By Roger Gordon

Correspondent

Rootstown head coach Dana Tingler has been dealing with several injuries to her players of late, forcing her to shuffle around her lineup.

“I’ve had some players playing positions they don’t typically play,” she said.

The Rovers were still able to come out on top 25-16, 25-11, 25-14 Sept. 18 at home over Wickliffe.

“I felt we did really well under the circumstances,” Tingler said.

Leading the way were seniors Kylie Shelly, a setter, and Colbie Curall, a middle hitter.

Shelly had 10 assists, eight service points, two aces and a dig, while Curall notched eight kills, five service points, an ace, a dig and a block.

“Kylie handled things really well,” said Tingler. “She’s my veteran setter, so she’s the one we typically go to when we need a good set. She’s dependable when it comes to serving, too.

“Colbie does really well at the net. She’s usually our go-to when we need a side-out, we need a point. She usually makes pretty much anything happen up there anytime that ball is given to her.”

The injury bug finally caught up to Rootstown on Sept. 22 in an 18-25, 25-21, 25-14, 25-15 loss at home to Lake Center Christian. The Rovers fell to 8-7.

“We came out with high energy,” said the coach, “but then we just slowly … our energy dropped.”

Pacing the home team were senior libero Addie Biggin and freshman outside hitter Ella Hayn. Biggin had 16 digs, two service points and two assists, while Hayn hung up nine digs, seven kills, seven service points and five aces.

“Addie is the one we rely on in the back row,” Tingler said. “She helps all the other back- row players, does a really good job of being able to talk to and communicate with all of them.

“Ella has stepped up for us a lot as a freshman.”

GARFIELD

Garfield finished runner-up Sept. 20 in a tournament at Burton Berkshire.

In the process, the G-Men earned their first win over the Badgers on their home court in almost a decade by a 25-23, 27-29, 25-21 score.

“That was a really big win for us. The girls were so excited,” head coach Ali Roach said.

Senior setter Reese Shirkey had 15 service points, 13 assists, seven digs and three kills.

“Reese was really strategic in her serve,” said Roach. “She was serving deep and then pulling them in, and then she’d serve short ones, so she was very good at getting their defense off.”

Senior middle Mandy Cardinal had 15 kills, five blocks, three service points, two digs, an ace and an assist, while sophomore setter Tenley Korosec dished out 19 assists and totaled 14 digs, seven service points, three aces and two kills.

Garfield opened the day with a 25-20, 25-9 triumph over Conneaut.

Said the coach, “We came out playing aggressive, for the entire weekend really, utilizing our offense with strong hitters.”

Cardinal led the way with a dozen kills, four service points, three blocks, two digs and an ace, while Shirkey hung up 16 assists, 10 service points, four digs, two aces and a kill.

“Mandy found every hole on the court, she was being aggressive when we needed that and she’d throw the other team off with a tip in an open gap,” said Roach. “She was really good at reading the other team.”

The G-Men lost their last match of the day 25-16, 25-23 to tourney champion Edgewood.

“We had a three-hour gap before we played that match, so we started really slow in set one,” Roach said. “We battled back for set two. I feel, if it had gone to a third set, it would’ve been a really close one also. Edgewood has a really good outside hitter.”

Senior libero Lily Shay had seven digs, two assists and two service points.

“Lily had a fantastic weekend,” the coach said. “She had big digs in multiple games that kept us in them, and she brought the energy to our side of the court, especially against Berkshire. Overall for the weekend, we played well defensively.”

Three days later, on Sept. 23, Garfield cruised to a 25-14, 25-11, 25-16 triumph at home over Southeast.

A day later, on Sept. 24, the G-Men defeated Lake Center Christian at home 25-16, 25-18, 23-25, 22-25, 15-2 to improve to 10-4.

In the win over the Pirates Cardinal had 29 kills, including nine in the deciding set.

Shirkey totaled 27 assists and five kills, Korosec tallied 22 assists and four aces, Shay had 25 digs and sophomore middle hitter Lola Lake hung up 15 kills.

In the win over the Tigers Cardinal had 11 kills, Lake had 10 kills and junior outside hitter Charlee Hill totaled nine kills. Shay notched 14 digs.

MOGADORE

Mogadore upped its record to 11-5 with a solid 25-17, 25-19, 25-13 victory Sept. 23 at home over Warren John F. Kennedy Catholic.

“The last time we played John F. Kennedy earlier in the season, we went to five sets,” head coach Jessica Butler said. “This time, we just were tough behind the line. John F. Kennedy didn’t play as well as they did the last time.”

Junior outside hitter/setter Kaitlyn Clester had 11 kills, nine assists, seven service points, three aces, two blocks and two digs; sophomore setter Emma Butler had 15 assists, nine service points, eight digs, seven kills and five aces; and junior libero Gracie Shull totaled 10 service points, nine digs and three aces.

“Kaitlyn did a great job. She had some really good hits from the middle,” said Butler. “Emma played really good defense and was very good at serving in this match. Gracie did really well, picked up a lot of tough balls. She did a great job with serve receive and with ball control. She had tough serves, too.” 

FIELD

Field head coach Stacie Kucalaba has been experimenting with different lineups, especially in the middle, and it worked Sept. 22 in a 25-19, 23-25, 25-17, 25-21 triumph at home over Crestwood.

“It was pretty successful,” she said, adding that senior blocker setter Morgan Stoicoiu is quite valuable even though she had never played in the middle before.

“She’s getting blocks, she’s still scoring from the middle position. She’s very adaptable obviously.”

Senior libero Caleigh Docherty tallied 22 serve receives and two aces.

“Caleigh is very consistent in serving. She did a good job,” said Kucalaba. “She helps lead the team, too.”

The next day, on Sept. 23, the Falcons fell at home to Norton 25-14, 25-18, 25-13 to slip to 9-6.

“Norton is leading the Metro (Athletic Conference),” the coach said. “They have really good hitters, and we just aren’t there yet.”

KENT ROOSEVELT

Kent Roosevelt head coach Jen Chlad was well aware that Cuyahoga Falls always plays the Rough Riders tough, but she didn’t expect the Black Tigers to play as well as they did Sept.

23 in a 25-23, 25-20, 25-23 Roosevelt win. The Rough Riders upped their record to 5-9.

“I’m not surprised we swept Cuyahoga Falls,” she said, “but I was surprised they were that close. They played great.”

Pacing Kent Roosevelt were seniors Camryn McGlaughlin, an outside hitter, and Layla Call, the libero.

“Camryn was a big strength along with Layla,” said Chlad.

Helping McGlaughlin up front were senior right-side hitter Adriana Chlad and junior middle hitter Natalie St. John, both of whom hung up three solo blocks.

“Both did an incredible job at the net blocking,” said the coach.

Five days earlier, on Sept. 18, Kent Roosevelt lost at Revere 25-19, 25-17, 25-19.

“We didn’t play Revere as strong as we did the first time we played them,” Chlad said, “but we’ve had some players not feeling well who struggled that night.”

McGlaughlin tallied 10 digs and six kills, while sophomore middle blocker Emma Johnson had four big blocks, two of which were solo stuffs.

“We struggled blocking overall, though, which is usually our biggest strength,” said the coach, “so it was hard to get our offense going because we weren’t able to pick up very many balls in our backcourt and get an offense started.”

CRESTWOOD

It has been a rough season for Crestwood, which slipped to 4-12 in losing 25-19, 23-25,

25-17, 25-17 Sept. 22 at Field and 25-9, 25-6, 25-22 Sept. 23 at home to Burton Berkshire.

A slow start hampered the Red Devils against the Falcons.

“Sometimes that happens with us,” head coach Wanda Hoffman said. “We were having trouble getting Berkshire’s middle shut down. We made some really good plays, but we’re still too inconsistent to play at a higher level.”

Despite the defeat, junior outside hitters Jackie Blasiole and Abby Hayes showed some spunk. Blasiole had 27 digs, 10 kills and eight service points, while Hayes notched five kills.

“Jackie had a phenomenal defensive game,” said Hoffman. “She was really stopping a lot of balls from hitting the floor when she was in the back row and on the left front.

“Abby played well offensively with those kills and a lot of digs.”

Defensive specialist Piper Seibold, another junior, rang up a dozen service points.

Against the Badgers, Hoffman’s squad simply ran into a buzz saw.

“Berkshire is No. 1 in the (Chagrin Valley) Conference,” she said. “They have a lot of seniors, they have a team that’s been playing together for quite some time.”

Senior middle blocker Katrina Richards played well in defeat.

“Katrina got a lot of touches on the ball with blocking,” said the coach, “but it was hard to get them stopped.”

WINDHAM

Windham put up a good fight in losing 25-15, 24-26, 25-20, 25-23 Sept. 23 at home to Southington Chalker. The Bombers dropped to 3-13.

“This game was a real battle for the girls,” head coach Lauryn Gintert said. “Every set was so tight and, although we didn’t come out with the win, they showed immense improvement from the first time we faced Chalker this season.”

Kyleigh Simpson had 13 service points, eight assists and five aces, while sophomore Makenna Jones notched nine kills and two blocks.

“Kyleigh has become our leading server this year, and it’s great to have her to count on from the back line. She has a wicked serve and great consistency,” said Gintert. “Makenna had a standout performance. This is her first year playing, and she’s really growing every game into a great middle player.”

Five days earlier, on Sept. 18, Windham started slowly but had a strong finish in falling 25-11, 25-17, 26-24 at home to Fairport Harbor Harding.

“The kids are still trying to work through not giving up when things get challenging,” said the coach. “We tend to have rough patches during games and let it get the better of us rather

than persevere. We started the Harding match off with this being a big issue, but we got better

working through it throughout the first two sets and came very close to winning the last set.”

Junior left-side hitter Makenzi Blockinger led the way with six kills and three aces, while

sophomore setter Kierrah Sanders continues to be a force game in and game out.

“Makenzie was very strong on the court,” Gintert said. “Kierrah is always willing to do what it takes and always puts 100 percent in no matter what.”