Powerhouse Lake Catholic Halts Adena Volleyball Dream Season
Article Presented By Tomlinson Insurance…
UPDATED 11/8/24
The 2024 Adena volleyball season that saw unexpected successes that eventually led them all the way to the Division 5 State Semifinals, came to a sudden halt Thursday as the two-time defending state champ Mentor Lake Catholic Cougars blasted the Warriors (25-10, 25-6, 25-16).
(24-4) Lake Catholic went on to beat Middletown Fenwick on Friday for the state championship, (25-18, 18-25, 25-14, 25-20).
Adena was never able to get on track against the powerful Cougars’ front line of 6’1 Ahnna Bergant, 5’11 Natalya Bergant, 5’11 Ava Budrys Rini, 5’10 Avery Budrys Rini, and 5’10 Layla Kastner. Lake Catholic’s blistering serves and front-row attack were too much for the smaller Warriors to handle.
(Photos: Aaron Glandon/Litter Media)
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Adena Coach Laura Smith told reporters that her players told her- “We haven’t seen balls coming that hard at us all season.”
Each of the first two sets saw Lake Catholic serving and pounding their way to insurmountable leads that at times left the Warriors shell-shocked. Set 1 had the Cougars breaking away from a slim 3-2 margin, to leads 15-5 and 20-8, before cruising to the 25-10 opening win.
Set 2 was even worse. Starting with a lead of 3-0, Lake Catholic saw the Warriors respond to cut the margin to 4-3, before the Cougars 10-0 run put the stanza out of reach, leading to a 25-6 victory and a (2-0) match advantage.
The Warriors did find some positives in Set 3, with a lead as large as 7-3. But the Cougars came to life with a 12-2 run for a 15-9 lead. The Warriors later fell behind 19-11, with one last gasp to shave that deficit to 20-15, but never got any closer in their 25-16 defeat for a Cougars (3-0) sweep.
(23-4) Lake Catholic put on a serving clinic with (16) aces against the Warriors, while getting multiple attack looks at the net with four players of 9 or more kills. Natalya Bergant and Ava Budrys Rini each had 10 kills, while Avery Budrys Rini and Ahnna Bergant each had 9 kills. Layla Kastner added 4 kills. The team also added a “wall” defense at the net with 12 blocks in the match. Julia Oster led the defense with 11 digs, while Natalya Bergant added 9.
(24-4) Adena was led at the net by Katie Burns’ 8 kills and 2 blocks. Corinne Day added 3 kills, with Layla Halm, Jacey Jones, Jacey Smith, and Caroline Glandon each added 1 kill. Kimmy Dalton had 9 digs, Smith 8, and Kamryn Sowers with 3 digs. Adena had 6 blocks as a team.
Adena closed out their season as SVC Gold Ball Champs and a state tournament appearance for the 11th time in program history. Adena graduates seniors Corinne Day, Kamryn Sowers, Kayla Grooms, and Layla Halm.
