Girls Volleyball: Area players enjoy competing against the best
Monday, October 9, 2023
By Michael Rich
mrich@cbussports.com
Sophomore Emma Cugino (left) and senior Maddie Cugino are key players for the Olentangy Orange girls volleyball team this season. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Maddie Cugino heard her younger sister Emma calling out shot selection during the Olentangy Orange girls volleyball team’s 25-20, 25-6, 25-9 win at Dublin Coffman on Oct. 3. It’s become commonplace for the sisters during a match.
Maddie, a senior, and Emma, a sophomore, are both liberos by trade. Maddie is committed to play at Gonzaga as a libero, but she plays as a hitter so Pioneers’ coach Katie Duy can get both in the lineup.
“It’s fun to see how our brains work on the court together,” Maddie Cugino said. “We think similarly. She helps me with my shots on the court. She always calls my shots for me. She did it a couple of times (against Coffman). Little sister telling big sister what to do.”
Against Coffman, the Cuginos were playing after having just returned from USA Volleyball National Team Development’s Indoor Fall Training Series, which was held Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 at the US Olympic and Paralympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.
Maddie Cugino participated in the U18 and U19 camp while Emma was with the U15, U16 and U17 group.
Dublin Scioto senior Alec Rothe, Watterson sophomore Layla Hoying and Hartley sophomore Mallory Matheny also participated in the camps.
“They’re selected via a nationwide scouting network, so it’s a really good opportunity for them,” Duy said. “All of them have played at extremely high levels.”
Hoying was with the younger age group in camp along with Emma Cugino and Matheny.
“It was really unreal,” Hoying said. “I found out two months ago that I was going, but it didn’t feel real until I was there. We got to train at the Olympic center, so it was crazy to think of all the athletes that have been there and gone through that. So, that was super cool.
“I recognized a lot of faces from tournaments from big-time teams that I’ve seen (and) older girls that I definitely look up to. It definitely encouraged me to work super hard while I was there.”
‘The emergence of club’
When Duy interviewed for the job at Orange before the 2015 season, she had an eight-year plan for making the Pioneers into an elite program in central Ohio.
Part of that plan was to get her players to participate in high-level volleyball during the club season.
“I’ve been (in central Ohio) for 12 years and I think the biggest thing has been the emergence of club, in particular Mintonette (Sports) and Elite (Volleyball Training Center), have made these girls so much better,” she said. “Because of that, they’re getting identified for opportunities like this.”
The more opportunities to play against high-level competition, the better it is for the program. The Pioneers are 17-3 overall and 8-0 in OCC-Central Division play and are ranked sixth in the state in Division I and seeded second in the district tournament, which begins next week.
Maddie’s experience as a hitter has proven valuable.
“When I play defense, it helps me dig into my hitter mind and kind of know the shot they’re going to do,” said Maddie, who has 159 kills, 42 aces and 234 digs for the Pioneers this season. “I have that experience in school ball, so it helps my defense in club.”
Bishop Watterson’s Layla Hoying hits the ball during the visiting Eagles’ five-game match with Dublin Scioto on Oct. 2. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Emma, who leads Orange with 317 digs, began playing the sport because of Maddie.
“Maddie is the reason I got into volleyball. I’ve always looked up to her,” Emma said. “I learned a lot of things from her, so it’s really nice to play on her level. She is my safe place on the court. When I’m in my head or I’ve made a few mistakes on the court, I always go to her and she helps me out.”
Senior Lily Barron, a Houston commit, has 203 kills and 179 digs, sophomore Izzy Scholvin has 511 assists and senior Skylar Kelso has 41 blocks for Orange.
“We have so many kids that have played at high level in club and have won national championships,” said Duy, whose team is seeking its first appearance in the state tournament. “We produce a tough schedule and test them a lot during the season, but I think the best part about this group is they’re battle-tested.”
Maddie Cugino has participated in four USA volleyball camps, which are held quarterly. But this was her first experience at the training facility in Colorado Springs. Emma was participating in the camp for the first time.
“At first, I was nervous because they’re some of the best (players),” she said. “But I realized I could play up to that level and I learned a lot. Just being consistent and some tricks from some of the best players in the world. I think it brings the best out of them. They want to continue to compete and they want to play the best. This is a team that doesn’t really shy away or back down from that.”
But this wasn’t her first experience playing at high level. Her Mintonette club team was runner-up at the USAV junior national championship ages 14 through 17 last summer. Scholvin and fellow sophomore Maci Gerboth were on that team along with Hoying and Watterson junior Isabelle Thomas.
A long year
Being battle-tested has its drawbacks though. The club season runs from December through April with tryouts in October and November.
“These kids go and play club for nine months,” Duy said. “There are some negatives about it. The travel schedule is brutal and the kids don’t get a break. There’s a lot of injuries because of over-training. There are a lot of cons as well.”
Rothe didn’t get to bed until after 2:30 in the morning on Oct. 2. That night, she led the Irish to a 25-15, 22-25, 23-25, 25-12, 15-9 win over Watterson in a marathon match.
Scioto, which is 20-0 overall and 12-0 in the OCC-Capital, is fifth in the state in Division I and the top-seeded team in the district tournament.
“I think I’m still a little bit delusional from the travel,” Rothe said jokingly after the match. “I feel great and I got enough rest to perform. I was fueling my body all day and drinking lots of water. I knew that I didn’t have enough sleep, but that’s not an excuse. I had to lock in and perform.”
Rothe, a Florida commit, is no stranger to high-level volleyball after participating for USA Volleyball in International Volleyball Federation Women’s U21 World Championship from Aug. 17 to 26 in Mexico. She’s also slated to compete in the Under Armour All-America game on Jan. 2 in Orlando, Florida.
“(Volleyball) is basically year-round,” Scioto coach Jackie Wilson said. “As soon as high school season is over, they start practice and tournaments start in January and run all the way through the first of July and then tryouts for the next season. So, they don’t stop.
“The benefit of playing and playing at a high level certainly helps the high school season become more competitive. But I do think that it’s a little too much. We had some overuse injuries – girls that went to club tryouts and needed to take two or three weeks off because their backs were sore or their shins were sore. We were concerned about stress fractures. There is a point in time where the benefits of playing a lot of volleyball are outweighed by the physical stress and toll it’s putting on their bodies.”
Dublin Scioto’s Alec Rothe is all smiles during the host Irish five-game win over Bishop Watterson on Oct. 2. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Despite missing five games at the beginning of the season to play with USA Volleyball, Rothe leads the Irish with 202 kills while adding 96 digs and 29 blocks.
Junior Maddie Zechman has 534 assists and 52 aces, senior Amariah White has 47 blocks and senior Sophia Schwab has 195 digs to lead the Irish. Junior Kayden Winbush has 173 kills and 159 digs.
While much of Rothe’s time is devoted to the sport, she knew the value of being a multi-sport athlete. She played basketball for three years and lacrosse for two years at Scioto.
“It was easy for me to make that commitment to go to those practices and play in those games and then go to (volleyball) tournaments because I love what I was doing” she said. “I feel like it’s so easy for athletes to get burnt out because they’re trying to give 100% to everything they’re doing – school, sports and extracurriculars. It’s a lot. It’s time management and keeping your priorities in order. Sometimes you have to say no.”
‘It can work’
Rothe said she’s been told by volleyball coaches in the past to specialize.
“I’ve been told that so many times,” she said. “For me, that wasn’t really an option. I was not going to stop. Coach Wilson encourages multiple sports. But the people that have told me in the past have been trying to look out for me.
“They have a different perspective on things and we have differing opinions. There’s no hard feelings towards that – it’s just their opinion.”
Watterson coach Stephanie Grieshop is well-versed in the debate. She is also the assistant director and tournament director of Mintonette.
She said it’s up to the athlete to decide what they want to do when it comes to playing other sports.
“We’ve had players that have (played multiple sports),” she said. “I think of Emily Londot, who plays at (Ohio State). She played basketball (at Utica) all four years. Eloise Brandewie, (now) playing at OSU. She was recruited Division I for basketball and volleyball. She did both all four years.
“We have a travel softball player – Lyla Stewart from DeSales – that plays softball and volleyball. It can be done. I think some people use it as an excuse to not do two sports and that could be a family choice. But it’s not like (our) club is saying, ‘No, you can’t do that.’ We’ve had swimmers, we’ve had wrestlers, we’ve gymnasts … so, it can work.”
The experience of playing at a high-level or participating in camps like the one Hoying attended last weekend is evaluable.
“Sometimes it’s run by US national coaches and sometimes it’s run by college coaches,” Greishop said. “Anything you can do to hone your game, learn from other people and gain wisdom is going to make you a better player.”
Hoying has 218 kills and 39 aces, junior Makenna Glenn has 296 digs, senior Maija Eglitis has 293 assists and senior Peyton Graham has 53 blocks to lead the Eagles, who are 10-8 overall and 2-1 in the Central Catholic League, and are ranked 16th in Division I.
Junior Jessie Musselman has 144 kills and 155 digs and junior Emma Cloran has 271 assists for Watterson, which is seeded seventh in the district tournament.
Though Rothe was adamant about playing multiple sports in high school, she’s looking forward to the chance to specialize at Florida.
“I’m just scraping the surface of my potential because I haven’t fully committed to the sport,” she said. “When I’m at volleyball, 100% of my focus is on volleyball. But I have other things that I’m focusing on. I think it’s going to be really cool when I start working with Florida coaches and Florida weight trainers just to see where I can go.”