By Roger Gordon

Correspondent

Aurora cruised to a 25-10, 25-9, 25-11 triumph Oct. 9 at home over Suburban League American Conference foe Barberton.

The win not only came by ease — the bench was cleared — it was crucial too, for it upped the Greenmen’s conference record to 12-2, securing a tie with Highland for the conference championship and giving them a final overall regular-season mark of 17-5. On top of that, it was Youth Night.

“It went far beyond just playing one single match against an opponent,” head coach Katie Cicione said. “ It was an awesome night as our community came together to celebrate the future of Aurora volleyball and the accomplishment of putting another number up on our banner.”

Pacing Aurora were sophomore setter Kaylie Liepins and freshman right-side hitter Gigi Goedert. Liepins dished out 28 assists and had three digs, two kills and five aces, the latter which helped her set a school record for aces in a season with 65, while Goedert numbered nine kills and a serve receive.

“With how Kaylie approaches serving, it’s pretty admirable. She’s extremely aggressive, which causes a lot of issues for opponents,” said Cicione. “Gigi is super versatile. No matter if you put her on the outside or the right side, she’s super successful. She did just that during that match.”

MOGADORE

Mogadore looked like a true “team” Oct. 9 in a 26-24, 25-22, 25-24 victory at home over Garfield.

The Wildcats finished the regular season with a 16-6 record.

“We were playing really together,” head coach Jessica Butler said.

Leading the way were juniors Kaitlyn Clester, an outside hitter, and Gracie Shull, the libero. Clester had 13 kills, nine assists, seven digs, two serve receives and a block, while Shull notched 19 serve receives, 15 digs, four aces and an assist.

“Kaitlyn was definitely putting the ball way on the outside, so she did a nice job hitting,” said Butler. “Gracie really helped out in the back row to keep the ball alive and help produce those hits on the outside.”

Two other big contributors were sophomores Emma Butler, a setter, and Jessica Holler, a middle hitter. Butler dished out 17 assists and had eight digs, five kills, two aces and two serve receives, and Holler totaled four blocks and three kills.

“Emma did everything she could to get the ball in her hands,” said the coach. “Jessica had a great blocking match. She helped out greatly in the middle.”

GARFIELD

Ali Roach did not exactly come out and say her Garfield team lost its Oct. 9 match at Mogadore because their roster was not at full strength, but it is entirely possible that was the case — and certainly true that it had an impact — in the G-Men’s 26-24, 25-22, 25-14 defeat.

“My girls played really strong,” said Roach. “It was a very close, back-and-forth battle the first two sets. Those sets definitely could’ve gone either way.”

Pacing Garfield were sophomores Lola Lake, an outside hitter, and Tenley Korosec, a setter/right-side hitter. Lake had 10 kills, two blocks, two digs, two serve receives and an ace, while Korosec totaled 11 digs, seven assists, four aces and three kills.

“Lola had the opportunity to start at middle blocker, the same position as Mandy,” Roach said. “She took charge of the front row when she had that opportunity, which was really helpful to us to stay in the match. Tenley is currently leading our team in aces. She had a run that helped our team stay close in the first two sets.”

Cardinal was back two nights later, on Oct. 11, in a road match “at” Crestwood that was actually played in Hiram College’s Price Gymnasium; it was the annual Volley for the Cure day in which funds were raised for a five-year-old Garrettsville boy who is fighting cancer.

Was it a coincidence that Garfield won 25-19, 25-18, 25-12 to finish with a 17-5 regular-season record?

Not likely.

Cardinal hung up 15 kills, four blocks, a dig and a serve receive.

“It was nice to have Mandy back on the court in a skill role and a leadership role,” said the coach of her standout, who had been out with an ankle injury. “She’s the tallest player on our team and she’s very smart. If the opponent is taking away her hits, she’ll find a hole to tip the ball in. She’s very good at reading the court. She also brings a presence to our team that just gets us energetic.”

Senior defensive specialist Lily Shay notched 18 serve returns, an assist and 21 digs, the latter which helped her top the 1,000-dig mark for her career.

“Lily didn’t even want a celebration on the court because she just wanted to keep playing as a team. Period,” said Roach. “That’s the kind of player she is. She’s very selfless and a great team captain.”

KENT ROOSEVELT

It was close, but even on Senior Night on Oct. 8, host Kent Roosevelt couldn’t quite rally past Suburban League American Conference rival Tallmadge. The Rough Riders fell 25-21, 25-22, 25-19.

Kent Roosevelt finished the regular season with a 6-14 overall record and a 4-10 conference mark.

“For a while there, it was point for point,” head coach Jen Chlad said. “Tallmadge is a great team. Both teams played super competitively. We just came up short.”

Leading the way were senior outside hitter/defensive specialists Camryn McLaughlin, who had 17 digs and seven kills, and Lainey Schuck, who totaled 16 digs and five kills.

“Camryn led us in offense as well as defense,” said Chlad. “She’s definitely one of our strongest players. She’s been one of the leaders who has kept our team together all season.

Lainey has been an asset in the back row defensively.”

WINDHAM

Windham put up a gallant fight Oct. 15 at Northeastern Conference rival Bloomfield, but the Cardinals were just too much in a 25-13, 22-25, 25-15, 25-18 defeat that dropped the Bombers final overall record to 4-18 and final conference mark to 4-14.

“We struggled keeping things together, including communicating with one another. They were just off their game,” head coach Lauryn Gintert said.

Sophomore middle hitter Makenna Jones played well in defeat with six kills and five blocks.

“Makenna did a really good job in the front row. She played hard,” said Gintert. “This is her first year playing, and she’s improved all season.”

CRESTWOOD

All season long, Crestwood has dug itself a deep hole for itself.

A perfect example was the Red Devils’ 25-16, 25-7, 25-20 loss Oct. 9 at Chagrin Valley Conference rival Burton Berkshire that gave them a final 2-8 record in the CVC.

“We’ve made some great plays, but then turned around and made a couple of mistakes here and there,” head coach Wanda Hoffman said. “That ends up making us lose the momentum and putting us in a trying-to-catch-up mindset.

“We knew Berkshire was pretty tough. They have quite a few seniors who have been playing on varsity for four years. It was their Senior Night, so everybody was pumped up, hyped up and excited for the match. But my girls didn’t do bad. We’d always like to do a little bit better, but that’s kind of how our season has been.”

Three players who did well despite the defeat were junior outside hitter Abby Hayes,

junior all-around Jackie Blasiole and senior defensive specialist Audrey Julian. Hayes had six kills, six digs, six serve receives and a block, while Julian totaled 18 serve receives and a pair of digs.

“Abby has been swinging pretty well for us,” said Hoffman. “Jackie is always working really hard defensively in the back row, digging up a lot of balls, and Audrey has been getting a lot of good passes up.”

Two days later in the regular-season finale on Oct. 11, it was the same story as Crestwood fell 25-19, 25-18, 25-12 to Garfield in a “home” game that was actually played in Hiram

College’s Price Gymnasium; it was the annual Volley for the Cure day in which funds were raised for a five-year-old boy from Garrettsville who is fighting cancer.

The Red Devils finished 5-17 in the regular season.

“That was a fun day for our whole program,” said the coach. “The girls played really well, hustled and did a lot of nice things the first two sets. I think they kind of got the wind taken out of their sail in the third set.”

Senior middle hitter/middle blocker Katrina Richards had a good match even in defeat with three blocks and an assist.

“Katrina has been doing a really nice job for us,” Hoffman said.