Girls volleyball: Carmel has winning mojo

No, Carmel Catholic's "Jo-Mo" combo isn't a go.

Not yet.

But while freshman Milana "Mo" Moisio continues to heal from a sprained ankle, her big sister Jolina, "Jo," continues to make an oh-so-big impact on the volleyball court.

"We call her 'Jo-Jo,' Carmel coach Dave Pazely said of the older Moisio, whose middle name is Jo.

Jolina Moisio, a 5-foot-1 senior captain and three-year varsity player, shines as a libero, and on Thursday night against visiting Lakes she didn't have to dive all over the court and dig volleyballs to be effective. She served 6 aces, including three in a row in the opening set, as Carmel won 26-24, 25-12 in a nonconference match between two of Lake County's perennial powers.

"I just got to pick the seam and hit it," Moisio said. "Or I find a weak spot and hit it."

Wait until her kid sister Milana gets back to full strength. She should only help the Corsairs, who improved to 3-2 with their third win in a row, while dropping Lakes to 6-3.

"We're the 'Jo-Mo' duo," Jolina Moisio joked.

"I knew about Mo back when she was in seventh grade," Pazely said of Milana. "She came to camp, and I saw her potential. She was competing with varsity players as a 12-year-old."

The more Moisios the better for Carmel. When Milana is ready to contribute, Pazely will try to get her on the varsity court.

"It's going to be a difficult situation but a good situation: Which Moisio is the libero?" Pazely said. "They're both versatile. They're both quick players."

Carmel has more than a few good players. Kaitlyn Donton (9 assists) helped run a balanced attack that included 5 kills from Eileen Tarcha, four from Annie Bart and three from Alyssa Dellert. And while Mya Mainzer added 4 blocks, it was with Moisio serving when the Corsairs were at their best.

Moisio's 3 consecutive aces stretched the home team's lead to 20-16 in the first set, only to see Lakes take the momentum back and go up 24-22. Kelli Rettig nearly delivered an ace for the Eagles that would have given them the set, before Carmel prevailed.

In the second set, Ashley Smith delivered 2 aces in a row for Lakes but missed her next serve. With Moisio serving, a Mainzer block jump-started a run of 12 points in a row for Carmel.

"She found the target, and they couldn't handle what she was putting up there," Pazely said of Moisio. "I give them zones, but if we find something where we can have a mismatch, we're going to go at it nonstop."

Moisio served 18 of 20 for the match and also notched 10 digs. Carmel was 48-of-50 serving.

Serve-receive has not been a problem for the Eagles early in the season.

"They just have to work on getting their shoulders forward to the ball, calling it early," Lakes coach Kate Cheek said of her players. "They got to be aggressive. They were hesitating. Calling the ball is important for serve-receive. They have good heads on their shoulders. They know when to focus, and they can get it going. It just takes practice sometimes."

Rettig led Lakes with 7 kills, 6 digs and 3 aces. Paule Ceneac added 3 kills and 2 block.