Losing the first set could have spelled doom for Cardozo. Ashley Grubler wouldn’t let it and not just because of what she did on the court.
“She did a great job,” Judges coach Danny Scarola said. “She just laughed it off. Instead of people hanging their heads, which they could have, she kept things loose. She just said, ‘Let’s go, second set. We know what we have to do.’ Like it was nothing.”
Grubler ended up with 18 kills, 10 digs and two blocks as No. 2 Cardozo defeated seventh-seeded Hunter College HS, 22-25, 25-17, 25-19, in the PSAL Class A girls volleyball quarterfinals Thursday in Oakland Gardens. The defending champion Judges, in their third straight final four, take on No. 3 Susan Wagner in the semis 3:30 p.m. Saturday at York College in Queens.
“We came out sluggish against them,” Scarola said of Hunter. “The girls looked tight and nervous. … Then we were starting to hit, we were passing really well and we were serving OK.”
Adriana Braciak had five kills and 17 digs, Jessica Lou had 25 assists and Amy Sung had 20 digs. Melissa Medina had four blocks, Jeanette Santiago had three blocks and Cassidy Chen added five digs for Cardozo (12-0).
Tiffany Ramos had eight kills and 13 digs, Courtney Ligh had five kills, five digs and four blocks and Gaby Frid had 19 assists for Hunter (14-1). Belinda Zhou tallied 14 digs and Emma Almon added 11 digs.
“Everything we hit they picked up,” Scarola said. “We were getting upset.”
Cardozo turned it around, though, and now it’ll meet Wagner for the second straight time in the playoffs. The Judges have won both times with last year’s coming in a thrilling PSAL Class A championship match.
No. 1 Stuyvesant 2, No. 8 Midwood 0: Natalie Kozlova had eight kills and Melissa Chin had five kills and eight aces to lead Stuy (14-0) to a 25-16, 25-22 win. Lisa Qiu had 16 assists and Anna Wang added five aces. The Vixens meet No. 4 Francis Lewis in the semifinals 2 p.m. Saturday at York College. Midwood finishes 11-2.
CLASS B
No. 1 Scholars Academy 2, No. 9 Campus Magnet 0: Nicole Glaz had seven kills and Athena McDonald Smith had 12 aces and 10 assists to lead Scholars (15-0) to a 25-21, 25-11 win. Megan LaCognata added seven aces and seven digs, Shannon Toomey notched 10 digs and Emma Michaels had two blocks. Defending champion Scholars meets No. 4 Goldstein in the semifinals 11 a.m. Saturday at York College. Campus Magnet finishes 11-4.
No. 2 Riverdale/Kingsbridge 2, No. 7 GW 0: Giulia Feigenbaum had seven kills, Alberita Rugova had six aces and six digs and Perla Pozo had nine assists and 11 digs for RKA (12-0) in a 25-16, 25-16 win. Thalia Fernandez had seven digs. The Tigers meet No. 3 Fort Hamilton in the semifinals 12:30 p.m. Saturday at York College. GW finishes 14-1.
No. 3 Fort Hamilton 2, No. 6 MLK 0: Sarina Rozek had six kills and seven digs, Cansu Ilay Zor had 10 assists and Brenda Gonzalez followed with six aces to lead Fort Hamilton (9-1) to a 25-17, 25-7 win. The Tigers meet No. 2 Riverdale/Kingsbridge in the semifinals 12:30 p.m. Saturday at York College. MLK finishes 12-1.
No. 4 Goldstein 2, No. 5 John Adams 0: Kristen Herchenroder had 15 kills, Nicole Maisonet added seven kills and Dunia Elbassiony had six kills for Goldstein (8-2) in a 25-9, 25-18 win. Rashelle Ripa had 21 assists. The Dolphins meet top-seed Scholars in the semifinals 11 a.m. Saturday at York College. Adams finishes 13-1.
