the quality of opponent that will help her team improve as the post-season approaches.
Reserve had a rough week starting last Monday, when the previously unbeaten Blue Devils lost to Mooney, then beat Lowellville on Tuesday and Columbiana on Thursday before Saturday’s double dip.
“It was a tough stretch, but, hopefully, the girls are resilient enough to bounce back and get better as we segue into the tournament,” she said.