Ranger Volleyball Wins Tournament Opener 3-0
The Lakewood volleyball team won its first round OHSAA tournament game 3-0 Tuesday afternoon at Strongsville High School. The Rangers rallied from a deep deficit in the first game, coming back to snatch victory from the Lady Redmen. They won the next two games comfortably, and advance to play again on Thursday afternoon.
The match started poorly for Lakewood, which fell behind in the first game. Parma methodically built leads of 7-4, 11-6, and 16-10. Ranger Head Coach Maggie Szczepaniak noticed that her players were tense in the early going, so she used a couple of timeouts. “I told them to go out and have fun” she said after the match, “and they did.” The Rangers rattled off five straight points to make it 16-15, energizing the team and their fans. Parma regained its composure, going up 24-18 and nearly taking the first game. Then the Rangers went on a remarkable run, scoring seven straight points to take the lead. They soon put the game away 27-25, taking a 1-0 lead in the match.
The comeback gave the Rangers a great deal of confidence, and they settled in to take the second game 25-17 with relative ease. Parma battled early in the third game, taking a 12-11 lead after losing the first five points. Lakewood then went on a 10-2 run to take control of the game, and finished off Parma 25-19 to sweep all three games.
Lakewood advances to play Strongsville on Thursday at 5pm. That matchup will be a much greater challenge for the Rangers. The Mustangs are the top seed in the district, which they are favored to win on their home floor. When asked what the team needs to do to beat Strongsville, Coach Maggie said, “We need to play with passion, heart, and desire.” She and her team encourage Ranger fans to attend the match, which will start at 5pm at Strongsville.
Mike Deneen
Mike Deneen has extensive experience covering sports and community stories for the Lakewood Observer. Mike has been a Senior Industry Analyst for the Freedonia Group in Cleveland, Ohio, since 1998. He has appeared on CNBC’s Closing Bell, NPR’s MarketPlace and has been quoted multiple times in The Wall Street Journal. He has made multiple guest appearances on ESPN Cleveland radio. Mike also writes for Inside Northwestern, a website that covers Northwestern Wildcat Athletics. You can reach him on Twitter at @MikeDeneen1