Cougars earn big district victory

SARASOTA — Over the years, when Southeast and Cardinal Mooney have competed on the volleyball court, it was just to fill out the regular season schedule.

With the teams moving into the same classification over the summer, these games now mean the right to play for a top seed in the district tournament.

And on Thursday, the Cougars and Seminoles played like the game meant a whole bunch as host Cardinal Mooney outlasted Southeast 25-15, 26-24, 15-25, 22-25, 15-9 in a Class 3A-District 11 showdown.

“Southeast has always been a tough opponent,” said Cardinal Mooney defensive specialist Lauren Kennedy, who had nine digs. “(Thursday’s) game was big for us. I’m glad we could pull it out. Now we have to play well down the stretch.”

After making easy work of the Noles (10-5, 2-3) in the first game, the Cougars had a much tougher battle in Game 2. Southeast setter Alyssa Hernandez’s ace knotted the game at 24-all, but Cardinal Mooney’s Cate Motosko’s kill (one of eight kills and five blocks on the night) and a hitting error by Southeast outside hitter Katie DiGirolamo secured the Cougars’ (10-2, 6-1) 2-0 lead.

Genny Casagrande had six kills, and Emily Olivieri recorded 29 assists for Cardinal Mooney.

The Noles jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the third game and continued their rally after outside hitter Sienna Bonner was taken off the court with a broken elbow with the game tied 6-6. The Noles eventually pulled away.

“They played hard for Sienna,” Southeast coach Vince Strefling said. “My girls fought hard all the way through. We had been preparing for this game for a while, and I thought Manatee was a good tune-up. The girls came out kind of flat, but they picked it up.”

DiGirolamo led the Noles with 13 kills and 12 digs, and outside hitter Hannah Bartges chipped in with 13 kills as well.

Southeast continued playing well in the fourth game, but the momentum swung in the Cougars’ favor in the fifth and deciding game.

After Southeast took a 3-0 lead, Cardinal Mooney scored six consecutive points and never relinquished the lead.

“Those six points were huge,” Cougars coach Aiko Averill said. “I told my players that Southeast was going to play hard for that girl. My team got a little relaxed after the first two games, but they turned it back on when they needed to. This was a big win for us heading toward districts.”