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WARRINGTON – Michelle Carrieri smiled as she spoke of the changes in the Central Bucks South volleyball program this season under first-year coach Ulana Keer.
“She will push us because she knows we want to win, and she wants to win,” Carrieri said. “She knows our potential, and she believes in us.”Teammate Corey Miller echoed those sentiments.
“She pushes us,” she said of Keer. “She encourages us, and even though she’ll threaten to make us run, it’s just to get us to win and, in the end, be happy.”
The Titans certainly were happy after Tuesday night’s 3-1 win over a vastly improved Central Bucks West squad (25-22, 26-24, 15-25, 25-15).
“Sometimes I’m a little tough on them, but they need to know what my expectation is of them, and anything short of that – I’m going to be upset with them,” Keer said. “But that’s okay because we’ll talk about it and fix it at practice.
“I’m very pleased. This was a great win for them.”
With the win, the Titans improved to 5-2 overall, 3-1 in league play.
“This is something we haven’t experienced yet in high school,” Miller said.
“Being our senior year – we have been waiting four years to finally have a winning season,” Carrieri added.
It apparently was well worth the wait for everyone involved, including Keer who had been an assistant at South prior to taking over the helm this year.
“I’m so proud that finally Central Bucks is lifting the level of its game,” the first-year coach said. “I have seen five years of Central Bucks struggling, and now I’m seeing Central Bucks rising again, so it’s good.
“It’s better for them, and it’s better for us.”
So what has changed?
“Better athletes, smarter kids, who believe in themselves,” Keer said. “They’re playing more volleyball – they’re contributing a lot of time and energy to the sport.”
Keer wasn’t just talking about her team’s improvement but also the improvement of a West squad that has won four games this season after going winless all of last year.
“They believe in themselves, we believe in each other, and it shows out there on the court,” West coach Ben Martin said.
The Bucks’ coach pointed to the play of his team’s defense as a key to its turnaround.
“Our defense has been playing really, really well, specifically Alexis Matarangas, Mollie Belfus and Sara Woodring, who have been unreal in the back row,” Martin said. “Last year Courtney (Cyr) was good. This year she’s been dominant.
“The combination of good defense and Courtney raising her game another level has made us really, really good.”
The Bucks, who fell to 3-2 in league play (4-3 overall), suffered a setback in Tuesday night’s match when they lost Woodring to illness midway through the third game.
“Courtney (Cyr) is our most dominant player, and Sara Woodring is probably our most irreplaceable player,” Martin said. “She is one of our anchors, and that’s why in game four our serve receive wasn’t nearly as good.
“If she’s healthy, I don’t expect that to happen at all. We had people playing positions that hadn’t practiced playing there.”
Cyr, the Bucks’ standout middle hitter, is the undisputed go-to player on the Bucks, and she admits it’s a whole different world this year.
“Last year we lost every game, but this year is a lot more encouraging,” she said. “We’re playing really well, and we’re able to come out and beat a lot of tough teams, even though this was a really tough loss tonight.”
The first two games were a war.
In game one, the Titans led 9-6 after a Miller service ace, but the Bucks trimmed that lead to one after a Cyr kill. A Jaclyn Rupert kill knotted the score 16-16, but a West hit out of play put the Titans back on top.
The two teams were deadlocked 17-17 after a net serve, but the Titans led 20-18 after a Carrieri kill. They upped that lead to 24-20 after a Meghan Kaminski kill in the middle and won it on a Haley Uzelac kill.
In game two, the Bucks took a quick 5-2 lead after a Belfus kill, but the Titans pulled to within one (8-7) after a Madi Van Houten service ace. A kill by Abby Mummert knotted the score 8-8, and they went on top by one after a Houten service winner.
The Bucks took a 20-17 lead after a Cyr block, but the Titans battled back. It was a 21-21 game after a Titan dig fell in for a winner. The Titans led 24-23 after a Carrieri kill, prompting Martin to call a timeout. A net serve by the Titans made it a 24-24 game, and when West returned the favor, the Titans had a lead they would not lose.
“They’re much better, and we’re much better,” Keer said. “I give credit to both teams. Our team is fighting like crazy, the other team is fighting like crazy, and it’s exciting volleyball.”
The Bucks seized early control of game three and never looked back. They opened up a commanding 18-8 lead after a Cyr kill, and although the Titans trimmed the lead to six (19-13), they would get no closer as the Bucks rolled to the decisive win.
“We needed to keep our heads up,” Carrieri said. “Even if we were down, we needed to stay up and push for the points.”
In game four, the Titans capitalized on several West miscues to open up a quick 4-1 lead. They stretched that lead to 7-1 after back-to-back service winners by Jenn Smith. The never-say-die Bucks made it a 12-10 game after a Sarah Steere ace, but they would get no closer as the Titans closed the game with a 13-2 run.
Despite the absence of Woodring, the Bucks hung tough.
“We were really able to mix things up, and even with a completely different lineup, we still were able to hang in there,” Cyr said. “We’ll see them again. The next time we’ll know what to expect and come out even stronger.”
Despite the loss, Cyr admits it’s been quite a season so far.
“It’s so much more fun,” she said. “First, I’m a senior, and I get to lead the team. Coming from last year, there’s nowhere to go but up.
“Last year was really tough, but we learned what we needed to work on, and we were able to fix our mistakes and come out with a brand new team this year. It’s really encouraging.”
For the South seniors, many of whom made the commitment to focus on their sport year round, the upswing of their program couldn’t have come at a better time.
“It’s great,” Miller said. “It’s so much fun, especially helping the girls who are younger than us who aren’t as experienced.”
Added Carrieri, “The most important thing is – it’s our last year, and we want to work hard to win, but we want to help the girls and encourage them to do better. We go out on the court believing we can win, knowing we’re good.”
Teams know they’re in for a battle when they face the Titans.
“Watch out for C.B. South,” Miller said with a smile. “Here we come.”
NOTES: Kaminski led the Titans with seven kills while Carrieri had seven aces. Setter Jenn Smith had 25 assists, and Jayne Mulhern led the defense with six digs.
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