ERIE, Pa. – It’s on to the state championship for the Cochranton Cardinals.
In the all-District 10 Class 2A semifinal, the Cardinals beat Mercyhurst Prep, 3-1, 24-26, 25-21, 25-22, 25-23, advancing to the PIAA championship match for the first time in program history and also avenging a loss to the Lakers in the D10 title match in the process.
They also surpassed last season, when they made it to the semifinal round before falling to rival Meadville.
“We’re going to celebrate tonight and get back to business tomorrow,” said Cochranton coach Rob Cierniakoski. “I think it (big match experience) definitely helps. We were able to stay aggressive at the service line. When the other team goes on a run or makes a play, we just kind of bounce back. These guys trust each other.”
The Cardinals bounced back from a set one loss in which they led 6-1, only to fall behind 21-14 before rallying to tie it at 24.
“Honestly it just took a lot of commitment, and it took our community,” said Chase Miller, who finished with 16 kills. “We have a lot of people supporting us and honestly our community is the biggest reason we were able to go out there and win.”
See Miller’s full interview:
Cochranton jumped out to lead in each set except the fourth, in which they fell behind 3-1. It was a true back-and-forth affair, as neither team led by more than two in the fourth.
With the score tied at 21-all, the Cardinals got a kill from Landon Homa and an ace from Noah Cummings to go up 23-21. Mercyhurst Prep got back-to-back points, including a kill from Octavian Sperry to tie it up, but the Cardinals responded with back-to-back kills from Homa and Brady Rynd to end it.
“Some of our guys that see their names a lot for kills and assists, they did their thing today, but those other guys that don’t always show up statistically made big plays when we needed them,” Cierniakoski said.
Much like the first set, Cochranton jumped out to an early 5-1 advantage after a block from Dustin Miller. Once again, Mercyhurst Prep came back, knotting it back up at 15-all after a Dave Bahm kill.
This time, however, the Cardinals had the answer. With the score tied at 18-all, the Cardinals closed the set on a 7-3 run, with Chase Miller and Brady Rynd both notching key kills during the run.
Andy Custead ran the offense to perfection, finishing with 55 assists and constantly putting his hitters in good spots.
“We’re all excited, but I think it will sink in more on the ride home,” Custead said.
See Custead’s full interview:
The Cardinals third set was nearly a carbon copy start as the first two, racing out to a 13-6 lead after a Mercyhurst Prep hitting error.
Once again, however, the Lakers rallied, coming back to tie it at 16-16 and again at 22-22 after a kill from Bahm.
The Cardinals, who never trailed in the set, once again had the answer, getting a big block from Chase Miller and a carry call on the Lakers to help close out the third and take a 2-1 lead.
Cierniakoski also noted the high number of blocks for his team relative to what they have done over the course of the season.
“That was big,” Cierniakoski said. “That really hasn’t been a huge part of our game throughout the season, so to be able to come out and at the biggest moments at the net definitely made it easier on our defense.”:
Homa finished with a team-high 20 kills for Cochranton, while Dustin Miller had five kills and seven digs, Noah Cummings had six kills and four blocks, Rynd had five kills and five blocks and Dustin Miller had five digs and seven kills
Sperry led Mercyhurst Prep with 19 kills, while Anthony Martucci, Bahm, Gino Baretta, and Mason Rupp had seven each. Josh Wingenbach directed the offense with 27 assists.
The Cardinals will draw two-time defending PIAA champion Lower Dauphin in the finals on Saturday at Penn State’s Rec Hall. The Falcons beat Exeter, 3-1.
“For sure (they’ve thought about it),” Cierniakoski said. “At Cochranton, it’s a generational thing for volleyball and it’s decades of families putting all their effort into having a great program. You know that they’ve thought about this since the time they were little kids.”
