Canfield’s season concludes with district final loss
Canfield's season concludes with district final loss
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COPLEY TOWNSHIP -- The Canfield volleyball team had been red hot over the last month.
The Cardinals won eight straight games entering Wednesday's Division IV district championship. But that streak came to an end, as the Cardinals lost 3-0 to Elyria Catholic at Copley High School.
The loss brought a conclusion to a season that featured a 22-3 record by the Cardinals and an All-American Conference title.
"There's nothing to hang our heads on. We're proud of everything that we've done," Canfield head coach Krista Nesbitt said. "We didn't play our best volleyball tonight. They outplayed us, and that's OK. It doesn't take away from the season we had and the girls that we have in (the locker room), and I'm proud of them and everything that they've done this year."
Canfield consistently found itself in deep holes, and it's a spot teams don't want to be in against a tournament-tested Elyria Catholic program.
Elyria Catholic’s serves created some problems for the Cardinals. Canfield was running around to track the ball during the first set. The Panthers used that advantage to take a 12-7 lead, and that was plenty of room to work with, as the Panthers took the opening frame 25-12.
"We needed to clean things up, and unfortunately, we just didn't get the job done tonight," Nesbitt said. "Again, I'm really proud of everything the girls have done this year."
Elyria Catholic went ahead 5-1 to start the second set. The Panthers kept applying pressure and extended their lead to 18-6. And eventually, the Panthers took a 2-0 lead in the match after winning the second set 25-9.
The third set began much like the previous two.
Canfield had trouble generating any momentum, and the Panthers rushed out to an 11-4 lead. The Cardinals were able to string some points together, cutting the deficit to 14-11.
But the Eagles quickly retook control to put the match away. Nine of the final 11 points went Elyria Catholic’s way, and the Panthers won the third set 25-15.
"We always played behind," Nesbitt said. "We were never really able to get in rhythm on our end, keep things in system and run our offense like we had hoped to. (Elyria Catholic's) a great team, though, as well."
The Cardinals will have a sizable number of players coming back next year as they look to make a fourth straight district championship appearance. Among the returners is standout hitter Paige Roberts, who was a junior this fall.
However, there were five seniors on the roster that helped lead the Cardinals to their recent postseason success. The seniors were Ashtyn Hanousek, Vivian Biro, Payton Shina, Ava Mazzella and Makayla Brown.
"They really brought the competitiveness," Nesbitt said. "A lot of these girls have been playing since they were freshmen on varsity. They've grown a ton as players and people, and they always brought that competitive energy to the court. I'm gonna really miss watching them play."