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Senior Taylor Pensyl, sophomore Cortnee Bowser and junior Alli Cudworth (left to right) helped lead Kent Roosevelt's volleyball squad to a 3-1 win over Youngstown Boardman on Wednesday night at Stow-Munroe Falls HS.
STOW, Ohio – There are 12 schools on the Stow Division I District volleyball bracket. Eight of the 12 are legit Division I schools, while the other four are smaller with fewer students.
Well, after Wednesday's sectional matches at Stow-Munroe Falls High School, six schools still are standing and the little guys are assured of having a team in the district finals.
That’s because Kent Roosevelt (19-5) and Walsh Jesuit (16-7) both are sectional champions and they’ll meet in a district semifinal on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at 5:30 p.m.
“They’ve got some nice height. They’ve got a couple of girls – a middle (6-foot-3 sophomore Cortnee Bowser) and an outside (5-foot-11 junior Alli Cudworth) – that are very, very talented,” said Walsh coach Missy Sturm when asked about Roosevelt. “We’re going to have to definitely step it up.”
After splitting a lackluster first two games against Youngstown Boardman, the Portage Trail Conference Metro champion Rough Riders came to life in Games 3 and 4 and closed out the Spartans in impressive fashion, 25-10 and 25-12.
“They don’t get stressed about it,” fourth-year Kent coach Kasey Adelman said. “If one goes bad, they’ll just let it go bad. They pick up and play on. They don’t harp or focus on the bad.”
Trailing 1-0 in Game 3, Roosevelt senior Taylor Pensyl ignited the Riders when she served 13 straight points. It seemed to relax Adelman’s team and Boardman could not get the momentum reversed.
“The girls are not surprised by it when it starts rolling,” said Adelman, who teaches AP calculus.
Suddenly the whole Kent Roosevelt team was in rhythm and the Spartans were helpless to stop it.
Cudworth, who last week pounded 48 kills in 5-game win over Crestwood, had 22 kills, four blocks and four aces against Boardman. Her jump-serve ace was the final point of the match.
Bowser, having dominated Game 5 against Aurora on Monday night, registered 13 blocks, eight kills and six digs.
Adelman credits assistant coach Ryan Monda for helping to “change the culture of volleyball at Roosevelt.”
The 13th-ranked Warriors are new to Division I and had no problem dispatching Austintown Fitch, 25-6, 25-17, 25-12. Walsh jumped out 9-1 and 17-3 in the first game and put it on cruise control. It afforded Sturm the opportunity to play her entire roster, including four junior varsity call-ups.
“Tonight, I think it’s always a good night when everybody plays well and you can get the bench in,” Sturm said. “Everybody feels like it was a complete team effort. So, I was really happy about that to start out the playoffs.”
Juniors Katie Gaugler and Annie Osterfeld each had six kills. Senior Brittany Zmyslinski served seven aces and sophomore setter Kyra Coundourides had 22 assists.
In the other volleyball sectional matches:
SOUTHEAST DEF. WEST BRANCH, 3-0. At Youngstown, Alana Woodard had 16 kills and nine service points as the Pirates swept West Branch. Southeast advances to play Canfield in a Division II district semifinal on Oct. 24 at 6 p.m. at Boardman HS.
LUTHERAN WEST 3, BLACK RIVER 0. At Elyria, Megan May had 16 kills and 15 service points in a losing effort for the Pirates.
HATHAWAY BROWN 3, WOODRIDGE 2. At Mayfield Village, Hathaway rallied from a 2-0 deficit to end the Bulldogs' season with a 16-14 victory in Game 5.
REVERE 3, WARRENSVILLE HTS. 0. At Mayfield, No. 1 seed Revere is into the district semifinals with an easy 25-6, 25-8, 25-5 win.