Chardon's David William goes for a diving dig against Independence in the regional final. (Noel Witheright – For The News-Herald)
Chardon and Independence met for the second year in a row in the Division II regional final on May 18 in Mentor. In this year's game, the slow start was too much for the Hilltoppers to overcome.
They fell short in two rallies and were swept by Independence, finishing 3-0 as regional runner-up for the second straight year.
Independence will face either Archbishop McNicholas or Bishop Fenwick in the state semifinals on May 25 at Wittenberg University.
Mistakes put Chardon behind in the first set, with attacks stretched long, hitting the net and mental errors that put it in a 10-3 hole.
Chardon's Jackson Hauser said the Hilltoppers can't let these mistakes dictate the tone of the game and need to get back to working in their system rather than being taken out of the rotation.
“It's really important to find ways to limit these kinds of mistakes,” Hauser says. “You can't miss a serve like that, give away a free ball so easily, give up a set so easily. There were a lot of simple mistakes that cost us the match.”
The Hilltoppers came back strong in the first set, forcing the Blue Devils to lead 21-16 and force an independence timeout. Noah Galati played a big role in the rally.
Galati had four of her team-high eight kills in the opening frame and three of her four blocks. Against the Independence front row that brought him height, Galati said he needed to play his own style.
“It’s the whole mentality,” Noah said. “Teams often struggle with that. It's a big part of the game, and it's all mental. You have to get in the zone and maintain it.”
However, the Blue Devils used the power of their front row to build leads early in all three sets. Landon Jacek led the way with 12 kills, including seven in the first set alone, and Wyatt Snyder added eight kills.
The third set got off to a back-and-forth start before Independence used a block to catch a deflection and earn a quick point.
Chardon coach Brian Sutton isn't happy about taking the runner-up trophy home, but believes a young core led by sophomores Ian Galati and Avery Lux will turn it into a championship sooner rather than later. Told.
“I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Sutton said. “It's going to be tough to lose our seniors who helped launch the program. It's bittersweet, yes, we've come this far, but I'm proud of all of them. We They practice late into the night and always scramble to schedule when they don't know what to practice. That's why I'm so proud of them. They're willing to show up no matter the time or the situation. He practiced to get back to this point.”
Seniors Hauser and Noah Galati are also excited about the continued growth and improvement of the program. They both know where they can improve, and the second-year program continues to climb the hill.
“They'll definitely learn from their second straight loss in the district final,” Hauser said. “They'll learn to take both games and practices as seriously as possible so there aren't many games like today and get this program to where it needs to be.”
Noah Galati added: “We have to be dedicated. We don't have a set practice schedule, but that's no excuse. If we want to be the best, we have to go out there and do what the best players do. You have to be able to practice and beat the best players.”
Score
Independence 3, Chardon 0
