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Evening clouds will give way to clearing overnight. Low 33F. Winds NW at 5 to 10 mph.
Cardington seniors Alexis Crone (23) and Audrey Brininger (11) elevate to block a shot at the net in the first set of a match against Centerburg on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022.
Cardington seniors Alexis Crone (23) and Audrey Brininger (11) elevate to block a shot at the net in the first set of a match against Centerburg on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022.
CARDINGTON -- Thursday night marked a rare high-stakes showdown for the Cardington-Lincoln High School volleyball team.
The Pirates, winners of 22 of their last 23 conference matches, welcomed the Centerburg Trojans to town. It was a late-season battle between first and second place in the Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference – the kind of match that would define the regular season and determine who gets to hang the banner this year, and who doesn't.
And Audrey Brininger set the tone well before the first serve.
The Cardington senior was lined up on the left side of the court, set to participate in a set-and-swing drill midway through the warmup period. She waited her turn, Flo Rida blaring from the speakers as fans filed into the gym, before stepping to the net.
Centerburg's entire team watched from the sideline as Brininger elevated, received a pass, and swatted the ball over. It was loud – accompanied by an attention-grabbing SMACK! – and it was hard.
And it hit one of Brininger's teammates square in the head.
It was unintentional. These things happen in volleyball. And Bringiner's teammate, for what it's worth, appeared fine. She laughed, shook it off, and kept playing.
But Brininger didn't look back. She landed, turned and walked to the back of the line, completely expressionless.
She was here to get what she and her teammates came for. And she was ready to destroy anyone who dared get in the way.
Cardington beat Centerburg, 3-1, in front of a raucous crowd Thursday. The Pirates (16-3, 11-0) clinched their second straight KMAC title outright, completing the season sweep of Centerburg (15-4, 9-2) and taking a two-match lead over the Trojans with one league match remaining.
It marked the program's fifth conference title, with the others occurring in 1976, 1977, 1983 and 2021. And it signaled newfound dominance for a program that has had to fight its way to the top.
The Pirates finished fifth in the KMAC in 2017, fourth in 2018, third in 2019, and second in 2020 before winning back-to-back conference titles the last two seasons.
Cardington head coach Ryan Treese said Thursday he was proud of how far the program had come.
"This is something that we’ve talked about for five years. When I got here, these girls were going into eighth grade, and we knew they were going to be special. But winning a conference championship is really hard – no matter what sport, no matter who you are, it’s still really hard," Treese said.
"And to be able to do it back-to-back – I told them that the target was even gonna be bigger. Even though maybe last year the league was a little bit more competitive, the target this year was way bigger. … Everybody just wanted to beat us, and it showed tonight. (Centerburg) wanted it in that second set. But to be able to do it two years in a row was awesome."
Cardington came into Thursday night having lost just one set all season – during a 3-1 win over Northmor on Sept. 7. The Pirates swept Centerburg on Sept. 13 in the Trojans' home gym.
But the visitors gave the defending champs everything they could handle.
After dropping the first set, 25-19, Centerburg punched back. The Trojans took their first lead of the night early in the second set, on a Pirate error that made it 4-3. They'd retake the lead, 10-9, on a Kennedi Glenn kill moments later, and would hold it until Cardington narrowed the gap late.
A block from the Pirates' setter, Jadine Mills, gave Cardington a 21-20 lead. But Centerburg finished strong, closing the set on a 5-2 run with kills from Julia Orndorf, Gwyn Sands, Stella Weisbrod (twice) and Glenn.
The final point in Centerburg's 25-23 victory – a vicious kill on the left side from Weisbrod after a long rally – sent the road crowd into a frenzy.
Centerburg had not won a set against Cardington since Oct. 8, 2019, when the team's current seniors were freshmen. The Pirates had swept the Trojans six straight times. But the streak was over, and the match was now tied.
Brininger said the Pirates had to regroup and refocus in the huddle after dropping their first KMAC set in a month.
"We always have a set where we lose focus, so we were just like, 'Hey, this isn’t a team we can lose focus with,' because obviously they beat us in the set. … We can’t lose focus with them," the senior said.
"So we were just like, 'Just get back in it. … We’ve just gotta relax.' This is our gym, so we’re comfortable here, so we just kind of needed to refocus and fix little things."
The Pirates did just that in the third set. They jumped out to a 11-2 lead, then kept their foot down, cruising to a 21-7 advantage on timely defense and aggressive offense. Cardington went on to win the set, 25-11, and take a 2-1 lead.
"I’ve always been adamant (that), not that I want to lose a set, but I want to see how we handle losing a set," Treese said. "Going 3-0, 3-0, 3-0 – it’s not always good. It’s not always good for your mojo. So, what happens when you do lose a set? And we literally flipped a switch, and it was 21-7 just like that."
Centerburg made things interesting in the fourth set. The Trojans jumped out to a 4-2 lead on an ace from Sands. But Cardington put its foot down shortly thereafter.
A kill from Payton Goodman gave the Pirates a 7-6 lead, and they'd never look back. Goodman extended the lead to 13-7 on an ace, and Madison Linkous pushed it to 17-12 on a running spike moments later.
Centerburg narrowed the gap to 20-18, 23-21 and 24-22, but Treese never called timeout, instead letting his team work through it on the court. And they did. Brininger's blistering kill on the left side of the net sealed the deal, giving Cardington a 25-22 set win, a 3-1 match win, and a second consecutive conference title.
"It’s insane to make history, especially twice in a row. No one’s ever done that before," said Brininger, one of the team's seven seniors. "It’s really special to be a part of it, especially with the team we have. It’s really cool."
Brininger finished with a team-high 19 kills on Thursday. Linkous had 17 and Izzy Wickline had 10. Mills had a team-high 59 assists, while Cadie Long had a team-high 30 digs. Wickline led the team in blocks with six, and Goodman led the team in aces with three.
Brininger came through time and time again for the Pirates on Thursday. She used her athleticism, power and mental fortitude to dominate the left side of the net, coming through clutch with kills to stop Centerburg's momentum and close sets out.
Treese called the senior his "go-to kid" on the perimeter, and praised her ability to step up when needed.
"I’ll give (Centerburg) credit, too, I think (Weisbrod) is the same way. They’re not flashy. They’re not pumping their chest," Treese said.
"She’s a level-headed kid that is gonna swing no matter what happens, and we know that no matter what happens, we still know we’ve got that on the outside. It’s something special to have, as a release valve.
"I’ve talked about it for five years: we do not have to pass perfect. We just can’t shank the ball. If we don’t shank the ball and we’re out-of-system, we’re better than any team that we’re gonna play … because we have (Brininger) on the outside. We have (Izzy Wickline) blocking in the middle."
Brininger said afterwards that her teammates' confidence in her abilities makes her job doable.
"Everyone on the team, we kind of rely on each other. I know all of my teammates do a good job. I trust every single one of them (and) they trust me," Brininger said. "So if I make a mistake, it’s OK. I know my teammates have me."
It's not often that Cardington loses a set in conference play. Treese said he was proud of the way his girls responded, and believes the experience could prove beneficial moving forward.
"For them to be able to do that, it just shows their resilience and it shows that they care about (achieving the team’s long-term goals)," Treese said. "You know, we’ve talked about putting (up) a bigger banner than what we have up there, and that’s gonna happen.
"Last year, we lost to Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy (in the regional semifinals) really bad two sets, and then we won the next set. We lost 25-12. And they’re up 2-1, and we win the fourth set. So I think we’re just fighters.
"They know that they’re good – they do know that. And they’re gonna rise up when the time is special to take advantage of the moment."
Cardington has now won 22 of its last 23 conference matches. The Pirates have dropped a total of six sets over the last two seasons.
What's led to this dominance?
Treese and Brininger both said it's the team's cohesiveness. Cardington's seven seniors have all played club volleyball for Treese since the eighth grade – an experience that has fostered a deep connection between the players and their coach.
"He’s kind of annoying sometimes – like all-year-round gets a little exhausting – but it helps a lot because he knows us as players a lot better than he would (otherwise)," Brininger said of Treese. "He knows our strengths and our weaknesses, and what we feed off of."
Cardington and Centerburg both have one KMAC match remaining. The Pirates will host Mount Gilead on Tuesday night, while the Trojans will head to Fredericktown.
And then it's on to the postseason. The tournament draw will take place Sunday (Treese said he plans to take a first-round bye) and the sectional tournament will begin Oct. 17.
Cardington won its first district title last season after three straight trips to the finals. Brininger said the Pirates expect to reach new heights again this season.
"We expect to make it farther than we did last year," said Brininger, whose Pirates ultimately fell to CHCA in the regional semifinals, 3-2, last October.
"It was kind of a whole new thing last year – we’d never won districts before, we’d never been to regionals. So now that we’ve been there, we know what it’s like. We have seven seniors, so we have a lot to prove."
What will it take to make history yet again?
"We need to focus on us," Treese said. "I talked about that last week. If we focus on us and not worry about the other side of the court, it doesn't matter. We’ve gotta do us first."
But for now, Cardington will bask in the glow of another KMAC title. It's never easy to win a league championship, Treese explained, and it's even harder to repeat. But the Pirates found a way.
"It means a lot because we’ve been such a softball and girls basketball school. But they didn’t have Highland, they didn’t have that team pushing them to win seven league titles in a row for both of them. It’s what they were supposed to do," Treese said.
"Some people three years ago probably never thought we’d win a league title; we’d never go to (three) straight district finals. ... So it means a lot."
Grant is a 2018 graduate of Ohio Northern University, where he studied journalism and played basketball. He likes coffee, books and minor league baseball. He loves telling stories and has a passion for local news.
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