Cathedral participated in its own Lady Irish Invitational this past Saturday, September 28, and faced four formidable foes on the day. Cathedral was grouped with New Castle, Perry Meridian, and Columbus East in the Blue Pool. Avon, Center Grove, New Albany, and Penn were clustered together in the Green Pool.
The first match of the day saw Cathedral pitted against New Castle, who during 2018 amassed a 35-5 record en route to their second consecutive 3A State Championship. The Lady Irish competed hard and were a spirited opponent to the season-long #1 team in the state. Fans were treated to outstanding play from Junior libero Lucia Corsaro who led the Lady Irish on defense with 8 digs and 13 serve receives. Ultimately, the Lady Trojans prevailed 2-0 in the match (16-25, 20-25).
Next up for Cathedral was Perry Meridian. Cathedral wasted no time getting back on the winning track and were steadied by the leadership of Senior middle hitter Anna Trieloff who tallied 3 kills on 7 attacks with 0 errors for a .429 kill/hit line. The Lady Irish proved too much for the Lady Falcons and won the match 2-0 (25-19, 22-25).
Pool play ended with Cathedral taking on Columbus East for the second time this season. Cathedral fell behind right out of the gate in the first set, could not overcome their lackluster start, and dropped the set to Columbus East. The second set saw better and more inspired play from the Lady Irish, but despite being on the verge of forcing a decisive final set they dropped the second set, and thus the match 2-0, to the Lady Olympians (11-25, 24-26). Freshman setter Mallory Dills tallied 15 assists on 61 ball handling attempts with only a single error for the match
In the final match of the day for Cathedral, the Lady Irish squared off against the Lady Bulldogs of New Albany. Determined to finish the day on a positive note, the Lady Irish took the first set in decisive fashion. However, the Lady Irish let their guard down for a second time on the day and the Lady Bulldogs growled their way back into the match by snatching the second set away from Cathedral. It required seven extra rallies, but the Lady Irish chained the Lady Bulldogs to win the third set and take the match 2-1 (25-13, 24-26, 19-17). Senior middle hitter Anna Neale stymied the opposition with 6 kills on 9 swings with but a single error for a .667/.556 offensive attack.
The Lady Irish finished the day with 2 wins and 2 losses. Additionally, and boding well for the future of Lady Irish volleyball, the day-long format saw Freshman hitter Caiti Barthel, Sophomore hitter Maggie Johnson, and Sophomore defensive specialist Caroline Kubacki all see action against several formidable opponents.
Next up for Cathedral is Senior Night this coming Tuesday, October 1, when the Lady Irish take on the Carmel Lady Greyhounds.