Showdown for state: Padua-Lake Catholic

Bill Mayville, October 30, 2008 6:58 a.m.

Stow- They split their regular-season meetings, with each winning on the other's home court, and each took home a third of the North Coast League Blue Division title.

So, it was no surprise that Padua and Lake Catholic - by virtue of Wednesday's Division II volleyball regional semifinals victories at Stow-Munroe Falls High School - will meet on Saturday to determine who moves on to the state tournament.

Padua (23-2) used a three-pronged attack that was simply too much for Walsh Jesuit in the opener, as the Bruins downed the Warriors in four games, 25-18, 14-25, 25-19, 25-20. Kaitlyn Leary, Jaklyn Veres and Brittany Morris led Padua's attack as the trio combined for 44 kills. Leary had a match-high 24.

The Bruins' attack was bolstered by Meghan Cugliari's 42 assists, Lauren Goebel's 12 digs and Abby Kornowski's 11 service points and three aces.

Allison Foschia paced the Warriors' attack with 16 kills and 13 digs, and Ariel Pund chipped in with 11 kills. Walsh Jesuit's season ended at 18-9.

"It was a great match with a great team," Padua head coach Tony Messina said. "They have a lot of weapons, they serve well, and there's no answer for Foschia."

The nightcap saw Lake Catholic (21-4) cruise to an easy win in the opener but struggle the rest of the way before defeating Salem in four games, 25-13, 24-26, 25-15, 25-18.

"Good teams know how to win ugly," Lake Catholic coach Rich Severino said. "I thought the first game we looked great, then I thought we looked ugly, then I thought we looked good, then I thought we looked ugly.

"That's what good teams do, somehow win when they don't have their 'A' game. They play with their 'B' game and figure out how to win it."

Amanda Sawicki led the Cougars attack with 14 kills, while Julianne O'Donnell had 13 and Chelsea Regovich chipped in six. Audryana Lucha and Kelly Stenger combined for 40 assists, while Ashley Herzberg contributed 14 digs for the Cougars.

Salem (24-3) got another strong performance from junior Amy Scullion, who had 23 kills and four blocks for the Quakers. Mariah Halleck contributed two aces, three kills and 12 assists, while Taylor Sauerwein added 15 assists in the loss.

Padua and Lake Catholic will meet Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Division II regional final, with the winner earning a berth in the state tournament.

"First one is out of the way, and it's going to be like going back home, to our league again," Severino added. "We're looking forward to it. We beat them [Padua] at their place, and they beat us at our place. Everybody knows everybody, it's a great rivalry, so it's going to be as great match."

Bill Mayville is a free-lance writer in Broadview Heights