Correspondent photo / Robert Hayes
Columbiana’s Landry Smith records a block during the fourth set against Cardinal Mooney on Wednesday evening. The Clippers are now 7-0 on the season.
YOUNGSTOWN — Columbiana admits it has lofty goals to achieve this fall.
With nine seniors, along with coming off of a 22-win campaign, the Clippers certainly earned the right to challenge themselves on the court. Columbiana continued some of its success Wednesday evening with a 3-1 win at Cardinal Mooney.
That’s not to say that the Cardinals didn’t make it interesting early, however, taking the first set 25-21. Columbiana would have their groove after facing a 1-0 deficit, taking home 25-13, 25-19, and 25-13 set victories to close out the match.
Columbiana (7-0) coach Jen Martin felt the Cardinals (6-2) gave her team trouble early on.
“Mooney came out strong with their big front row, they have a lot of heavy hitters and great blockers. I think we played well in the first set, but we were a little timid. We played a little bit more defense after that loss in the first set, (and) we were able to come back on the bench, regroup, and come back to our strengths,” Martin said. “Be able to move the ball around, let them play a little bit of defense and let us swing some.
“This group of kids is a great group of kids. They’ve been playing on the floor together since they were freshmen. So I think a lot of them bring some great energy, and I think they enjoy playing with each other. They worked for three years now, so this is the fourth year where they can kind of enjoy it and have fun out there. I think they showed that in sets two, three and four.”
Senior libero Ava Heinrich led the Clippers with 12 digs and six aces, having to fly around the court to fend off a talented Mooney attack. Taking early edges on the scoreboard as the match went on was a difference maker for her team.
“It’s a confidence booster to have a lead. Our energy as a team for sure helps put us ahead so far because we play the mental game really well. When we play our worst, that’s when we don’t have any energy, and we’re in our heads,” Heinrich said. “When we’re playing our best volleyball we have a lot of energy, we’re really excited for each other, we pick each other up, and build each other. It helps us out a ton.”
Senior setter and outside hitter Ellie Jackson is a major component of the Columbiana rotation as well, posting a team-high 11 kills, with 17 assists and eight digs.
“Losing the first one kind of set a little fire and we came back and wanted to hit harder,” Jackson said. “Our defense is really good. Shoutout to Ava, she digs up a lot, Maryn (Hepler) and Danica (Halas), just overall, we’re well rounded.
“It’s good to have a lot of good competition and play close sets, and play as hard as we can throughout the whole season. I think just trusting ourselves and being confident, and trust in our teammates.”
Heinrich admits that one of the Clippers’ goals this season is to post an undefeated regular season — a milestone that is certainly difficult to achieve, but one she feels her team can chase after.
“I’d say we have a lot of great leadership. We send different captains up every game, and we just have people contribute all over the court. Some people lead by example, others are super vocal about their leadership,” Heinrich said. “Even our younger girls, they lead a lot too, like Landry (Smith), she goes up there and does great, and is a very great vocal leader as well.
“Last year we were 22-3, and lost our 19th game of the season. That was when our undefeated streak broke. It was a tough one, it was a heartbreaker, (but) this year we’re just coming back stronger and we want to win.”
Martin added, “This group, they go after it. They don’t rest, they’re go-getters. They’ve been working hard for three years. If they play, they’ll be able to do anything they want to do.”
Senior Kelsey Cameron added into the mix with 16 points, nine kills, six digs and four aces. Senior Cameron Perkins tallied a team-high 18 assists, 11 digs and five kills, with sophomore Landry Smith tacking on nine kills and three blocks.
Mooney was led by senior Brinkley Bair (13 kills), senior Sam Rotunno (16 digs) and senior Jaida Lane (four aces, five blocks).
“We know that Columbiana is a good team. We played them twice last year and they beat us both times, and we saw them in the summer, and they have a great program with lots of seniors. We knew they were going to be tough,” Mooney coach Toni Chahine said. “We just knew that we had to come out and give it our all, and I feel like we did in that first set. We’re coming off a high from last night (a 3-1 victory at Ursuline), and I think eventually our energy faded. Sometimes when it’s good, it’s good, when it’s bad, it’s bad.
“It’s for sure a learning experience, and that’s exactly what I told them at the end. Yes, we can be upset about it tonight, but tomorrow we have another game, and we have to take what we did tonight and do it tomorrow, and get better each day.”
