Although the Elyria Catholic Panthers suffered a pair of losses at this past weekend’s tournament in Norwalk, they’re off to a great start this season at 8-2.
They got their eighth win with a sweep over North Ridgeville (3-3) on Sept. 5, 25-20, 25-19, 25-22.
These two teams played last season and the Rangers got the upper hand with a sweep win on their home floor. The tides have turned, and EC was able to do the same in 2023.
“My kids were up for this. We have played extremely well in this building this year, and they weren’t going to be denied,” Elyria Catholic coach Laurie Cogan said. “We took one from North Ridgeville last year — they handed it to us. We were less than competitive, and my kids decided that it was about time that we become more competitive with their program.”
In a win over Holy Name last week, the Panthers’ depth of hitters stood out on a strong offensive day. This win over North Ridgeville was about the defense. Senior libero Catherine Muzilla was only credited for 14 digs, but Cogan thinks there was a lot more that will show up on film.
Led by Muzilla, the team picked up defensively around her. In a tight game, that made the difference.
“Catherine Muzilla played incredibly well tonight,” Cogan said. “When she is that good, the rest of them are better. She was so good tonight, and I think she makes the girls around her better. As long as she has her A-game, we have a pretty good defense.”
Elyria Catholic took the lead early on in set one and didn’t give it up. Clare Kilgore had a big impact offensively for the Panthers, logging six kills and two aces in the opening set. The junior finished with 13 kills on the night.
“It feels awesome (to step up for the team). It’s amazing,” she said. “It feels really good. We’ve always lost to Ridgeville.”
The second set was a lot more competitive and was tied at 11 at one point. A big play from EC’s defense helped flip the momentum and kick-start a 4-0 run. Lauren Gorski got a hand on the ball on a diving effort, and Muzilla flew in to save it again. Bree Bodde got the ball over on the third hit, wrapping up a huge sequence that resulted in a Panthers’ point.
The run was much needed as the Rangers came back, but EC ultimately pulled away.
“We knew not to give up on the ball and to keep going and push through,” Muzilla said.
North Ridgeville got better as the game went on, but its third set effort weren’t enough. The Rangers’ offense was balanced across the board, led by five kills from Alyssa Eland and Maddie Eldridge. Liv Bemer also had four. There are some positives to take away from the third set, but Coach Lisa Berner didn’t think her team was in it for the game as a whole.
“We didn’t come to play, and they did. Laurie had them well-prepared as she always does, and we didn’t come to play today, plain and simple,” she said. “(The third set) was slightly closer to the way we normally play, and our subs that we put in did a nice job in that third set.”
Ridgeville kept a close lead for the majority of the set, and led 19-16 at one point. Miscues helped EC crawl back into it to take a 21-20 lead. A dig from Muzilla and kill from Kilgore on the final point was a fitting end.
“Every kid that played defense tonight, I thought did an outstanding job,” Cogan said. “Even when I changed the lineup a little bit in the third set, the kids that came in and really haven’t played much this year, played incredibly well. I was proud of everybody.”
Both teams continue league play in their respective conferences Sept. 7 as Elyria Catholic travels to North Olmsted and North Ridgeville hosts Berea-Midpark.
