STOW: The Walsh Jesuit volleyball team faced a little adversity Tuesday night in its Division I district semifinal match at Stow High School.
Kent Roosevelt challenged Walsh and held a two-sets-to-one lead heading into the fourth set.
Warriors coach Missy Sturm gathered her players and gave them some advice as they faced elimination from the tournament.
Sturm’s pep talk worked as No. 2 seed Walsh won the fourth set 25-7 and the fifth set 15-5 to advance to play host and No. 1 seed Stow in a district final on Thursday at 6 p.m.
“I told them to relax and take care of the ball,” Sturm said. “We were making a lot of unforced errors. We were missing a lot of serves and hitting the ball out of bounds at crucial times. Our passing wasn’t as crisp as it should have been, so I was reminding them to play at the level that we have been playing at all season long.”
The Warriors responded. Senior captains Courtney Grdina, Emma Klein, Michelle Simpson and Brittany Zmyslinski spearheaded the comeback with help from their friends.
Roosevelt (19-5) won the first set 25-21 and the third set 25-20. Walsh (17-7) claimed the second set 25-18.
Junior Mary Grace Kelly led the Warriors in kills (18) and digs (14).
“We really picked up our energy in the fourth set, which was important,” Kelly said.
Both teams put together several impressive bump, set and spike combinations.
Grdina and Zmyslinski each had 12 digs, and Zmyslinski added 10 kills.
Sophomore Kyra Coundourides displayed her athleticism on the court and contributed 54 assists.
“We are really focused,” Klein said. “We are used to playing really tough teams. We just had to rally and come together as a team.”
Sophomore Carla Kanieski (two blocks) and junior Annie Osterfeld (four service aces) were also key in the Warriors’ attack.
Roosevelt rallied from deficits in both sets it won, but was unable to in the final two sets.
“I am just super proud of my girls and the way they played tonight,” Rough Riders coach Kasey Adelman said. “We took two games. We were the underdog and took them to five games. That is a huge accomplishment for our team. Walsh is a great team.”
Junior Alli Cudworth had 15 kills and five service aces for Roosevelt, and sophomore Cortnee Bowser contributed 10 service points and nine blocks.
Senior Taylor Pensyl (14 digs) and sophomore Mylane Bella-Smuts (21 assists) also played well for the Rough Riders.
Stow eliminates Hudson
Stow defeated Hudson for the third time this season in Tuesday’s nightcap to advance to its fourth consecutive district final. The Bulldogs have won three district titles in a row.
“We just came in confident,” Stow senior Lexi Stefanov said. “We had played them twice and we knew they were going to come out here with a nothing-to-lose attitude. We knew we had to come out with fire, play fast, play hard and be really loud. We are really excited to beat them for a third time.”
The Bulldogs (20-4) defeated the Explorers (13-11) 25-22, 25-15 and 25-22.
Stefanov (16 kills) and junior Megan Garrison (15 kills) led Stow at the net.
“We had a lot of good blocking and our hitting was pretty good,” Garrison said. “We didn’t hit many out, which really helped.”
Stow senior Kelly Vitt totaled 37 assists and 11 digs. Senior Erin Mundorf (four aces), junior Allyson Iwanski (12 digs), junior Kelsie Hengle and sophomore Sydney Trathen were also vital players.
“This is a game of mistakes and whoever makes more mistakes will end up losing,” Vitt said.
Stow coach Miguel Ramirez said he was concerned about playing Hudson for a third time, but his team minimized its mistakes and finished consistently at the net.
Hudson juniors Allison Zullo and Amanda Bedell each had 11 kills.
Other Explorers statistical leaders were senior Emma Bock (18 digs), junior Erin Dunlap (16 assists) and freshman Jordan Mackay (three blocks).
“I think Stow has a little more experience than our girls do,” Hudson first-year coach Jessica Pompei said. “We are a young team. I know that we are looking forward to a good offseason.”
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