The setting might be different, but the status and the goal will be the same for the SS. John and
Paul volleyball team.
Coach Stephanie Kubec's Heralds will be seeking it's sixth straight Division IV district
championship when play begins Oct. 16. The only thing that will change is the setting, as the
tournament has been switched from Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin to Grand Valley.
SJP (16-3) was awarded the top seed in the Division IV sectional-district tournament at Sunday's
tournament drawing at GV. The Heralds were seeded ahead of East Suburban Conference rivals
Ledgemont (14-4) and Cornerstone Christian (12-5) and many-time rival Newbury (8-10) of the
Chagrin Valley Conference Valley Division.
It was a good day at the Division I sectional-district drawing at Euclid High School as well.
Lakeside (13-7) was seeded second behind perennial district champion Mentor (14-3). Brush (11-8)
was rated third, while North (11-11) was ranked fourth.
Two area teams also were among the top four in the Division III sectional-district tournament at
Berkshire High School. Cardinal (14-6) earned the third seed, while Berkshire (14-6) was seeded
fourth as they prepare for their clash Tuesday night for final bragging rights for the Chagrin
Valley Conference Valley Division. Gilmour Academy (18-1) earned the top seed, while Chagrin Falls
(14-6) was seeded second.
Kubec was pleased from a number of vantage points about the Heralds' status.
"I'm very, very happy with the draw," she said. "I'm happy and lucky.
"We're happy to be in the opposite bracket from Chanel, because they play such tough competition
in spite of their record. I'm also happy that Ledgemont is in the other half."
She was also pleased that her seeding allowed her to choose where she wanted to go in the lower
half of the bracket. SJP is one of two seeded teams to choose to play as quickly as possible,
meeting Andrews School (5-10) as the second half of a doubleheader Oct. 17 at approximately 7:30
p.m.
- DIVISION I - Count Lakeside coach Lisa Newsome as another fan of the new system that seeds all
teams in the sectional-district tournament. It ended a string of bad draws for the Dragons.
"The last three years I've drawn the last pill and ended up playing Mentor in the first round, so
I'm very excited about this," she said. "Now we have a goal of wanting to win a sectional
championship and getting to the district finals."
Lakeside is in the upper half of the bracket for the 14-team field. The Dragons will open against
Collinwood (5-8) at approximately 6 p.m. Oct. 17, the tournament's opening night.
- Karl Pearson
Star Beacon Print Edition: 10/9/2006
