Louisville Avenges Last Year’s Exit, Sweeps CVCA to Win Sectional Title – Volleyball
Louisville 25-25-25, CVCA 23-21-22
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The Louisville Leopards Varsity Volleyball Team avenged their sectional final loss last season with a sweep against the same Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy Royals in the DIII Northeast 1 Sectional Finals Thursday Evening at Boardman High School. The 16th-seeded Leopards defeated the #21-seeded CVCA Royals 25-23, 25-21, 25-22. to advance to the district semifinals for the second time in three years.
Louisville has now won 9 of their last 11 matches improving to 14-8 on the season with the victory. The Lady Leopards will challenge the 15th-seeded Boardman Spartans in the DIII Northeast 1 District Semifinals on Tuesday, October 21 at 7:00 PM from Gilmour Academy.
McCully All-Around Effort Leads Leopards
Senior Taylor McCully helped lead the Leopards’ balanced attack, finishing with 8 kills, 12 digs, and 2 blocks. Dakota Gross also tallied 8 kills, while Kloey Rukavina added 7 kills and 3 blocks at the net.
Setter Carlee Rhome orchestrated the offense with 16 assists to go along with 9 digs, and Emma Kroah anchored the defense with a team-high 15 digs.
Leopards Take Control Late in Each Set
Louisville showed poise in key moments throughout the match, winning each set by pulling away down the stretch. In the opening frame, the Leopards built a 22-17 lead before holding off a late CVCA rally to claim the set 25-23.
The second set was another close battle until Louisville closed on a 5-1 run, breaking a 20-20 tie to win 25-21.
In the third, CVCA led 19-18 before the Leopards rallied once again, scoring seven of the final ten points to seal the sectional championship with a 25-22 victory.
The win was especially sweet for Louisville, which had fallen to CVCA in last year’s sectional final at Avon Lake 25-15, 25-14, 25-22. This year, the Leopards flipped the script, earning revenge and a spot in the district round.
Louisville Snaps Tournament Drought at Neutral Sites
The victory snapped a six-match postseason losing streak on neutral courts for Louisville, marking their first tournament win at a neutral venue since defeating Marietta in five sets 22-25-29-16-16 25-13-27-25-14, at Lake High School on October 17, 2017.
The Leopards are now 16-16 all-time in neutral-site tournament matches since rally scoring was introduced in 2004 and hold a 23-21 overall postseason record in that span. Including pre-rally scoring years, Louisville Volleyball is now 45-39 all-time in tournament play according to our records dating back to 1986.
This is Louisville’s 19th known sectional title in program history and their first as a Division III school, having moved down a division last season with the new seven division format. The Leopards are now 1-1 in postseason play since the move.
UP NEXT: The #16 Lady Leopards will next take on the #15 Boardman Spartans in the Division III Northeast 1 District Semifinals on Tuesday, October 17. The match will begin around 7:00 PM from Gilmour Academy.
DIII Northeast Volleyball Tournament Sectional Scores
Northeast 1
at Gilmour Academy
#4 Gilmour Academy 25-25-25, #44 Maple Heights 4-6-7
#29 Hawken 23-25-25-25, #25 Bedford 25-19-19-17
at Boardman High School
#16 Louisville 25-25-25, #21 CVCA 23-21-22
#15 Boardman 25-25-25, #36 Hathaway Brown 9-13-10
Northeast 2
at Canfield Canfield High School
#5 Canfield 25-25-25, #42 Youngstown East 8-8-6
#23 St. Vincent-St. Mary 25-14-25-27-15, #27 Tallmadge 17-25-17-29-13
at Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin
#7 Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin 25-25-25, #35 Madison 9-15-14
#18 Cloverleaf 25-24-25-25-15, #24 Westlake 27-26-21-22-8
Northeast 3
at Kenston High School
#6 Kenston 25-25-25, #40 Painesville Harvey 12-11-9
#12 Revere 25-25-25, #37 Alliance 8-14-6
at Bay High School
#9 Avon Lake 25-25-25, #38 Cleveland Max S. Hayes 1-5-2
#3 Bay 25-25-25, #43 Akron Buchtel 3-5-3
Northeast 4
at Aurora High School
#19 Uniontown Lake 25-25-25, #33 Medina Buckeye 17-23-23
#8 Aurora 25-25-25, #39 Cleveland John F. Kennedy 8-6-7
at Padua Franciscan High School
#30 Kent Roosevelt 25-25-25, #34 Lynhurst Brush 21-21-18
#2 Padua Franciscan 25-25-25, #45 Youngstown Chaney 1-2-6
Northeast 5
at Archbishop Hoban High School
#1 Archbishop Hoban 25-25-25, #46 Akron North 3-3-6
#31 Ashtabula Lakeside 25-25-25, #32 Akron Ellet 19-17-16
at Youngstown Ursuline High School
#14 Youngstown Ursuline 25-20-25-25, #22 Warren Howland 15-25-16-19
Northeast 6
at Medina Highland High School
#13 North Olmsted 22-25-17-26-15, #20 Rocky River 25-23-25-24-9
#11 Medina Highland 25-25-25, #41 Barberton 7-9-5
at Chardon High School
#17 Chardon 25-25-25, #26 Grafton Midview 18-18-19
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