Mother of Mercy and Mt. Notre Dame head for all Cincinnati final
“Our defense can be really stifling. Ball control is our thing”. That was Cincinnati Mother of Mercy coach Denise Harvey’s assessment of how her 24-4 top ranked Bobcats shut down 21-7 Perrysburg 25-12, 25-12, 25-15 in first of two Division I state semifinals yesterday.
Mercy’s defense played a huge role in their taking such tight control of the match that there was only one tie and one lead change the entire evening.
At the very beginning Yellow Jacket outside hitter Hanna BredenbackCorp scored a kill. That was the lead, and when Perrysburg’s next serve went into the net, came the tie.
Kayla McWilliams was particularly awesome, diving repeatedly to pass spikes and well placed serves, and garnering 15 digs. “Number nine did a phenomenal job …Kayla was in the right spots” was how Harvey described her junior middle hitter’s performance.
Another factor was the setter-outside hitter combo of Samantha Viox and Missy Harpenau who led with 27 assists and 17 kills, respectively. Harpenau chipped in defensively with 10 digs and two blocks.
And Perrysburg contributed to their demise by making 39 total errors to only 13 for Mercy. Five of those miscues came at the start and gave Mercy a 5-1 lead.
Yellow Jacket 6’0” outside Chelsea Campbell then scored two kills to lead a 5-3 Yellow Jacket run, as Bobcat junior middle Colleen Meyers helped her team stay up with a block of Campbell and a kill. Soon after, Perrysburg 6’2” Melissa Szkutnik scored on a block which made the score 11-8 Mercy.
Then disaster struck, as Harpenau spiked a point from back court. That brought McWilliams to the line, and she served eight points including two aces. She also went on a defensive rampage, digging two powerful blasts from Szkutnik, one leading to a kill by junior middle Kelly O’Conner and the other to a Perrysburg error when her dig went over the net.
McWilliams made another diving save that led to a kill by sophomore outside Stephanie Vorherr, who by the way chipped in with six kills, three assists and nine digs.
Mercy jumped out 5-0 and 14-5 in game two. One highlight worth mentioning came on Mercy’s 21st point when McWilliams dove to dig a dropping short serve, and Harpenau demolished a short set from Viox.
Game three was much the same with Mercy taking leads of 2-0, 8-1 and 13-3. But despite the disappointment and the errors, neither Campbell nor Perrysburg quit. With the score 24-12, Campbell smashed a kill and acted as pumped as ever. After she and Lauren Naveaux teamed on a booming block, the two exchanged the usual hand slaps. And when Campbell dove at the left side of the net trying to avert match point, and her dig fell in on the opposite corner of the net, the team celebrated.
On the next volley, however, Harpenau ended the celebration by smoking a kill down the right line.
Szkutnik expressed afterward how glad she was to have been a part of the team. To which Campbell added “It’s our senior year and it was a great way to go out even if we did lose”.
As for Mercy, they were looking forward to Saturday. Asked about their likely opponent Harvey said “We are ready to play anybody. If there are six on the other side of the net that’s all we need to know”.
And now they know, as third ranked Mt. Notre Dame downed number thirteen Solon 25-19, 25-18, 25-17 in the second match. It could have been much closer had Solon not fallen behind early in all three games. The Comets battled Mt. Notre Dame even the rest of the way, but because of the early big leads there were only two lead changes and two ties.
Solon did not have an answer for the Cougar’s two middles, 6’1” senior Lindsay Upton and 6’2” junior Rachael Adams, who had 17 and 13 kills, respectively, and averaged about .500. And Mt. Notre Dame had trouble with Solon’s junior middle Kayla Jeter who led the Comets with 13 kills.
Cougar coach Donna Mechley thought the Comets played a great match. She noted their hitters kept their heads in the game and they served well. The Comets had nine aces, four by 6’1” sophomore outside Kelsey Kuehner. Mechley said her team could not break down Solon’s passing.
Kuehner got Solon off to their only game one lead with a kill down the line, but Upton along with Mindy Stanislovaitis and sophomore Lauren Huser led the Cougars to an 8-3 lead. There was a lot of point trading after that, with Mt. Notre Dame using a four point rally to go up 24-15. Solon kept fighting as Kuehner and Jeter each nailed kills, the two teamed on a block and setter Kathleen Russell served an ace. Upton ended it with a kill.
Dana Forgione stated the Comets off with an ace in game two and 6’3” junior middle Erin Wisner spiked one of her eight kills. But three kills by Upton and some errors led to a 6-2 Cougar lead which soon became 10-4. Led by Jeter and Kuehner, the Comets rallied to cut the lead to 17-15. But Upton, then Adams and finally Upton again combined for four kills and a block to preserve the win.
Mt. Notre Dame charged out to leads of 6-0 and 10-2 in game three. Solon got as close as 14-11, and after the Cougars went up 19-12, Jeter scored two impressive kills to narrow the margin to 19-15.
Libero Abbie Schnicke had nine digs for the Cougars. Setter Rachel Rohlfs led in assists with 41 and added eight digs. Forgione led Solon defensively with 10 digs.
Solon coach Missy FitzGerald credited Mt. Notre Dame for being a great team that plays a tough schedule. She was impressed with their “ball control” and “awesome hitters”, and the fact that they were actually taller than her team.
She felt her Comets served tough but could have played a little better defense.
As for the final with Mercy, coach Mechley said to expect long volleys, great defense and ball control. The two teams split their matches this year and tied for first in the GGCL.
Meanwhile, Lindsay Upton is really looking forward to playing against Samantha Viox. The two are best of friends.
Off the court!
Mercy’s defense played a huge role in their taking such tight control of the match that there was only one tie and one lead change the entire evening.
At the very beginning Yellow Jacket outside hitter Hanna BredenbackCorp scored a kill. That was the lead, and when Perrysburg’s next serve went into the net, came the tie.
Kayla McWilliams was particularly awesome, diving repeatedly to pass spikes and well placed serves, and garnering 15 digs. “Number nine did a phenomenal job …Kayla was in the right spots” was how Harvey described her junior middle hitter’s performance.
Another factor was the setter-outside hitter combo of Samantha Viox and Missy Harpenau who led with 27 assists and 17 kills, respectively. Harpenau chipped in defensively with 10 digs and two blocks.
And Perrysburg contributed to their demise by making 39 total errors to only 13 for Mercy. Five of those miscues came at the start and gave Mercy a 5-1 lead.
Yellow Jacket 6’0” outside Chelsea Campbell then scored two kills to lead a 5-3 Yellow Jacket run, as Bobcat junior middle Colleen Meyers helped her team stay up with a block of Campbell and a kill. Soon after, Perrysburg 6’2” Melissa Szkutnik scored on a block which made the score 11-8 Mercy.
Then disaster struck, as Harpenau spiked a point from back court. That brought McWilliams to the line, and she served eight points including two aces. She also went on a defensive rampage, digging two powerful blasts from Szkutnik, one leading to a kill by junior middle Kelly O’Conner and the other to a Perrysburg error when her dig went over the net.
McWilliams made another diving save that led to a kill by sophomore outside Stephanie Vorherr, who by the way chipped in with six kills, three assists and nine digs.
Mercy jumped out 5-0 and 14-5 in game two. One highlight worth mentioning came on Mercy’s 21st point when McWilliams dove to dig a dropping short serve, and Harpenau demolished a short set from Viox.
Game three was much the same with Mercy taking leads of 2-0, 8-1 and 13-3. But despite the disappointment and the errors, neither Campbell nor Perrysburg quit. With the score 24-12, Campbell smashed a kill and acted as pumped as ever. After she and Lauren Naveaux teamed on a booming block, the two exchanged the usual hand slaps. And when Campbell dove at the left side of the net trying to avert match point, and her dig fell in on the opposite corner of the net, the team celebrated.
On the next volley, however, Harpenau ended the celebration by smoking a kill down the right line.
Szkutnik expressed afterward how glad she was to have been a part of the team. To which Campbell added “It’s our senior year and it was a great way to go out even if we did lose”.
As for Mercy, they were looking forward to Saturday. Asked about their likely opponent Harvey said “We are ready to play anybody. If there are six on the other side of the net that’s all we need to know”.
And now they know, as third ranked Mt. Notre Dame downed number thirteen Solon 25-19, 25-18, 25-17 in the second match. It could have been much closer had Solon not fallen behind early in all three games. The Comets battled Mt. Notre Dame even the rest of the way, but because of the early big leads there were only two lead changes and two ties.
Solon did not have an answer for the Cougar’s two middles, 6’1” senior Lindsay Upton and 6’2” junior Rachael Adams, who had 17 and 13 kills, respectively, and averaged about .500. And Mt. Notre Dame had trouble with Solon’s junior middle Kayla Jeter who led the Comets with 13 kills.
Cougar coach Donna Mechley thought the Comets played a great match. She noted their hitters kept their heads in the game and they served well. The Comets had nine aces, four by 6’1” sophomore outside Kelsey Kuehner. Mechley said her team could not break down Solon’s passing.
Kuehner got Solon off to their only game one lead with a kill down the line, but Upton along with Mindy Stanislovaitis and sophomore Lauren Huser led the Cougars to an 8-3 lead. There was a lot of point trading after that, with Mt. Notre Dame using a four point rally to go up 24-15. Solon kept fighting as Kuehner and Jeter each nailed kills, the two teamed on a block and setter Kathleen Russell served an ace. Upton ended it with a kill.
Dana Forgione stated the Comets off with an ace in game two and 6’3” junior middle Erin Wisner spiked one of her eight kills. But three kills by Upton and some errors led to a 6-2 Cougar lead which soon became 10-4. Led by Jeter and Kuehner, the Comets rallied to cut the lead to 17-15. But Upton, then Adams and finally Upton again combined for four kills and a block to preserve the win.
Mt. Notre Dame charged out to leads of 6-0 and 10-2 in game three. Solon got as close as 14-11, and after the Cougars went up 19-12, Jeter scored two impressive kills to narrow the margin to 19-15.
Libero Abbie Schnicke had nine digs for the Cougars. Setter Rachel Rohlfs led in assists with 41 and added eight digs. Forgione led Solon defensively with 10 digs.
Solon coach Missy FitzGerald credited Mt. Notre Dame for being a great team that plays a tough schedule. She was impressed with their “ball control” and “awesome hitters”, and the fact that they were actually taller than her team.
She felt her Comets served tough but could have played a little better defense.
As for the final with Mercy, coach Mechley said to expect long volleys, great defense and ball control. The two teams split their matches this year and tied for first in the GGCL.
Meanwhile, Lindsay Upton is really looking forward to playing against Samantha Viox. The two are best of friends.
Off the court!
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