GAME PHOTOS: http://bit.ly/2E0sGGq
It took two days for the Cardinal Huskies to beat rival Berkshire.
After the Sept. 25 game was suspended due to a slippery floor, the game was resumed the next day atw Cardinal Middle School.
“It was like an ice arena,” Berkshire’s Madison Chapman after the game was suspended in the third set. The gymnasium is brand new this school year. It was still unclear if it was an issue with the floor or the humidity outside.
Still, a senior-laden Huskies roster, all three top hitters contributed to the five-set thriller win.
Cardinal jumped out to an early lead in game one, but the Badgers would not go away.
After scoring three straight points for the Huskies, the team took the first set 26-24.
Much like their previous match up, the Badgers came out hot in the second set. Senior Julia Kastor earned an ace for the Badgers that eventually put them up 6-1 early in the second set. Late in the second game, senior Kayla Dingman found the floor for an ace, extending Berkshire’s lead to 20-11. After battling off a few more serves, senior Chapman finished the set with a kill to tie the match at one game a piece, and the Badgers took set two, 25-13.
Chapman finished the game with 14 kills and 14 digs while adding eight service points and six aces on the evening.
“We knew we had to bring energy to win the game,” Chapman said. “We knew energy is what we needed.”
Things would certainly get interesting entering the third set. Cardinal quickly jumped out to a 8-3 lead, with senior Kaylee Klepper getting a couple points off her swing. Leading 15-12, the Huskies would have to wait to beat the Badgers in just one day.
Entering Wednesday, both teams quickly made adjustments to get their focus and attention back to where they left off. The third set went back and forth, but again, the Huskies went on a run late in the third set to win, 25-21.
The last two sets did not disappoint. From thunderous kills, to miraculous saves, neither team would go away. Cardinal jumped out to an early lead, but another big Berkshire run from the service line quickly tied the match at two a piece.
The Badgers took set four 25-20.
The fifth and deciding factor of the match would be just as exciting.
Both teams’ energy became a major factor. The final set went back and forth until Cardinal had match point at 14-11, late in the fifth set.
Behind another strong service run from the Badgers, the two teams found themselves all tied up at 14-14. With key digs from junior transfer Taylor Soltis and sophomore Alaina Strever, the Badgers just could not seem to find the floor. Soltis helped lead the team in digs with 18 on the night, and Strever picked up 10. Junior Jessie Proch would pitch in with six digs as well.
“This game is what I have been working for my whole life,” Soltis said. “I knew if those digs weren’t picked up, that could cost the game.”
“Coming up this year, I was way more prepared and knew what was going to happen,” Strever said.
In this, the Huskies won their first home game against the Badgers in four years, claiming the deciding set 18-16.
“Going back to the seniors, I looked at them again in the huddle in set five and said, this is our moment right now,” said four-year head coach Karcissa Chambers. “This is our moment. You guys have been working for this since you were freshmen, and we can make this dream a reality.”
“We just have to keep it in our minds to shake it off and move on to the next play,” said senior libero Ashley Gubanyar, who finished the game with 18 digs. “Don’t worry and don’t hold onto it, because it is not going to get any better.”
Camille Cummins paced the Huskies with a double-double, posting 14 kills and 15 digs, sweeping the Badgers her first and last time as a Husky.
“I think it’s a really great way to finish out senior year,” she said. “Being a senior, everyone is looking at me. And when we are down, people look at me and I need to focus on staying up all the time.” Behind Cummins and the Huskies was senior outside hitter Kaylee Klepper, posting 11 kills, many late in the deciding game.
“We played our hearts out and that’s all we wanted,” said Klepper. “It’s a big confidence-booster for us.”
At the net, senior Faith Peters posted three blocks and picking up five digs.
“We had to really focus on regrouping, getting all of us together and making sure we weren’t timid and weren’t afraid to get after that ball,” said Peters. “We had to be mentally tough.”
Late in the fifth set, Peters went to her teammates to tell them how much they meant to her and the program, and how important it was for them to pull the win out.
“Coming up, I knew I was going to be a little nervous, but I liked how I can come up to the seniors, having them by my side and helping me through everything,” said Cardinal’s Haley Domen. The freshman setter totaled 28 assists on the evening, adding five aces and six kills of her own.
“It’s senior year, so it’s very nostalgic for me to finally win it in my final year at Cardinal,” a smiling Cummins finished.
With a possibility of a rematch in the tournament, the Badgers must clean up some errors if they want to sneak out a win against their rival. “We don’t let them make the mistakes, we make the mistakes for them,” Chapman said.
“We don’t want to share — just like they didn’t want to share last year and the year before,” said Chambers. “No one wants to share because there really is no true champion. We needed to win this outright, just to prove not only to Berkshire, but to all the teams everywhere, our own program, that we are capable of doing this.”