EATON TWP. — However many more matches there will be for Katy Zapolnik, there will likely be none sweeter than the one she coached Tuesday night.
Zapolnik, Midview’s interim head coach, watched her team shake off the turmoil of last week and beat Bay, 22-25, 25-22, 25-19, 20-25, 15-9, in a showdown for first place in the West Shore Conference.
Zapolnik replaced Debbie Borsz, who resigned Friday following a loss to Fairview on Thursday.
The victory gave Midview (16-5, 11-2 WSC) no worse than a tie for the WSC championship. The Middies only have to beat winless North Ridgeville on Thursday to win the title outright.
“I don’t think so,” Zapolnik said when asked if any other victory could ever equal Tuesday’s. “They played more united than they ever have. They deserve this. They played their hearts out. Bay did too. It was a great conference match.”
Bay (13-8, 10-3 WSC) has to hope for a North Ridgeville upset and a victory Thursday over Avon, a team that beat the Rockets in their first meeting, to share the conference crown.
“It feels really, really good,” senior setter Hannah Duran said. “Words can’t explain it.”
Duran was not at a loss for words this weekend. She wrote letters to her teammates, explaining the importance of putting the past behind them.
“After all that happened this last weekend, we needed to get pumped again,” Duran said.
“We all knew what we had to do,” senior hitter Jacki Street said.
It almost got away from the Middies. Bay had the momentum heading into Game 5 after scoring the final eight points of the fourth game to pull out a 25-20 victory and force the tiebreaker.
But Midview started strong and finished the same way in the final game. The Middies opened a 5-0 lead and scored the last five points after the Rockets closed to within 10-9.
Street paced Midview with 15 kills. Danielle Szpak had 12 kills and freshman Arianna Cumberledge added 10. Szpak had 18 digs and Cumberledge served six aces.
“Their setter (Duran) made all the difference,” Bay coach Tony Tahan said. “She always put the ball where someone could hit it. Their blocking was better than ours, too.”
Brittany Leininger led Midview with seven solo blocks. Street was right behind with six blocks.
Pam Urwin, Bay’s only senior, and 6-foot-1 junior Sarah Vick, had excellent matches for the Rockets. Urwin led all hitters with 20 kills and Vick had 12 solo blocks. Sophomore Marissa Radick added 13 kills and 13 digs.
“My senior had an outstanding match,” Tahan said.
Urwin was most outstanding at the end of the opener. She finished with eight kills for the game and killed the final two points after the Middies had rallied from a 22-18 deficit to tie.
Bay led 22-19 in Game 2 before Midview scored the final six points to even the match at a game apiece. Szpak had two kills and Cumberledge served two aces in that spree. Leininger’s block kill provided the winning point.
The Middies broke away from a 10-10 tie with six unanswered points in Game 3. The Rockets got as close as three points before Midview stretched its advantage to 22-15. Street had seven of her kills in the third game.
It was Bay’s turn to come from behind in the fourth game. Midview led 18-14 and 20-17 before the Rockets went on their eight-point run. Urwin and Vick had two kills each and Vick had a kill block during that stretch.
Angie Bayus served two aces as Midview opened its 5-0 lead. Stephanie Bayus was at the service line as the Middies finished the match with five straight points. Cumberledge had three kills in the last game.
Contact Steve Byrne at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.

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