Volleyball is a momentum sport as much as, maybe more than, any other.
Tuesday night at Jackson High School, emotion mixed with momentum to carry the Polar Bears to a 25-11, 25-14, 25-15 sweep of the Hoover Vikings.
Jackson seniors Laura Kelly, Karlie DiRuzza, Kristin Cardwell, Maddy Busch and Paige Hill and their parents were honored before the game. There weren’t many dry eyes among the group after hearing about their accolades, getting a tribute from coach Jeff Walck and receiving cheers from the crowd, including the freshman team members who wore T-shirts saluting their girls.
Coming off a weekend loss to Walsh — Jackson’s first in the regular season since late in 2010 — a letdown was possible.
“We knew we had to focus on the game and, hopefully, close out the night with a win,” said Busch, whose kill closed out the match.
“Which felt good,” she said of the match winner.
There was absolutely no letdown by the Polar Bears (18-1, 10-0). They were nearly flawless in the first two games.
They scored points on 13 of their 16 serves, including a 7-point run on Rachel Seifert’s serve in Game 1 that set the tone for the night. Included in those two service games were a whopping nine non-returns with freshman Kelly Klimo earning five of her seven points the easy way.
Jen Slogar was a monster in the middle with her blocking for Jackson. The junior had five blocks and was a force on both sides of the net. Cardwell’s digging, hitting and passing (23 assists) were spot on. That set up the hitting of Hill (12 kills), Slogar, Busch and Stephanie Spencer.
Jackson never trailed in the first two games and Hoover’s biggest run was three points, once. Such was its dominance over a solid Vikings team that is 14-5 and 8-2 in the Federal League.
“I was worried about (a letdown),” Walck said. “We had that conversation at Mentor, and again last night about staying focused.
“Hoover’s a tough team. We said just don’t make a lot of tactical errors. If you don’t have a good swing, just keep it in play and try to play defense.
“They did that tonight. I was real proud of them.”
Hoover played better in Game 3. Two Kaylee Stroemple kills gave the Vikes their first lead and it was a tight game until DiRuzza ran off three points to make it 14-11. Klimo reeled off the final four points, capped by Busch.
“We had to make them touch the ball, have a rally emphasis and then try and put the ball away,” she said. “We tried to keep their runs to a minimum.”
PERRY 25-23-25-25, GLENOAK 11-25-20-13 The Perry Panthers recovered from dropping the second set to down GlenOak in four sets in Federal League action Tuesday night.
Mallory Vodopich helped the Panthers move to 8-9 overall and 3-7 in the league with 14 points, one ace and 11 digs on defense. Katy Frease controlled the net with 12 kills and six blocks, while Kassidy Whitaker contributed 21 assists.
“The last two matches against Central Catholic and GlenOak, the girls have played really good volleyball,” Perry coach John Vodopich said. “We really starting to play well together and that’s exciting to see this time of year.”
Good luck this weekend to the Lady Polar Bears ! Stay healthy, and win, almost tournament time. Federal League showdown is Tuesday at our place, # 1 vs # 2.
Same with JV and Frosh.
CC Runner, I hear that your senior is out, all of us at Jackson wish her a speedy recovery in time for track season, and hope that she has multiple scholarship offers, it's so sad that she has missed so much of Senior VB season. And those feelings are so sincere.
Good luck to all the Ladies !!, power rankings due on Monday !
We hope she is doing well too! I can't imagine how hard this has been for her! She is a dedicated player and runner. Fingers crossed for track!!
Good luck this weekend to the Lady Polar Bears ! Stay healthy, and win, almost tournament time. Federal League showdown is Tuesday at our place, # 1 vs # 2.
Same with JV and Frosh.
CC Runner, I hear that your senior is out, all of us at Jackson wish her a speedy recovery in time for track season, and hope that she has multiple scholarship offers, it's so sad that she has missed so much of Senior VB season. And those feelings are so sincere.
Good luck to all the Ladies !!, power rankings due on Monday !
She is out, she is a fierce competitor and plays with 100% heart. VERY sad to see play out her senior year. WE wish her the best!
Any player who works that hard, that long, looking forward to being a senior, and a leader, deserves to stay healthy. We hope she gets better, and manages to stay upbeat, which is hard to do. From what you posted, it sounds like she will be out through the tournament. Risking re-injury is not worth it, just sad all the way around.
H.S. volleyball: Northwest wins battle of Rafailedes
For the second time in their volleyball coaching careers, husband and wife were forced to face off against each other.
For the second time, Northwest head coach John Rafailedes came out with the win over McKinley head coach Patricia Rafailedes. The Indians swept the Bulldogs in three games — 25-18, 25-22, 25-17 — Tuesday night.
The pair originally faced off while Patricia Rafailedes was at Massillon. This year’s match ended a week’s worth of verbal sparring.
“She started it last week,” John Rafailedes said. “We were there with my son and she said that the weakest part of her schedule is coming up. My son rolled his eyes.
“Tonight, every time they hit a ball out of bounds, I yelled over ‘That’s living right.’ She got mad. She thinks I was trying to show her up or something.”
Patricia believed John had an unfair advantage.
“He scouted me four times,” she said. “I only scouted him once. I’m going to scout him more than once time next time.”
John was unapologetic.
“Who’s fault is that?” he asked. “The problem with watching them was I started getting overconfident. I was starting to feel like the New York Jets when they were facing the Colts in that Super Bowl. I had to stop watching film.”
John Rafailedes enjoyed the win but was not looking forward to returning home.
“She is a fierce competitor,” he said. “I’m not sure how this is going to go. I’ll find out when I get home.”
That was a nice article and what a great family. I wish I could have been there to watch it because it seemed like it was very entertaining. Coach Patricia Rafailedes is making a difference with the McKinley program and when that happens it makes the Federal League that much better.
Varsity team of the year: Jackson............easy call, great season, much more to accomplish ahead. Never be satisfied, but always be appreciative of what you ladies have done, and the class with which you did it !
Players of the year.......Paige Hill and Kristin Cardwell......dynamic duo
Coach of the year...Jeff Walck......he gets them to play and have fun doing it
JV team of the year.......Jackson, the future is bright
Players of the year.......the whole team, no egos
Coach of the year...Coach Anagnost, blended them all and almost went undefeated
Freshman team of the year...........N Canton...they won all tie-breakers (see CC i can be fair, i was wrong at the beginning)
Players of the year...# 3 libero at N Canton and #11 outside hitter at N Canton.....i saw them twice, they are JV caliber as frosh
Coach of the year...Coach Gonzales, N Canton, that team hustled every play,
Great year to all, the Fed League just gets better and better, good luck to all teams in the tournament, and may our Lady Polar Bears go win it all this year. Good luck Coaches and players......stay healthy and have fun !
Varsity team of the year: Jackson............easy call, great season, much more to accomplish ahead. Never be satisfied, but always be appreciative of what you ladies have done, and the class with which you did it !
Players of the year.......Paige Hill and Kristin Cardwell......dynamic duo
Coach of the year...Jeff Walck......he gets them to play and have fun doing it
JV team of the year.......Jackson, the future is bright
Players of the year.......the whole team, no egos
Coach of the year...Coach Anagnost, blended them all and almost went undefeated
Freshman team of the year...........N Canton...they won all tie-breakers (see CC i can be fair, i was wrong at the beginning)
Players of the year...# 3 libero at N Canton and #11 outside hitter at N Canton.....i saw them twice, they are JV caliber as frosh
Coach of the year...Coach Gonzales, N Canton, that team hustled every play,
Great year to all, the Fed League just gets better and better, good luck to all teams in the tournament, and may our Lady Polar Bears go win it all this year. Good luck Coaches and players......stay healthy and have fun !
Im not sure who coach Anagnost is, but The JV coach for Jackson is Coach Johnson
PERRY TRIANGULAR
The Perry Panthers closed out their regular season with a pair of wins over Hubbard and Northwest on Saturday.
Perry defeated Hubbard 25-19, 25-13 behind Mallory Vodopich’s 14 points and three aces. Katy Frease led the winners with eight kills, Kassidy Whitaker added 10 assists and Devin Lawrence had 11 digs.
Perry followed with a 25-15, 25-15 victory over Northwest to finish above .500 at 11-10. Frease had 10 points and two aces, while Whitaker dished out 10 assists. Lawrence led the offense with nine kills and Vodopich had seven digs.
I heard N. Canton's senior was back??? anybody confirm that?
Shhhhhhhhh....this is top secret info and had been planned as a surprise!
If both North Canton Hoover and Jackson make the District Final, she possibly will be able to compete and may be Hoover's secret weapon to upset the Polar Bears!
Ahhhh, the secret weapon ! That Coach Thomas has all those awards for a reason. I am sure that Jeff will do his best to counter this strategy. It will be a great game, if both teams can advance. At this point, all the games are good .
Shhhhhhhhh....this is top secret info and had been planned as a surprise!
If both North Canton Hoover and Jackson make the District Final, she possibly will be able to compete and may be Hoover's secret weapon to upset the Polar Bears!
Go Vikings!
CC is getting that secret weapon ready and looking past tonight and focused on what maybe on Thursday.
So CC what do you think of that match?
Last edited by Darksider_99 : 10-23-12 at 09:01 PM.
I am sure Louisville thought Lake beating them was an upset as well but I think they started playing well at the right time. In tournaments anything can happen Congrats to Lake on a very nice win.
I saw the fourth game, Lake played relaxed and made big plays. Nice upset at home. N Canton should be good again next season, the tournament just isn't kind to them.
While Jax is awesome to watch I have to say Wooster impressed me a bit. When the announcer stated all starters were sophmores and I think 1 junior I was taken back a bit. First set was rough but they were scrappy in the second set. I didn't stay for the third. While it seemed Jax subbed alot of their girls I still was impressed by the youth of Wooster and how well they played considering the opponent. May be a team to watch for in the next two years.
In volleyball, Polar Bears win Federal League postseason awards
The Jackson Polar Bears recently won their second straight Federal League championship, and their dominance continued to the league’s individual awards.
Senior setter Kristin Cardwell is the Federal League Player of the Year, while Jeff Walck repeated as the league’s Coach of the Year.
Jackson senior middle hitter Paige Hill repeated as a first team choice, while senior libero Laura Kelly made the second team for a second straight season.
The Polar Bears are playing in their third straight regional.
FIRST TEAM
Megan Volosin, Boardman, junior; Anna Evans, McKinley, senior; Kelli Howard, Hoover, senior; Kristin Cardwell, Jackson, senior; Paige Hill, Jackson, senior; McKala King, Lake, senior; Katy Frease, Perry, senior.
With Stroemple and Worley returning next year as seniors for the Vikings, and Jackson graduating their all league performers...this should make next season more wide open for the league championship.
With Stroemple and Worley returning next year as seniors for the Vikings, and Jackson graduating their all league performers...this should make next season more wide open for the league championship.
There you go looking past or should I say under estimating Jackson as usual. This time belongs to these young ladies right now and Jackson unlike Hoover still has work to do this year. I will comment on your topic next season unless the Mayans are correct.
Jackson has unfinished business, too early to discuss next year. Yet, Jackson will be the favorite, again. N Canton will be very good, tall talented and well-coached. They also had very good JV and Frosh teams. We do not understand why N Canton falters in the post season. CC, please enlighten us. One insider feels that those girls are looking forward to basketball.
Also, Lake will be very good, Perry, McKinley and G Oak should be better. The Federal League is getting more competitive each year. A Final Four appearance by the Polar Bears will help the league.
its been a fun season bantering back and forth, I hope we have 4 more games left, and win them all !
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