STEVE GOLDMAN
EUCLID — The Riverside volleyball team has been looking ahead to this all season. Finally, it is reality. But its job is not finished.
Tuesday’s 25-18, 23-25, 26-24, 25-18 district semifinal triumph over Mentor brings the stranglehold the Cardinals had held over the Beavers – and everyone else in the Division I Euclid district tournament over the prior 21 years, for that matter — to an end.
“It’s definitely a good win and good for the girls’ confidence to finally beat Mentor,” Riverside coach Stacy Sepelak, whose team had lost to the Cardinals in this tournament numerous times over the years, including two of the prior three seasons, said. “It was one of their goals all year. So they’ve accomplished that, and now they want to reach their next goal (which is to win the district crown).”
Erika West (10 points) had a whopping 25 ace spikes for the victors, as setter Nicole Bayer came up with 45 ace sets.
Top-seeded Riverside (22-3) moves on to face second-seeded Mayfield in a district championship match on Thursday at 6 p.m. The winner will break a 21-year streak of district titles held by Mentor (14-10).
Mayfield came from two games down to upend third-seeded South in the initial district semifinal match played on Tuesday, 19-25, 24-26, 25-18, 25-12, 15-7.
This year’s Cardinal squad, which was the tournament’s fourth seed, has a new coach and many players with little experience, but that didn’t diminish the magnitude of the win for Riverside.
“It’s a good win,” Sepelak said. “We’ll celebrate (Tuesday) night and be ready to go (today) for Mayfield.”
Top-seeded Riverside (22-3) overcame a stretch where it saw a big second-game lead slip away and then fell behind in the third game.
With one game under their belt, the Beavers, who have already set a school record for victories in a season, built leads of 21-12 and 22-14 against a Cardinal team that looked like it was coming apart. Teresa Noewer served for six of her 12 points to help provide that advantage. But the roles quickly reversed. Mentor got a sideout and then seven points to tie from Kori Prokop, as Riverside’s cohesiveness took a break.
The teams then traded sideouts, and then with Lauren Downs serving, the Cardinals put it away on kills by Kristy Murphy and Downs (11 points).
“We just stayed as solid as we could be,” Mentor coach Doug Mekinda said. “I believe they made a few mistakes during that run, and we just took advantage of it, which all good teams are supposed to do.”
“They definitely started outplaying us at the end of Game 2 and the start of Game 3,” Sepelak said. “We definitely struggled. And our philosophy today was, ‘Never give up,’ and they didn’t. And that’s what pulled us through when everything was against us. They pulled out that game.”
Four points by Downs gave the Cardinals a 6-2 lead in Game 3, but moments later four points by Elizabeth Maczuzak, the last two on service aces, put Riverside in front, 11-9. Five more Downs points gave Mentor a 19-15 lead, which it pushed to 21-16 and 22-17, but that’s when the Beavers dug down deep and found it within themselves to turn the tables.
A Noewer ace spike gave Riverside a sideout, and four Noewer points, the last three on West ace spikes, tied it at 22. Mentor got the serve back and then another point for a 24-22 edge, but the Beavers got the serve back. A pair of West ace spikes and a service ace by Maczuzak (10 points) gave the game to Riverside.
“We let one get away,” Mekinda said. "But that was good by them to come back and stay in the game."
In the fourth game, the Beavers took the lead on the first point and never ceded it. With nobody serving for more than two points at a time, they pushed their advantage as high as eight points on three occasions, with the latter of those coming at 18-10.
Mentor could get no closer than five points thereafter. Eventually, three points by West pushed it to 24-15. Meredith Widecan got the winning ace spike on a sideout.
“I felt really, really good (when we scored the winning point),” West said. “We came out there mentally prepared.”
“I thought we played a really good game, and I thought they played exceptionally well,” Mekinda, who identified serve-receive as a key, said.
In Game 1, six points by Jayne Nagy gave provided Riverside with a 10-6 lead. The Cardinals were able to even it at 15, but a tip by Bayer got Nagy (12 points) the serve back, and she responded with five more points for a 21-15 lead.
Now, with this match behind it, Riverside still has a big hurdle immediately ahead.
“We’re not done,” West said. “We still want to make it far, and we still have Mayfield on Thursday.”
“I think they will be ready to play (after an emotional win), because they know Thursday’s just as important, because it’s going to get them to the next level,” Sepelak said.
“I think if they (play) that way Thursday, their wish will come true,” Mekinda said.
Libero Allyson Clifford had 22 ace passes for the Beavers.
Goldman is a freelance writer from South Euclid.
