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Padua Franciscan overcomes Beaumont in battle for district title November 3, 2009 By Jim Jicha Top ranked Parma Padua Franciscan overcame a determined and very talented Beaumont School for Girls 25-18, 23-25, 25-21, 25-18 in a Division II district final played last Thursday at Mayfield High School. The match was perhaps less stressful for Padua fans than their previous meeting on October 3, which the Bruins fought back to win 23-25, 25-12, 20-25, 25-15, 15-11. Some volleyball fans may not be familiar with Beaumont, which has over the years produced outstanding track teams. But volleyball has blossomed at the school under the guidance of Coach Pat Royer. The Blue Streaks represented a formidable hurdle for Padua in its quest to win a second consecutive state championship. During the regular season, they had beaten three teams that won district titles, Walsh Jesuit, Painesville Riverside and Gilmour Academy, and they gave Magnificat a 24-26, 27-25, 26-28, 25-15, 15-12 scare in early September. Padua really worked hard to score points against the Blue Streak defense, which was led in back row by sophomore outside hitter Midori Harrison and junior libero Regina Zyle, and at the net by middle hitter Amanda Videmsek, junior setter Abbey Cvelbar and Harrison. The Blue Streaks fended off several cannon shots by Padua 6’0” outside hitter and Ohio State University recruit Kaitlyn Leary. But despite their efforts, Leary scorched the floor with many unplayable spikes and finished with 26 kills. When she was in back row, sophomore outside/right side Nicole Trapp, who saw action on last year’s state championship team, recorded 16 kills. Afterward, Bruins Coach Tony Messina cited Trapp, whom he said “had three tremendous days of practice and came out big for us”. Messina explained that senior outside University of Buffalo recruit Christie Fritsche was not at full strength, having missed much of the week with flu. So Trapp became the Bruins’ second go-to player, and she responded with a career night. Padua was ahead most of the time in the games it won, but Beaumont led at least once in all three, and rallied big time in game three. Save for one four-point spurt Padua was in charge all of game one. Bruins setter Meredith Bolmeyer opened the set with a well placed hit, and defensive specialist Salina DeFranco served an ace. With Padua up 3-0, Harrison got Beaumont on the board with a kill, and the Blue Streaks cut the lead to 5-4 when Videmsek rejected a Leary spike and Cvelbar dumped into a hole. The teams traded errors to 7-5. At that point, Harrison spiked a kill and Beaumont forged ahead 9-7 on blocks by outside hitter Mary Bastulli and Harrison. However, Padua prevailed on the following long, intense volley, and after Trapp slammed a cross-court shot, Beaumont obliged with two errors. Harrison ended that run, but Trapp terminated to start another, and after a block and a bomb by Leary the Bruins were up 15-10. Beaumont closed from 18-12 to 19-16 on a kill by Videmsek, who followed up with a block on Leary. Senior outside Lauren Linker added a kill and Harrison and Cvelbar double blocked. But after some point trading, Padua erupted for four straight, with Leary terminating the final two volleys and the game. Beaumont led most of game two, and fought off a late charge by Padua. O’Connor led off with a kill down the right, and the teams exchanged defensive gems. Trapp attempted a slam, which was blocked, but junior middle Carly Molis was in perfect position, and her save cleared the net into a hole on Beaumont’s side. On the next volley, Videmsek went out of bounds near the pole for an errant pass, and hit an underhand liner that passed just inside the pole and landed in a hole on Padua’s side. Beaumont went up 5-1 and 8-3 after two more points by Videmsek. Padua closed to 9-7 as Leary terminated, after which she and junior outside Becky Jay each block killed. But Harrison started a four point run with a kill, and Videmsek ended the ensuing long volley with a smash from back court. Harrison also blocked Leary. The Bruins came back again from 14-8 to 15-13. Beaumont’s point came on a dump by Cvelbar that faked everyone out. Kills by Leary trimmed the margin to 18-17 and, after Cvelbar turned a bad serve receive into another dump, Leary perfectly placed a hit from back to a hole in the middle. Padua knotted the score at 20 on a kill by Trapp, and took the lead when a serve by Bolmeyer was shanked out. But Harrison retied with a kill, and followed up by passing a blast from Trapp to Cvelbar who set Linker for a go-ahead kill. The versatile Harrison then set Zyle in back court for a kill. When Cvelbar found a corner with another dump, Beaumont was at game point 24-21. Things became tense, however, as Trapp blistered a point down the left and Leary followed with a cross-court termination. The next volley was much contested, and Linker finally ended it and the game with a slam on which the back of the ball grazed the rear edge of the back line. Messina said he told his players in the huddle “not to give up”, and he reminded them they’d fought through five game matches and overcome adversity before. As it turned out, game three would be pivotal, and the Bruins’ would shrug off losing a 12-5 lead to prevail in the end. Messina would later say “Game three was huge…we were tested…we hung in there”. The Blue Streaks scored first in the third set as both teams traded errors and O’Connor and Fritsche traded kills. Padua went on top 6-3 when Jay holed a hit to the middle to end a contested volley. Soon after, Jay served two aces to fuel a five-point run to a 12-5 lead. But Beaumont rallied! Bustulli ended the run with a kill. Videmsek made a one-handed save on Leary and spiked a point from backcourt, and Cvelbar scored another dump. The Blue Streaks closed further to 13-11, and kept pace to 15-13. After a point by Leary, Linker smashed two kills, and when Leary slammed the ball into the net the Blue Steaks took the lead 17-16. Leary atoned threefold for that, however, as she blistered two terminations down the left. On the next volley, Beaumont, and especially Zyle, dug out all the stops and all but one of Padua’s volleys. But, finally, Leary ricocheted a smash off the block, and when a Beaumont hit sailed out, the Bruins were on top 20-17. Kills by Videmsek kept Beaumont close at 21-19, until Trapp demolished a cross-court kill, and Leary followed with a knock down blast from back court that left two Blue Streak players sprawled on the court. Beaumont would score two more, but Trapp answered each with a cross-court kill, first from the left, then from the right. Padua took a 2-0 lead in game four. Libero Lauren Goebel indirectly scored the first point with a saving dig that led to Beaumont getting into the net. The Blue Streaks tied on kills by Harrison and senior outside Courtney O’Connor. Padua edged ahead 5-3 on points by Molis and Fritsche. With Beaumont still trailing 8-6, Linker terminated a shot down the left and Padua obliged with a long hit. Harrison put the Blue Streaks ahead 9-8 with a cross-court that was dug into oblivion, nullifying a great sliding dig by Leary that had prevented Cvelbar from scoring yet another dump. Beaumont’s lead proved to be short lived, however. Trapp started a three-point Bruin spurt with a cross-court smash from the left, which she encored with an even more powerful blast. The Blue Streaks retied on kills by Videmsek and Linker, and fought valiantly for another go-ahead on the next volley. But Fritsche finally ended it with a shot to back middle. Leary followed with a hit to an empty spot down the left, and that signaled the beginning of the end, as Beaumont was limited to single points from thereon. Padua meanwhile, led by Leary and Molis, upped the ante to 17-13 and, after a smash by Trapp that made it 19-15, the Blue Streaks dug themselves deeper in the hole with two hitting errors. Harrison ended the run with a kill, but Leary added two more points. Trapp followed Beaumont’s next point with a kill, and soon after Leary ended the match with a spike that diving defenders could not reach. Beaumont Coach Royer said afterward that the difference in the match was “they played better than we did”. He added that Padua served a lot of jump floaters, something his team had had trouble with all year. Messina, who credited Beaumont for aggressive serving and working the slide to full advantage, said the Bruins had prepared for this match all week. Royer, meanwhile, concluded his remarks by saying that he and Messina had agreed beforehand their teams “would prepare the other for the next week”. Padua Franciscan certainly seems prepared. ****************************************************************** Padua Stats: Kaitlyn Leary 26 kills, 18 serve receives; Nicole Trapp 16 kills; Meredith Bolmeyer 24 assists; freshman Mary Djukic 15 assists; Lauren Goebel 18 digs and 21 serve receives; Salina DeFranco 13 service points.
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