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Cary-Grove wins Asics Challenge over 10-time champ Assumption

Cary-Grove outside hitter Kelly Lamberti named tournament MVP

Cary-Grove remains undefeated at 24-0.

10/06/10 -

Related: Top 10 from Asics Challenge | Update from Day 1

Cary-Grove (Cary, Ill.) won its first ever Asics Challenge title Saturday over 10-time winner Assumption (Louisville, Ky.) 25-23, 25-18.

Cary-Grove came in as the No. 1-seeded team from Illinois but second in the tournament to Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Fla.). Assumption was seeded fourth in the tournament behind Marist (Chicago, Ill.).

In game one, Assumption played great defense and jumped out 12-7. But Cary-Grove outside hitter Kelly Lamberti turned it on. She was an offensive powerhouse on the pipe in the back row and on the outside. Cary-Grove caught up 18-19, followed by some tough jump serving by senior middle blocker Ashley Rosch. Setter Colleen Smith was effective with her dumps and used Lamberti to her advantage. Cary-Grove won game one 25-23.

Cary-Grove kept the pressure on in game two as they continued to serve aggressively. Rosch continued to rip her jumpy as did junior Melanie Jereb.

The Assumption defense played well, led by defensive specialist London Ackermann and libero Jackie Napper. Cary-Grove’s Smith kept dishing out nectar sets to Lamberti who had 18 kills for the match with practically no errors. Cary-Grove won game two 25-18. Lamberti was unstoppable on the outside and was named tournament MVP.

Berkeley Prep (Tampa, Fla.) met up with Assumption (Louisville, Ky.) in the first semifinal. The Rockets were too much for the Bucs to handle. Assumption had an array of attackers and the Bucs relied on heavily on phenom Jordan Burgess. The Rockets prevailed 25-18.

In the other semifinal Marist (Chicago, Ill.) met up with undefeated Cary-Grove (Cary, Ill.).

Cary-Grove shellacked Marist in the first game 21-7. The next game was closer but the Trojans prevailed 25-2 led by seniors Colleen Smith and Kelly Lamberti.

For the third place match, Berkeley Prep took care of Marist in two, 25-20, 25-20. Burgess was once again on fire leading her team in kills.

Senior libero Patti Abshire of Catholic Memorial (Wakesha, Wis.), senior middle blocker Jeni Houser of Assumption, Jordan Burgess, senior libero Caroline Niedospial of Marist (Chicago, Ill.) and junior outside hitter Lizzy Scanlon of Mother McAuley (Chicago, Ill.) were named to the All-Tournament team. Lamberti was named tournament MVP.

“In two years, and playing at the level she is playing at, it’s extraordinary what she knows,” says Jeff Ham, Warner’s coach this past season on the Texas Tornados 17 Mizuno squad. “She’s constantly learning. The strides she has made have been great.”

The sport of volleyball did, indeed, come later on in the game for Warner. Her prior cups of tea were basketball and, most notably, track and field. Warner was a national champion in club track and field in the pentathlon and was consistently a Top 5 national finisher in the high jump and 100 meter hurdle events.

“When I started playing volleyball, it looked fun, so I figured I would try it,” says Warner, who started playing volleyball in the eighth grade. “When track came around the next season, I wasn’t as interested in it. I didn’t enjoy all of the stuff that went along with track anymore. When it came time for track, I realized I didn’t like it as much as I used to.”

So Warner, who will play for the Texas Pride club team next season, embarked on a crash course in becoming a Division I college volleyball athlete, a feat that is even more impressive considering the fact she plays at the high school level for a homeschool team that draws players from around the Houston metropolitan area. Homeschool teams generally fly under the usual high school volleyball powerhouse radar.

Warner, who has been homeschooled her entire life by her parents, plays for the talented Texas Tornados homeschool team that is a constant presence at the national homeschool tournament each year. The team took fifth in the nation last year with Warner earning Gold Division all-tournament honors.

Warner’s mother, Veronica, is the Tornados coach and noted Warner’s presence in last year’s event drew buzz the likes of which had not been seen at the tournament since former Penn State defensive standout Roberta Holehouse played in it.

The impressive part in this equation has been Warner’s ability to transition from the homeschool game and pick up the vastly more competitive club game in a matter of only two seasons.

“There’s a huge difference,” admits Warner, whose older sister, Marina, also plays volleyball and plans on playing at the collegiate level (she’s a year older than Serena). “With homeschool I’m more of a leader. I’m still considered a leader on my club team, but everybody is on the same level compared to homeschool. It (the homeschool game) is a different environment. I have fun playing on both teams, but there is a major difference in the level of play. Club is so much quicker and so much faster. I had to think much quicker when I first started in all aspects of the game.”

But what opponents in both arenas get a steady diet of is a vastly improved player who has chosen to take a road less traveled in team sports—a liking of the defensive game.

“Blocking is probably my favorite part of the game,” Warner says. “It’s my best part of the game. It’s fun to block. It gets everybody pumped up and excited for the other plays.”

Cross-Battle has seen Warner’s increased volleyball IQ transfer into the blocking part of the game.

“(When she first started) she was late a lot closing the block if she was playing a good team that was in system a lot,” Cross-Battle explains. “Now, she is quick to close the block. She reads the setters and hitters better.”

The 6-foot-1-inch Warner is also working hard on improving her hitting, a weapon that combined with her blocking ability, gives her an arsenal that makes her doubly tough to stop.

“Serena has improved quite a bit,” says Cross-Battle, who also notes Warner’s serve and overall defensive skills have taken a turn north. “When she started club, she didn’t have a lot of power behind her hitting and she was not getting on top of the ball. Serena gets on top of the ball when she hits and has more power behind her swing.”

Ham feels Warner’s hitting ability could be the thing that helps put her over the top at the next level.

“If she continues to learn how to hit, she’ll be hard to stop,” Ham says. “I’m interested in seeing how she plays at Ohio. I feel the sky is the limit for that kid.”

Warner, though, wasn’t thinking about potential when she first joined the Tornados club. She admits her first foray into club at the 16s level was quite an eye-opener.

“It was a bit overwhelming,” she says. “There was so much information to learn and so much that I didn’t know. I was overwhelmed a little bit, but I liked it. They threw a lot of stuff at me. I’m good at playing sports and I listen very well and I was blessed to have coaches like Tara and Jeff that are so great. They are mainly the reason I picked it up so fast. I would not be where I am today without them.”

Warner says this season she noticed a change in her play thanks to having that one year of “learning on the run” under her belt.

“I was a lot more confident this year,” says Warner, who enjoys watching movies with her sister (they have a collection of some 200 flicks; Serena’s favorites are “The Bourne Ultimatum,” “The Dark Knight,” and “Ever After.”)

“I had so much more knowledge about the game this year. I came in and learned a lot more. That made it so much more fun and made it so much easier. I look back and remember how I first played and think, ‘Wow.’ It does blow my mind a little bit (how much she has improved).”

Veronica Warner was among those whose jaw dropped to the floor when comparing Serena’s rookie club season to this past season.

“It was a very dramatic improvement,” Serena’s mother says. “Her biggest improvement is she understands the club game. Her first year she didn’t understand what was asked of her. This year she understands things a lot more.”

Add in being able to hit 10-4 on the approach and things have an even rosier outlook for Warner.

“Blocking is definitely her best skill,” Veronica Warner says. “She likes blocking as much as some other people like hitting. Not a lot of people can hit around her if she does it right.”

Ham says: “She’s long and quick. She was a track star and a good basketball player. She’s very good laterally. She’s thin and long and is a kid that can get off the net quickly and she can get above 10 feet. Not a lot of kids can hit over her. There are not a lot of times where other setters can get her out of position.”

Scout Brooks, a senior outside hitter at Brenham High School (Random trivia note: The Brenham Independent School District was the first public school district in the state of Texas) in suburban Houston who played with Warner on the Texas Tornados 17 Mizuno team this past season, has seen her teammate quickly develop into a go-to person on the court.

“When we needed Serena to put it away, she put it in spots where the other players can’t get to it,” says Brooks, who will continue her career at the University of Central Arkansas. “She’s gets us the sideout and the point on our side. You never know where the ball is going because she is so high above everyone. It’s so hard for the other team to read her. She has some hops, for sure. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone jump that high.”

Off the court, Warner, who is thinking about studying design and communications in college, has no regrets being a homeschooled student.

“I’ve been doing it my whole life,” she says. “I really like it. It gives me more flexibility to get stuff done, especially during the volleyball season with all of the tournaments. At some points, I thought about wanting to go to school because I’d be missing out with friends. But my friends are home-schooled, too. I’ve got the flexibility to spend time with them. I don’t feel like I’ve missed out on anything.”

One thing that impressed Brooks when she first saw Warner was how quickly she gelled with her club teammates.

“She fit right in with everyone,” Brooks says. “When she came here everybody was amazed how skilled she was and how much athleticism she had. She was able to click with the setters right away. It’s not just that she can jump, but she puts everything together. It’s amazing to watch her.”

Warner recalls the first time she really knew she had a vertical gift.

“It was probably when I was around 10 years old,” she says. “We would do a bunch of different games in the yard and we would jump rope. Someone said, ‘Oh, you jump so high.’”

And given the vast potential she has in the game, those hops might just come in handy when Warner has that proverbial “sky is the limit” in her sights