SWC’s Midview and North Ridgeville aces first round test in playoff opener

In the first round of the Division I, Northeast 6 District, 23rd seed Midview and 18th seed North Ridgeville passed their first round test in North Ridgeville High School.

You could say, based on their serving, that both teams aced the first round with Midview and North Ridgeville defeating their opponents in three sets to advance to the second round.

Midview (8-13, 4-10 in Southwestern Conference) won their sets 25-8, 25-7, 25-6 over John Hay (13-2), serving 22 aces as a team in the process.

Leading the Middies in aces was Sophomore Lily Tomasheski with nine aces. Right behind her was Katlyn Heuser with eight.

“We’ve really been practicing the serving and with high intensity, and pressuring them on serves,” Middies’ coach Kate Kasper said.

“It was nice to watch and see them all step up with confidence behind the service line, because at points in this season, sometimes we lacked that. So, it’s nice to see that go full circle.”

Tomasheski’s impact was more than just her serving. She also lead Midview in kills with 12 kills, making the Hornets’ defense hard to handle.

“Tomasheski is an absolute stud,” Kasper said.

“She can do it all. She sits in the back row. She is a presence on the service line, especially in the front row. She’s very calm, cool-headed, and she’s just a natural leader. I’m really excited to see what’s to come for her. She is only a Sophomore.”

Midview controlled the entire game, going on huge runs like their 15-1 run early in the first set, 13-2 in the second set and 14-3 run in the third.

18th-seeded North Ridgeville (14-9, 6-9 in SWC) also dominated their first round match against Firestone (12-9, 8-1), winning in three sets (25-7, 25-2, 25-12).

The Rangers set a record with the most team aces in a match with 24.

“[We try] keeping the team out of system as much as possible is why we serve so aggressively,” Rangers’ coach Lisa Berner said.

“We can get a more favorable ball back over the net and then we can run our offense. So, it was a huge part of why we [served aggressively].”

Emma Shupp led the Rangers with 10 aces and 18 assists on the night.

The Ginley sisters, Adalynn (5) and Breanna (4) combined for 9 kills on the night. Adalynn led the team with three blocks.

“The huge block that [Adalynn and Breanna Ginley] is intimidating,” Berner describes the Ginley sisters’ presence.

“They bring that huge defensive ability and then offensively they run the ball quickly and they are pretty dynamic too. They can run in front of the setter and behind the setter [to get hits]. They are our go-to hitters. So, when we need something, we’ll go to them.”

The Rangers have won six of their last seven matches and have been 13-5 after starting their season 1-4.

Both winners will face the top dogs of the Southwestern Conference in Olmsted Falls as Midview takes on the third-seeded Bulldogs, and North Ridgeville takes on conference champion and sixth-seeded Amherst Steele on Oct. 21.

Midview’s record against Olmsted Falls is 0-19 since dating back to 2007. Since North Ridgeville joined the SWC in 2015, they have yet to defeat Amherst Steele, going 0-15 against the Comets. However, the Rangers did push them to five sets earlier in the season.