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Carley leads Cobras past Ridgewood

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By EDDIE DANIELS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 6, 2009

HUDSON - Had someone placed a cape on the back of Cara Carley, it wouldn't have been out of place.

The Hudson senior did very little wrong Tuesday night, leading the Cobras to a 25-21, 25-23, 25-19 victory against a steady Ridgewood volleyball team. She finished the night with 18 kills on 21 attacks.

"We couldn't contain her," said Ridgewood coach Amber Starkey. "We struggled with our timing at the net and they outplayed us at the net."

Here's a statistic that should put Carley's performance into perspective: In the 15 games played prior to Tuesday night's contest, Carley had a season total of 31 kills.

Smiling and not willing to take the bulk of the credit, Carley admitted, it was just one of those nights.

"Everyone has those days where you have the feeling," Carley said. "It's not just me every game. It's everyone and tonight was just my night. Everyone is pretty consistent on the team, but sometimes one of us is unstoppable at a certain time."

Of course Carley may not have had the night she had if not for the passing of the Cobras defense and the setting of Lisa Kerns. In all, Kerns finished the night with 32 assists. She was able to spread the ball when needed and take advantage of Carley's hot hand on the left side.

The way Ridgewood (11-3) played early on, it was going to take a performance like Carley's to trip the Rams up.

In Game 1, Ridgewood sprinted ahead to a 9-2 advantage. Four Hudson hitting errors and three aces by Madison Pretto didn't help the Cobras' cause.

At 6-1, Hudson coach Shayna Munson called a timeout to get her group to refocus. Just out of that break, Ridgewood scored again, compounding matters. Back-to-back kills by Carley in addition to two aces by Jessica Imbimbo, helped pull the Cobras into a 14-14 tie.

Hudson (15-3) eventually took the lead and ended the game on a Katy McGee kill.

Game 2 was a back and forth affair as neither team could gain traction. The teams shared two lead changes and five ties in the first 21 points.

"We're a second half team," Munson said. "The first part of the games we're trying to figure them out and then we just kick into second gear and we go."

Midway through the second game, it appeared Ridgewood was on its way to a victory. Hudson, on three consecutive volleys, sent balls sailing outside of the court's end lines. Shannon Zasloff's kill from the middle of the Cobras attack tied the game, 23-23. The set came to an end on Lacey Carley's ace. Ironically, the sophomore was celebrating a birthday.

Six of Cara Carley's 18 kills came in Game 3.

"She was on fire tonight," Munson said. "That's the best I've ever seen her play since the beginning of the season."

In that game, Hudson never trailed. After Emily Hooten's tip for game-point, an errant Ridgewood tip went out of bounds to end the contest.

Reporter Eddie Daniels can be reached at (813) 259-7066.

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