Cranford head volleyball coach Lucy Diaz was thinking back to the 2008 Group 2 state finals while watching the Lady Cougars' game against Tenafly on Tuesday.
In that game last December, the Lady Cougars would battle to the tune of a 30-28 and 25-21 victory over Demarest and bring home the Group 2 state title.
Cranford appeared to be getting the upper hand this time around as they took the first game in the state match against Tenafly with a 24-23 lead. But an error on Cranford's side tied the game at 24, and the bad news just kept coming. The two-game match ended in Cranford defeat, 32-30 and 25-1.
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The Lady Cougars had seven chances to close out the Lady Tigers, but each time Tenafly would come back with a tie until they closed it off with a final smash from Alexandra Zigouras.
Cranford fought hard in the second game, but the Tenafly front line posed too much and beat Cranford 25-21. The Lady Cougars finished with a 17-8 record for the season.
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"It was a well played game," said Diaz. "It could have gone either way."
In her last game for Cranford, senior Meghan Bartsch led the way with 10 kills and 18 assists. Another senior, Kristen Rupp, also had 10 kills to go along with two aces and four service points. Senior, Kaitlyn Irwin, led the Lady Cougars with 10 digs. She also had five service points. Sarah Barry added 13 assists.
Tthe Lady Cougars had a hard time handling a Tenafly players Zigouras and Jesse Shevins. Zigouras was especially a thorn in the side of Cranford as she would thwart a couple of comebacks by the Lady Cougars.
"They had those two hitters and I think we allowed them to do too much," said Diaz.
In the second game Cranford came out and grabbed a 9-6 lead after a service ace from Katie Knorr.
"In the second game you have to dig down deep and overcome the fatigue and the pressure," said Diaz.
She added that at times the fatigue might have affected the team's serves, giving the Tenafly points while the Tigers were able to stay away from the net.
"Your serving has to be on and consistent," said Diaz.
While heartbreaking for Cranford, it was tough for the seniors Bartsch, Emma Hansen, Irwin, Rupp, Julie DeBella, Megan Schmeling and Deanna Stirk to swallow their final game in the blue and yellow.
