Ebbs and Flows: Lake Erie beats Cedarville in five sets

By Danielle Cherry

On November 12, the Cedarville women’s volleyball team walked onto the court with bright eyes and joyful smiles, ready to take on Lake Erie. The match began with a strong kill from Cassie Shields, setting the team up for a set of victories, but ultimately, they would fall in a lopsided five-set game to the Storm.

In the first set, the Jackets played swiftly—calculated and united. They held a consistent two-point lead over the Storm until point 12 when Cedarville picked up the pace and gained a 12-point difference. 

Haley Koch exemplified precision, giving the team four aces by placing the ball in the exact spot her coach directed, and Cassie Shields killed the ball six times within the first set. 

Set two began positive for Cedarville, but errors allowed Lake Erie to claw back into the match. The set was back and forth: a block from Cedarville was followed by another kill from the Storm. But despite the Jackets hitting at a higher percentage than Lake Erie, Cedarville had six errors to Lake Erie’s two. 

“We did some good things, but it wasn’t good enough,” Coach Gred Smith said. “We have to get better at doing certain things.”

Smith attempted to rally the women in a timeout, but despite new instructions, the Jackets’ performance still decreased, giving the Storm three points on Cedarville’s mistakes. Lake Erie quickly gained a six-point lead and four points consecutively after the timeout. 

In the face of losing the second set, the Jackets picked up the pace, closing the nine-point gap to seven. Madelyn Hensley began the game seemingly unsure of herself after a couple of mistakes but stepped up when her team needed her. She soared through the air before snapping her body, resulting in many deadly kills. Greta Blakemore excelled at precisely tipping the ball and was the second-highest scorer behind Hensley. The left-handed Blakemore could maneuver around other teammates, giving her an advantage and tricking Lake Erie. Even though the Jackets fought hard to take the set, Lake Erie won 25-18. 

“They played with a lot more fight not having anything to lose so it was a big difference,” Smith said.

The Jackets entered set three making reception errors and giving the Storm the lead. That was until a secret weapon stepped on the court: Cedarville freshman Allie Pilat surprised the crowd with three kills. The team benefited from her hustle and determination and won the set decisively: 25-13. 

Emma Kuyper began set four on a high, holding her serving position for six consecutive points. But the match took a turn for the worse when Cedarville committed errors and gave Lake Erie five points in a row. The Jackets had seven attack errors in this set alone, compared to the Storm’s four. Although Cedarville fought hard to regain their lead and made smart placement choices with the ball, the Storm took the fourth set 25-17.

“It was ebbs and flows. Sets 1-4, you had lopsided games in all four, so it wasn’t as consistent as what we would have liked to have,” Smith said. 

In the final set, tensions were high. It was anyone’s game. Coach Smith paced the whole match and gave his team more instructions than usual. Still, Cedarville missed two serves in a row, had a failed block, and then a kill by Lake Erie left the women desperate for points. The Storm’s scores were followed by the screams of their team, which overpowered the Jacket’s cries of encouragement. 

During set five, every minute detail and point matters. Down 10-5, Cedarville picked up the pace, playing smart and hitting hard. Hensley brought power from the outside, scoring her team three points. Cedarville slowly got the game to 13-11, but to no avail. In the final point, the Jackets jumped to block Lake Erie’s hit, but the ball spun out of bounds, and the Storm won 15-12. 

“This was not what we needed to have happen,” Smith said. “We are still leading in our division, but we have to make sure we win on Friday [November 15] to secure our spot.”

This loss puts Cedarville only one win ahead of Ohio Dominican, leaving the door open for Ohio Dominican to take the top spot in the conference. The Jackets will play Ursuline College on November 15 at 7 p.m. to determine if the Jackets stay at the top of the G-MAC standings. 

Danielle Cherry is a freshman Communications major and writer for Cedars A&E and Sports. She is a Missionary Kid from Germany and loves a good cup of coffee.

Photo by Ian Chan