STOW: Saying goodbye is difficult. Emotions flow when high school seniors play their final game.
A sudden end in a playoff game brings a jarring realization that the season is over and the team is done. It’s especially tough when the players have grown up together.
So it was understandable when seven Field seniors shed tears after losing in the Division II regional semifinal to defending state champion Lake Catholic in three games 20-8, 25-22, 25-20 Thursday night at Stow-Munroe Falls High School.
This was the end of two terrific, back-to-back seasons for the Falcons (19-8), reaching the regional semifinals both years.
“Our kids are homegrown; we get what we get,” said fourth-year Falcons coach Brenda Ward. “The first game, we struggled with the serve/receive and we couldn’t get ourselves out of it. I made an adjustment in back and we were in it the next two sets. Our defense was horrendous in the first game.”
The Falcons were down 8-0 in the first game, but came back strong in the back-and-forth game that featured nine ties. Emily Mortimer stepped up her presence up front, as senior middle hitter and junior Aubrey Polasky had numerous spikes.
Mortimer admitted playing the talented Cougars was a daunting task.
“We wanted to compete with them. We knew if we played our game, it could go either way. We wanted to come in and play hard,” Mortimer said. “The first game, we had not settled in yet. We played better once we settled in.
“It is a big game coming to regionals. We are a smaller school, and when you make a good showing like [we] did, it is the greatest feeling in the world.”
Mortimer, who wants to become an emergency doctor, led the Falcons with 13 kills, along with a block and two digs.
Senior Jayme Mosley had 13 assists, three digs, six points and an ace. Another senior, Alyssa Coleman, had 14 digs, two points and an ace, and junior Courtney Brake had eight digs, two kills and two points.
Ward said the first game was a case of nerves playing the powerhouse Cougars (20-8), who are part of the premier North Coast League. Lake Catholic won the title last year and was second in 2009. Fellow NCL team Parma Padua defeated the Cougars in 2009 and was the Division II state champion in 2008.
Walsh Jesuit and Cleveland Heights Beaumont joined the NCL this year. Walsh Jesuit will play in Division I Saturday at Hudson, and the Cougars will play Beaumont at 2 p.m. Saturday for the Division II regional championship at Stow. The Blue Streaks (17-9) beat Canfield (24-2) 25-18, 25-12, 25-15.
“Lake Catholic has a great program and are the defending state champions,” Ward said. “For us to come on and hang with them in sets two and three was very commendable for the girls to do.”
Cougars coach Rich Severino, whose team will try to beat Beaumont for the fourth time this year Saturday, said the strength of his team revolves around Abby Detering and Bridget Wilhelm.
“When the two are on, we are impossible to beat,” Severino said.
Two front-line players are intimidating. Detering led the team in kills with eight and assists with 10, and Wilhelm had seven kills. The two stars had two blocks each.
“We want to win so we can get back to state,” Wilhelm said.
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