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Coldwater's Mara Riethman (11) goes up for a spike against Parkway.
COLDWATER - If there was ever a team to define the word "resilient" this volleyball season, Coldwater would be a popular pick.
After a pair of tough losses earlier in the week, the Cavaliers came back from 1-0 and 2-1 match deficits to beat Parkway 20-25, 25-13, 25-27, 25-15, 15-10 Thursday night to claim the team's sixth Midwest Athletic Conference title, with the most recent coming in 2024.
"Our schedule has been a gauntlet, so it just feels awesome to have that victory. We were struggling at 17 in the last couple of matches, made some adjustments and I really like how the girls responded today," said Coldwater coach Nikki Etzler, who collected her fifth title as the Cavs head coach with the win. "Parkway's a great team, they have some really great players, and we knew it was going to be a battle. So just really proud of this team for being able to make adjustments and be team oriented."
Parkway started the match strong, and with the help of two kills from Megan Hughes and aces from Hadley Stover and Cami Langenkamp the team took a 13-6 lead. Coldwater battled to trim the margin to 22-19 after Campbell Etzler's kill, but the Panthers were too strong and Izzy Knapke's kill sealed the first set win for the visitors.
With a clean slate to start the second set, Coldwater looked like a new team. After Parkway turned a 3-1 deficit to a 5-3 lead, the Cavs settled in. An errant shot from the Panthers tied the set at 5-all and an ace from Mara Riethman sparked the four-point swing to give the Cavaliers an 8-5 lead.
The Coldwater lead grew to 14-7, and another run began. Etzler earned two kills and Harlow Heyne added another to push the lead to 19-7, and eventually the Cavs tied the match at 1-1 on Ontrop's kill.
Parkway's Cami Langenkamp (12) spikes the ball as Coldwater's Harlow Heyne (8) goes up for the block.
Parkway opened the third set much like the first, and ran out to a 7-2 lead after an ace from Savada Triplett to force a Coldwater timeout. The break worked as the team got into their system and tied the match at 11-all to force a timeout from the Panthers.
Coldwater's first lead of the set came the next point when Etzler's shot found the hardwood, and the teams traded leads to a 18-all tie. A shot from Naomi Knapke was just long to give the Cavs the edge at 19-18 and another kill from Etzler gave the hosts a 22-20 lead.
Heyne picked up a key termination block that set up set-point, but Izzy Knapke put the ball down the next point to keep Parkway alive. An ace from Hadley Stover was neutralized by an errant shot from the Panthers, but Triplett put the visitors back on top at 26-25 the next point.
After a back-and-forth rally, Naomi Knapke's block was the difference and Parkway had a 2-1 match lead.
But Coldwater was far from done. An early 4-1 lead was pushed to 17-10 with Parkway using both timeouts to try and halt the momentum. It did not work however, and with Etzler serving, the Cavs built up a 20-10 lead.
A pair of violations from Parkway set up set-point for the Cavs, where the Panthers were called for another violation at the net to tie the match at 2-all.
"It was a battle from both sides, (Coldwater) went on a couple runs. Every set they won, there were a couple back to backs where we just got ourselves down five or six. Against a good team, it's hard to bounce back from that where they're not giving a lot to you," said Parkway coach Jordan Henkle.
With the fans on their feet to open the fifth set, Parkway made the home side sit down early. Blocks from Triplett and Izzy Knapke opened the deciding set, but Coldwater used an ace from Etzler and a kill from Ella Werling to take a 5-4 lead.
After trading miscues, the Cavs had a 7-5 lead and the serve with Riethman doing the honors. Two shots carried a bit too far for the Panthers, while Etzler and Ontrop pushed the host's lead to 10-5 and forced the second Parkway timeout.
The Panthers fought back with kills from Triplett and a block from Izzy Knapke to make it a 12-10 Coldwater lead, but the ensuing serve from KJae Stover was too long to give the Cavs a chance for the win.
Another errant shot from the Panthers made it 14-10, where after a long rally the ref blew for a Parkway violation as the lid blew off the Palace.
Coldwater senior Paige Ontrop (18) holds up the Midwest Athletic Conference championship trophy after the Cavaliers defeated Parkway in five sets to claim the program's fourth title in the last five seasons.
"I saw maturity today, which is great because the last two matches we just weren't confident in those moments, and I saw confidence today. That was awesome," said coach Etzler.
Coldwater opens its postseason at home on Oct. 22 against Fostoria, while Parkway waits for the winner between New Bremen and Lima Central Catholic for their postseason opener on Oct. 27.
