The Cardinal Huskies’ volleyball team has not allowed themselves to get complacent in the wake of finishing a historic season last year. The Huskies continued their undefeated start by sweeping Garfield 25-22, 26-24, 25-22 last Saturday afternoon at Middlefield.
“We talked early in the second set when we were down 5-0 that we were not going to give a game away,” said Cardinal Coach Michael Chaffee. “We have kids that are really athletic and care about the sport and each other and are not satisfied.”
It marks the Huskies’ (3-0, 1-0) first victory against Garfield since the 2020 campaign. Prior to Saturday’s game, the G-Men (0-2, 0-1) had reigned supreme against Cardinal, having won the last three contests, but the Huskies finally returned the favor with a resilient attitude that carried them to victory.
On Saturday, after winning the first set 25-22 and withstanding a late Garfield rally, the Huskies got off to a slow start in the second set, falling behind 7-0. The G-Men’s offense was more cohesive and remained in control despite many rally attemps by Cardinal. After the Huskies trimmed Garfield’s lead t0 16-14, the G-Men unleashed a 6-1 scoring spree to take a 22-15 advantage and were on the verge of evening up the match at 1-1.
With senior outside hitter Ali Puruczky serving, the Huskies stormed back into the set fueled by a 6-0 run, cutting the G-Men’s advantage to 22-21.
Garfield scored two of the next three points to hold a 24-22 edge but the Huskies continued chipping away, as junior outside hitter Natalie Soltis delivered two consecutive kills to knot the set at 24-24.
Cardinal took its first lead of the second set when the G-Men committed an unforced error, giving them a 25-24 advantage and the Huskies clinched a stunning comeback when the G-Men once again committed an unforced error, as a kill attempt sailed out of bounds, sealing the 26-24 victory for Cardinal.
“We really just kept our heads high,” said Puruczky, who finished the match by recording 12 kills. “We didn’t give up at all. It was very hard for us, but we just had to dig deep and stay insider of ourselves and in control.
According to G-Men Coach Ali Roach, Cardinal’s stunning comeback in the second set marked a significant turning point in the match.
“Being up that much and not being able to put it away was very hard,” the seven-year coach acknowledged. “It also shows what kind of team Cardinal was.”
It was another tightly contested affair in the third set, as the teams traded points but the Huskies slowly pulled away in the middle of the set. Ultimately Cardinal carried the momentum of its improbable comeback in the second set to finish the match, using a 7-4 run near the end of the set to win 25-22.
“We knew coming in that this was going to be a battle,” said the Huskies’ second-year coach. “We know them. I knew that they were similar to us and obviously had more size with Mandy Cardinal, but they were similar to us as they were athletic and tend to play a little bit quicker and they don’t step down. We have had two of those this week.”
For the Huskies, it capped off an exciting first week of the season as they look to build off of winning the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division VII district championship last year.
So far, things look promising for Cardinal despite graduating a big senior class and only returning four varsity starters from last year in Puruczky, Soltis, junior setter Olivia Krebs and junior libero Adelyn Grant.
Chaffee said that the Huskies’ banner 2024 season has invigorated the entire program with a new sense of confidence.
“What was good for us was at the end of last year our younger kids did come along and having those extra two weeks of practice gave those kids a view of what it looks like and what that taste of success is,” he added.
After a home match against Northeastern Athletic Conference Stars Division rival Matthews on Tuesday and a road match against NAC Stars Division rival Grand Valley on Thursday, the Huskies will return home to face NAC Stars Division foe Fairport Harding in Middlefield on Sep. 2 at 6:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, following a road match against Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Grey Tier foe Champion on Tuesday, Garfield will host MVAC Grey Tier rival Liberty at the JAG Fieldhouse in Garrettsville on Sep. 2 at 7 p.m.
