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Last year, West Geauga won his first Chagrin Valley conference volleyball championship in school history, but he did so with a flaw in conference play.
The Wolverines had one goal in mind for this season, to win another CVC Grief Division championship while going undefeated.
As they headed to their game against Hawken on October 7, the Wolverines had a chance to complete that goal. However, if Hawken were to eliminate West Geauga, the teams would be tied at the top of the division.
But West Geauga didn’t want to have to wait for his second title in as many years, as he beat Hawken, 3-0, for back-to-back CVC Championships. Both teams are at 12-5 this season.
The Wolverines were forced to adapt early on, as the Hawks received their attempts to kill deep. West Geauga responded by going for a softer touch and throwing to the net to move Hawken’s lines, which then opened up the back of the field for attempted murder later in the rally.
The @WestGAthletics changed their strategy mid-game and head coach Amber Baker (@ AmberBaker63) talks about the change and how it helped them achieve a CVC designation #NHVolleyball (thanks for catching this the first time coach!) pic.twitter.com/9jW2TMx1CS
– Ben Hercik (@BHercikNH) October 8, 2021
“We rocked hard for a few rotations and then we noticed Hawken was pulling back quite a bit,” West G coach Amber Baker said. “So we started to tip them and it worked really well. We also didn’t force a lot of balls that didn’t suit us.
While a change in strategy isn’t new, communicating with your teammates is essential to make sure everyone is on the same page. Kaitlyn Danszczak knew that it wasn’t just about making sure everyone was in the right place on the floor, but that you had to rely on your teammates for crucial information.
This is the title CVC back to back for @WestGAthletics and both Kaitlyn Danszcazak (@kdanszczak) and Preston Clayman (@PrestonClayman) both know it’s a big time for the Wolverines #NHVolleyball pic.twitter.com/7TU7Nd1r1S
– Ben Hercik (@BHercikNH) October 8, 2021
“Talking with your teammates is super important,” Danszczak said. “Use their blocks that don’t go up, have them call points for you, especially if you aren’t able to see those points open for yourself right away. “
West Geauga also had strong net performances as he blocked many Hawken kill attempts. But some of the blocking attempts saw the ball end up on the Wolverines’ side of the net, but it looked like all were going up instead of down.
It kept the rallies alive for the Wolverines, and they took advantage of it. Peyton Clayman knew they couldn’t allow Hawken to regain momentum and had to take advantage of the rally after blocking attempts failed to yield points.
“It’s important, especially for the momentum after you’ve slammed it to the other side,” Clayman said. “Being able to come together and give your team back momentum is an important part of the game and a great feeling.”
But no matter what West Geauga did, Hawken kept coming back. The third set saw the Hawks take the first four points, and six of seven late in the set, to make it a one-point game. But Baker was confident his team could finish the job and bring the title home to Chester Township.
“We beat them earlier this season, 3-1, but we thought we could get the job done in straight sets,” said Baker. “Our offense improved a lot and we knew what we were up against, so we worked on those things in training and were ready for tonight’s game.”
Clayman added, “It’s a great feeling. Before these last two seasons we had never had a CVC championship and now we are back to back. Both seasons have been great experiences for all of us on this team. “
While the conference race is over for both teams, they are now focused on building momentum for the playoffs in the final week of the regular season. Both teams leave the CVC as West Geauga heads to Euclid on October 11, while Hawken also heads to Buchtel on October 10.
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