MADISON TOWNSHIP — Even without its spark plug, Madison was firing on all cylinders Thursday at Madison Middle School.
Filling in for injured libero Chase Carper, Kendall Bertoch had 19 digs to help lead Madison to a three game victory over Wooster in Ohio Cardinal Conference action. The Rams won 25-18, 28-26, 25-16 to improve to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in the OCC.
A four-year starter, Carper was on crutches after suffering a knee injury in a win over Galion last week. She will have an MRI today to determine the nature and the extent of the injury.
“It could be the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) or the MCL (medial collateral ligament). We’re very concerned about it, but we just don’t know much right now,” Madison coach Brian Votaw said. “We’re all praying that it’s nothing serious, but it doesn’t look good. That would be a blow to our team.
“Kendall did a good job of stepping in, but you can’t replace a four-year starter who is probably one of the top 15 players at her position in the state.”
The Rams struggled in the early stages Thursday before finding their footing. Votaw made a few defensive adjustments and Madison settled itself.
“In the first game Wooster was hitting a lot of balls to the outsides,” Votaw said. “We made our adjustment and I don’t think they got any clean hits after the midway point of that first game.”
The Rams rallied late in the second game to break Wooster’s back. Madison built a comfortable lead in the third and sailed to the win.
“It’s definitely challenging to play without Chase,” said senior outside hitter Ali Brown, an All-Ohio honorable mention selection last year. “We had to switch up some positions but together we are strong enough that we can get through a tough situation like that.”
Junior outside hitter Kamilla Brown led Madison with 14 kills, while senior middle hitter Mekaila Grose added 11 kills. Senior setter Katie Wagner, an All-Ohio second team selection last year, had 29 assists and 17 digs.
Great Expectations: The Rams won the OCC title and advanced to the Division II regional tournament before falling to eventual state champion Parma Padua.
With a wealth of talent back from last year’s team, expectations are as lofty as ever for one of Richland County’s premier programs.
“We lost some good seniors off last year’s team who were big contributors to our tournament run, but the team we have now can make a run,” Grose said. I believe in us.”
The Rams lost defensive specialists Liz Sutter and Maggie Andrews to graduation.
“I think our hitting is solid, our setting is solid, our serve is solid and our serve receive is pretty good,” Votaw said. “Our defense is where we need some work and that isn’t a surprise. We lost two very good defensive players.
“The girls we have this year are doing a good job but the girls we had last year, one was a four-year defensive specialist and the other was a two-year defensive specialist. The girls we have out there this year are five-game defensive specialists. There’s a big difference.”
Game Faces?: There were plenty of smiles to go around during the third game Thursday, but all those grins shouldn’t be mistaken for a lack of intensity. Madison is all business on the court.
But the Rams like to have fun, too.
“I feel like we play better when we’re silly and giggly and having fun,” Grose said. “When we’re not like that, things start to get a little stressful.”
The Rams takes their cue from their head coach.
“A lot of how I respond and react is how the girls react,” Votaw said. “Poise is a big key. If they look at me and see that I’m poised, they’re going to be all right.”
