Lady Cards receive All-District Honors

The Columbus Lady Cardinals were eliminated by the London Pirates in the fourth round of the playoffs.

The Lady Cards made it all the way to the Regional Finals before being eliminated, but even after being eliminated, they still earned All-District Honors.

Starting things off for the Lady Cards was Harper Gerik who was named as the Co-Most Valuable Player in the District. Gerik did everything on offense and defense. Whether it was digging, serving, blocking or spiking #5 in red was all over it.

The kicker is that Gerik is only a sophomore, so there is still plenty of time to continue to develop as a play and a leader for the Lady Cards and has already taken a leadership role. Gerik has a good feel for the game and always knows when the right time to strike is as well as when it is time to be patient and wait for the right moment to strike.

Gerik was just the tip of the iceberg for the Lady Cards All-District Honors as they won two more individual awards. The first was the Libero of the Year award which was given to none other than Caylie Neisner.

Fans of the team know that when you go to a Lady Cards volleyball game there is always one girl who is the smallest on the court tracking down balls, risking life and limb to keep the point alive. That is Caylie Neisner.

Her passion for the game of volleyball is evident in her style of play. She’s competitive and she wants to stop everything as a libero and do whatever she can to help her team.

On top of that she recorded her 2,000th career dig this season which only adds to her legacy in her senior year.

Next was Gracie Schobel who was named the Offensive Player of the Year and for good reason. Schobel is the heart of the Lady Cards offense and always finds a way to have at least seven kills in each game.

But once you consider how hard she hits the ball, it’s easy to see why not a whole bunch of people are keen on getting in front of a thunderous Gracie Schobel spike.

Moving on to the First All-District team, there were three Lady Cards that were selected for the First All-District team. Those players were Riley Kainer, Thea Schobel and Lucy Schobel.

These Ladies sometimes started sometimes came off the bench but no matter what they always produced. Kainer was easily one of if not the best setter in the district this season and even recorded her 1,000th assist this season as a junior.

Thea was utilized in a similar role to Gracie in that they were always at the net ready to attack or defend depending on what the situation called for. Like Gracie as well, Thea was no stranger to racking up kills this season for the Lady Cards to earn a spot on the First All-District team.

Then there was Lucy Schobel who was just a freshman this season for the Lady Cards and has already made a huge impact. She was a great complimentary setter behind Kainer and with this being her freshman season she expects to come back in 2026 with even more swagger.

The Second All-District saw two Lady Cards selected, and they were Mary Fitzgerald and Emma Calhoun. These two ladies mostly were great support pieces for the Lady Cards this season.

They never shied away from any challenge and were truly amazing teammates. If they were on the bench or on the court, they kept things light and positive while also making some big time plays throughout the season.

Whenever they stepped onto the court, they played at a consistent level that helped provide stability to the Lady Cards and helped them win a lot of games this season.

Finally, we move on to the Honorable Mentions where two more Lady Cards were named, and they were Madisan Glueck and Demi Roecker. With more complimentary pieces for the Lady Cards, these ladies had a big role on this team as they moved up and down the line up and helped fill holes within the roster.

They never complained, never quit, and never blinked; they just shouldered their portion of the work and helped bring this team to the fourth round of the playoffs and earn a All-District Honor.