PETOSKEY — Sports fans around Petoskey have long known the kind of swing Alexis Cadarette can put into a softball.
Turns out, Cadarette has a pretty vicious swing without a bat in her hands as well. Opponents on the volleyball court have been finding that out lately, too.
“We’re kind in a weird situation where Alexis is playing all the way around. She’s not usually an outside hitter at 5-foot-4, but she’s cranking on the ball,” Petoskey coach Erin Luckhardt said.
The experiment started off slow, with Cadarette first introduced to the outside against Traverse City West a week ago, where she recorded a modest three kills. She later stepped up with 11 in a tough Lakeview tournament over the weekend.
Then, on Tuesday, Sept. 23, with Cadarette swinging to nine kills and digging out some key balls in the back, Petoskey earned its first win over Traverse City Central since 2020 in a thrilling five-set reverse sweep.
“It was really fun, but it was really hot,” an exhausted Cadarette said. “It feels very nice to beat TC.”
Her new-found swing helped bring in the third set victory in a 25-20 game, delivering a ball through a TC block to bring on the win. That ignited the comeback.
The position is one she’s still getting used to, but she’ll do anything if it brings the team success.
“At first it was hard and it’s really hard to not get in your head, but you just have to do it and do what’s best for the team,” she said.
Petoskey dropped the opening two sets in 25-22 and 26-24 finals, then turned it around in that third, before a 25-23 win forced a fifth. The two went point for point during the tiebreaker, before a diving dig across the court by Cadarette helped save the final point for the Northmen in a 21-19 fifth.
That set and match overall came as the biggest challenge of the season yet for Petoskey, which also delivered Central its first Big North Conference loss.
“It’s really hard because you have to stay out of your head to play good,” Cadarette said on the challenge. “Going point for point, back to back is really hard. Making mistakes, you just have to get over them right away or else you’re just going to keep messing up.”
For Luckhardt, there was always a feeling that Cadarette could find some success rotating to the outside, rather exiting the court.
“Every once in a while in practice when she would play front row I’d say, ‘Oh, OK Alexis,’” Luckhardt said. “Then when we did it last week at TC West, it was kind of like, ‘OK, she’s cranking on the bal.’ I haven’t seen her play softball, but have heard she’s a phenomenal athlete there too. She’s just doing it all for us.”
Along with Cadarette’s nine kills, 23 digs and ace, Emma Mitas had 21 kills and 10 digs, Katie Parker had 47 assists and 18 digs, Sarah Bailey had 13 kills and 22 digs, then Leah Sulitis had nine kills and Sarah Simonis, 20 digs.
There’s no question Central went into the match as the heavy favorite, but Luckhardt hopes it’s a lesson on always entering a night believing a win is possible.
“We were talking before that they were supposed to be the underdogs in this situation and that’s not a bad spot to be in,” Luckhardt said. “There’s nothing to prove and they’re maybe not expecting us to show up tonight.
“I’m just really proud of them. They just worked so hard together tonight and I’m really proud.”
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Petoskey’s Cadarette showing off hard swing in more than just softball
Reporting by Drew Kochanny, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
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