State Final Results

Division II

Parma Padua Franciscan def. Kettering Archbishop Alter 25-22, 26-24, 17-25, 25-21

Division I

Olmsted Falls def. Cincinnati Ursuline Academy 39-37, 16-25, 25-21, 25-12

Division IV

Marion Local def. Jackson Center 23-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-14

Division III

Albany Alexander def. Gilmour Academy 25-17, 27-25, 25-15

Newspaper links

Titles on the line in Dayton (Cleveland Plain Dealer, 110808)

Newark Catholic takes defending champ to brink (Columbus Dispatch, 110808)

Alter's Lachey overcomes setbacks (Dayton Daily News, by Debbie Juniewicz, 110808)

Flyers taken to the limit (Dayton Daily News, by Ryan Hehr, 110808)

Jackson Center extends win streak (Dayton Daily News, by Ryan Hehr and B.J. Bethel, 110808)

Gilmour reaches volleyball title game (Cleveland Plain Dealer, by Tim Warsinskey, 110708)

Alter dashes Hartley's hopes (Columbus Dispatch, by Jeremy McLaughlin, 110708)

Ursuline ends MND volleyball season (Community Press, by Mark Chalifoux, 110708)

Ursuline-MND rivalry stays hot up I-75 (Community Press, by Mark Chalifoux, 110708)

Marion Local, Jackson Center set for rematch (Dayton Daily News, by B.J. Bethel, 110708)

Alter forced to dig deep, advances to state final (Dayton Daily News, by Debbie Juniewicz, 110708)

Padua sweeps to semifinal win in Division II state volleyball (Cleveland Plain Dealer, by Tim Warsinskey, 110608)

Scouting state volleyball (Cleveland Plain Dealer, by Bob Fortuna, 110608)

Bulldogs storm past Bees, will face Ursuline in state Division I final (Cleveland Plain Dealer, by Tim Warsinskey, 110608)

Hartley, Newark Catholic eager to ace state exams (Columbus Dispatch, by Jeremy McLaughlin, 110608)

Alter beats Hartley to advance to volleyball state final (Dayton Daily News, 110608)

Despite new look, goal still the same for Marion Local volleyball (Dayton Daily News, by Debbie Juniewicz, 110608)

Division III Semifinal scores

Gilmour Academy def. Lima Central Catholic 25-19, 25-17, 25-21

Albany Alexander def. Versailles 26-24, 25-19, 27-25

No. 1 Jackson Center, No. 2 Marion Local advance to state championship rematch

Jackson Center and Marion Local will face off in a state championship showdown of the top two teams, respectively, in Division IV. Jackson Center nipped the Flyers on the road 21-25, 18-25, 25-19, 25-18, 15-12 on September 20.

Marion Local (25-3) advanced with a thrilling 25-15, 14-25, 25-11, 25-27, 15-12 semifinal win over third ranked Newark Catholic (26-2) that lasted almost two hours.

It was “a crazy match” according to Flyer Coach Amy Steininger. “We won game one by a comfortable margin, the second game was a flip-flop and they took it to us, the third game we won, and the fourth was close. After that I told the girls ‘going five is nothing new to us’. All of our losses have been in five and now we’ve won four in a row”.

Two of the five game wins came in the New Bremen Sectional against league foes Fort Recovery and fifth ranked New Bremen.

Several Marion players showed up in the media room, and they were asked if they’d ever played with such emotion. All-Ohio sophomore outside hitter Alyssa Winner said “Oh yeah, every game”, and the comments segued into the MAC, which stands for Midwest Athletic Conference, and how playing in the MAC helps build mental toughness.

Senior defensive specialist Tara Hartings started with “The MAC is amazing, every team and every game we play there’s tough competition”. Libero Jessica Schwieterman added “Playing in the MAC is what got us here”. Setter Shelby Moeller noted that “Playing in the MAC forces people to use teamwork to win”.

One thing nobody mentioned is that the area that comprises the MAC was settled in the 1830s and 1840s by Germans who arrived from Cincinnati.

But we digress. Marion Local is much different the senior laden group that beat Newark Catholic in three in last year’s semifinal. That team had four hitters ranging from 6’1” to 6’4” and simply overpowered opponents. This year’s squad has no six footers and relies on defense.

Oh, and the starting lineup includes a junior, three sophomores and a freshman.

Newark Catholic starts six seniors (counting libero Kenzie Egan), and 5’9“ freshman outside Katie Harrington.

Marion jumped on the Green Wave quickly in game one as Winner scored the first two of her match high 28 kills by spiking down the line and then softly tipping over blockers into a hole.

The Green Wave were led by 5’11” hitter Angela McNulty with 19 kills, and she scored their first three points, but Marion took leads of 3-1, 5-2 and 7-3 in the process.

The Flyers added moved up 10-3 on a kill by junior Leah Rosenbeck, who tallied 15 for the day, and a block and kill by sophomore Kaylee Schaefer. Shortly after, Rosenbeck served a six point run to 17-6, and she eventually pounded a game winning blast to the back line.

The Flyers started game two with a bang. Actually it was a double block by Schaefer and 5’11” freshman Margaret Wuebker, who had six total.

But McNulty spiked a kill that was blocked over and out, and she followed by smashing a Laney Warthen quick set. Two Flyer errors later, Harrington served an ace. Marion scored twice, but Newark defender Maria Campolo prevented a third point and McNulty started a three point spurt to 8-3.

The Green Wave continued scoring in twos and threes with outside Alyssa Frick and 5’11” junior middle Erica Rath contributing kills, Rath blocking, and Campolo serving an ace, and after a kill by Warthen they were up 20-11. McNulty scored the game winner on a block that was lifted by Marion.

Momentum shifted back to Marion in the third set, as Schaefer scored first on a cross-court spike. Newark tied on a Flyer attack error that ended a long volley, but the Flyers took off to 5-1 on kills by Winner, and increased the lead to 11-4 on tips by Rosenbeck and an ace by Schwieterman.

After two Newark points that cut the gap to 16-10, Marion went on a seven point run, which Wuebker paced with a block and two kills, to put the game out of reach.

In game four, momentum undulated back to the Green Wave as Harrington started the scoring with a kill and headed back to the service line. Frick followed with a tip, McNulty added two kills and abetted Flyer miscues with two blocks, and Newark charged out to a 7-0 lead. Marion scored three but Newark did the same and scoring went back and forth to 16-8.

Then Marion rallied.

Wuebker started a three point spurt by killing an overpass of a spike by Rosenbeck. Schaefer spiked and block killed to lead another three point run. And Winner scored three kills in a four point rally that knotted the score at 18-all.

McNulty and Winner traded kills and Newark went back on top 23-20 helped by an ace from Egan and a huge dig by Harrington off the floor that went into a hole on Marion’s side of the net.

Rosenbeck, however, spiked two kills as the Flyers retied it. The next volley was very long and intense, and Rath finally ended it with a big block on Rosenbeck. But Wuebker came up with two blocks of her own helped by Winner and Schaefer, and Marion which had hitherto not led in the game was at match point.

McNulty came to the rescue with a spike that scudded off a Flyer dig, and a cross-court blast by Marion sailed wide to the right. Junior Averi Mason served a line drive ace to send the match into overtime.

We don’t know who won the coin toss but Newark wound up on the up-to-now winning side of the court and Marion got the serve. And while whoever was on Newark’s side had led almost the entire match, the Green Wave would never lead in the tiebreaker.

Marion drew first blood and the teams traded ten points and five ties. The Flyers went up 7-5 on a kill by Rosenbeck and a Newark hit that was ruled to have gone outside the pole. And with Winner pounding away, they built the edge to 12-8.

But Newark Catholic would not go quietly. McNulty spiked a kill and 5’10” sophomore Abby Litts blocked Winner. Marion called timeout, but that didn’t help as Winner’s ensuing spike sailed just long as a Newark defender pulled away. Litts and Rath then block killed the Green Wave back into a 12-all tie.

Marion called another timeout in which Steininger said later “I told the girls we need to focus on getting this point”. Winner delivered, with a cross-court spike that was dug to the media table. She then served and the Green Wave mishandled the receive, leading to a hitting error. Schwieterman then passed a Green Wave smash and Rosenbeck spiked the winning point.

Winner, who had seven kills in the tiebreaker, said later “I know when it’s going to game five, I need to swing away”.

McNulty and Egan were fighting back tears after the match, but were nevertheless philosophical about the loss, and they recognized the efforts of both sides. “For a minute I thought we were going to win it. I’m so proud of my teammates” was McNulty’s take. Egan added “I felt we did tremendous today. We wanted it bad”.

Neither of them felt that playing a fifth game put them at a disadvantage. (Newark Catholic had beaten Division II Regional Runner-Up Big Walnut in five). McNulty thought that Marion’s “great blocking and communication” were factors, and Egan added “They’re just a solid team”.

Jackson Center won their semifinal over Buckeye Central 25-11, 25-14, 25-11, and the win was as convincing as the score looks. During the entire match there was but one tie and one lead change. The Buckettes had no answer to outside hitters Alissa Ware and Casey Gates who combined for 34 kills, which was a dozen more than Buckeye Central could muster.

The Tigers also did a great job of digging and receiving with Ware, Gates and Carly Burch garnering 37 to Central’s team total of 31. Central Coach Paige Caudill probably summed up the loss best with “If you don’t turn on a dime and answer what they have, they’ll keep doing it”. Of Gates and Ware she said “They’re all-Ohioans, they have a full team, and their team gives them the opportunity to be all-Ohioans.”.

For a brief moment the match wasn’t what it became, as 5’11” freshman Makayla Agin started things off with a tip and senior outside Jordan Kimmel smoked a kill from back court.

But Ware got the Tigers rolling with two block kills and she followed with a spike kill. Kimmel scored again from back court to cut Jackson Center’s lead 4-3, but the Tigers ran off six more points with senior hitter Bethany Hoehne and Gates contributing three kills.

Buckette 5’10” sophomore right side Ashley Langjahr scored a kill to cut the lead to 11-5, but Kimmel went down on the next volley with an ankle injury and had to leave the game. After a kill by Agin that left Jackson Center on top 17-10, Ware spiked to start a seven point run served by setter Cortnee Sosby. Ware eventually scored the game winning cross-court spike.

The Tigers kept right on going in game two by opening up a 5-0 lead on scoring from Ware and Hoehne. Agin ended the run with a block on Ware. Scoring went back and forth, but Buckeye Central was for the most part held to a point at a time while Jackson Center scored two and three.

Kimmel returned to action late in the game and scored two kills. But Tiger senior middle Tara Spicer spiked the game winner with a kill off the block.

Kimmel would later make one of the most poignant post game comments of this year’s tournament. She was asked how her ankle felt when she reentered the match. Her response was “It hurt, but I didn’t want to stop”.

In game three, Burch opened the scoring with an ace, Ware followed with two kills and Burch added another ace. The Tigers increased their lead to 8-2, 13-4 and 17-5, and they ended the match with a five point run capped by a hit from Gates into a hole.

For Jackson Center, the win erased, or at least eased, memories of last year’s loss to Norwalk St. Paul in what was the Tiger’s first final four. “We really wanted that, we’ve been working hard all year” was how Tara Spicer put it. Bethany Hoehne added “We wanted to prove to people we deserve to be here”. And Alissa Ware noted that “It was very important to get off to a good start”.

The Tigers have been getting off fast throughout the tourney, according to Caudill. They blitzed Fisher Catholic and Fort Loramie 25-4 and 25-5, respectively, in game one of their regional matches last week.

They need to get off to one more fast start.

Cincinnati Ursuline, Olmsted Falls to meet Satuday in match up of unbeatens

With southwestern volleyball so dominant at the big school level, Division I fans are used to having two teams from the same city, county and league, specifically Cincinnati, Hamilton and the GGCL, meet up in the final four. Cincinnati schools have won twelve of the past fifteen state titles, thirteen if you count West Chester Lakota.

But Thursday’s state semifinals saw a nuance when Olmsted Falls (28-0) and Brecksville-Broadview Heights (21-5) met in the first match of the Division I semifinals. The two schools hail from Cleveland-area suburbs in Cuyahoga County, and both are members of, ironically, the Southwestern Conference.

With two 6’0” four-year veteran hitters, George Washington University bound Lauren Whyte and Brittany Snider, and a top notch sophomore setter Dayna Roberts, plus senior outside Christine Peffer and senior libero Brooke Purvis, Olmsted Falls expected to make a run this year after a near miss in district last season when they were ousted by league member Amherst Steele.

But they had to survive a 0-2 deficit in the regional final against Toledo St. Ursula, whom they had previously beaten in the semifinal of the Best of Ohio.

Brecksville on the other hand did not expect to make it this far, although Coach Rob Cline knew his team matched up with every possible foe in the northeast bracket. The Bees had been to state four times, but their last appearance was in 1987, and the program had fallen to 7-15 in 2006. Then Cline arrived, and he began a “re-teaching” process that produced quick results.

Having beaten Brecksville twice before, Olmsted Falls had to contend with that old bugaboo about how hard it is to beat a team three times. But Bulldogs Coach Dawn Moses was having none of that and she told her team “We don’t have to beat them three times, we just have to beat them once”. That was in recognition of the fact that not beating a team both of the first two times is two thirds of the reason it’s so hard to do it three times.

Of bigger concern to Moses was how her players would react to playing in an arena, so she brought them to the Nutter the evening before. Whyte said her first view “was really cool”. “It made me a little nervous but I was excited to play”.

Brecksville started the scoring with a kill by 5’10” senior Kristen Towne. Whyte tied with a blast down the line and errors helped the Bulldogs go up 4-2. But Kent State bound 6’1” Bees middle Meredith Paskert blasted an Ashley Sturgeon short set and 6’0” freshman Abby Brinkman blocked Whyte to tie.

Falls was then called for being out of rotation and Paskert served an ace to put Brecksville ahead 6-4. The teams then traded scores and leads for quite some time. Olmsted went in front 7-6 after Whyte dug a tip over the net into a hole. The Bees buzzed ahead 10-8 on a kill by 5’11” sophomore Olivia Chrzanowski, an ace from libero Melanie Smith and a kill by Towne.

The lead exchanges continued as 6’0” junior Corinne Manley put Falls back in front 13-12, and Paskert scored twice for Brecksville. The Bulldogs scored three straight, and Brecksville did the same leaving the score 17-16 Bees. But Whyte retied for the tenth time with a kill and her ensuing ace resulted in the ninth, and final as it turned out, lead change. In fact, Brecksville would not score again.

Peffer nailed a kill, Whyte served another ace, the Bees contributed a couple of errors and Roberts and 5’9” freshman Angie Bush teamed with Peffer on two block kills, the second one for game point.

Olmsted Falls started game two right where they left off, scoring the first five points as Whyte dug two blasts and scored two kills, and Snider tipped a back set from Roberts into a hole.

Brecksville closed to within three, but terminations by Snider and Manley upped the margin to 14-9. The Bees got three straight to close within 14-12, but Olmsted reestablished their lead at 18-13, and they edged further in front 23-17. Chrzanowski scored twice to spark a three point spurt to 23-20. On the next volley, Manley and Snider came up with big digs that prevented another point, and the Bees eventually obliged with a long hit.

Paskert kept Bulldog fans on the edge of their seats with a kill and block, before Snider line drove a short set from Roberts to end the game.

Game three saw five ties but only one lead change as Olmsted Falls took control early on and kept it.

Brecksville scored first and the teams tied the first three points. Olmsted Falls went on top 4-3 and the teams tied two more times. From there, the Bulldogs surged in front 8-5 and 12-6 and they were never headed.

Brecksville came up with three as Brinkman smoked a quick hit down the middle and Paskert served an ace. They crept closer to 18-16 when Paskert blocked Manley.

But Snider prevailed in a battle at the net with a block that ended a long volley. The Bees then saw déjà vu all over again when Roberts started her service with an ace and served out. Snider scored the final point with a cross-court shot that was blocked way out.

Paskert was philosophical afterward about the loss. She said “it hurt to lose this game, but I would have never guessed we’d have been here”. Cline summed his feelings up with “Our kids exceeded my expectations”.

Cincinnati Ursuline Academy surprised folks who are used to four and five game wars when GGCL teams meet at the state level with a 25-15, 25-21, 25-18 win over Cincinnati Mt. Notre Dame.

It wasn’t surprising that they won. After all they are now 28-0, and they beat the Cougars (23-5) twice in the regular season. But the first match went four and the rematch at Ursuline ended up 25-16, 25-19, 17-25, 18-25, 18-16.

The best explanation of what happened Thursday night came from MND coach Donna Mechley. “I think Ursuline played extremely well. They came out ready to play from the start, and they made very few errors”. She added “I think Ursuline has improved a lot and they played extremely solid tonight”. Mechley went on to say that the Lions made somewhat less mistakes than MND in their five game match, but “they made a lot fewer errors tonight”.

On a side note, the best team I’ve seen all year is Ursuline, when they played in Mentor’s Northeast Ohio tournament. And I would agree with Mechley that they’ve improved a lot. That’s scary!

If a business could perform with the same degree of precision as does the Ursuline volleyball team, that business would be deemed Six Sigma compliant.

Lions Coach Jeni Case said she felt fit the difference in the two matches with MND was that “The girls stayed more focused (this time). After we beat them two games (the previous time), I could see a let down”. She said that didn’t happen on Thursday. She also noted that earlier the Lions had had difficulty with defending against the right side, and they have worked to correct that.

They certainly had no problems defending anywhere on they court last evening.

Game one saw just two ties and two lead changes. Ursuline scored first and MND tied as both teams scored on errors (okay, the Lions did make a few), and the Cougars took their only lead on a cross-court termination by 6’2” senior outside/middle Jen Meyer.

But Ursuline defensive specialist Anna Prickel dug Meyer’s next missive, and 6’0” sophomore Anna Prickel tied it with a kill. And after Cougar hitting error, an ace by libero Kori Moster and a tip from 5’10” junior hitting sensation Jade Henderson, the Lions were up 5-2.

Henderson paced the Lions attack with 14 kills. Moster led the defense with 17 digs, and made some really incredible diving saves.

Mt. Notre Dame stayed close for awhile and two kills by Lauren Huser cut the margin to 9-7. But 5’10” junior Lauren Marlatt and 6’0” senior Katie Schings block killed to start a three point run.

When Huser and junior outside Marissa Otto countered with two kills, Lions setter delivered a two-hander to the right line and Ursuline senior outside Chelsea Sensibaugh smoked a cross-court shot to up the lead to 15-10.

The Lions went further in front 19-11 as Sensibaugh and Schings scored kills on plays that started with Prickel and Moster passing missiles from the floor. The Lions kept scoring two at a time from there, and won on a double block from Reinert and 6’0” sophomore middle Christina Beer.

Game two was closer, but Ursuline led all the way, save for ties at one and two. Errors helped them to a 5-3 edge, and blocks by Beer and Reinert made it 8-4. MND outside scored on a spike from the right that was blocked over but out, and Otto cut the margin to 8-6.

But Beer demolished a short set from Reinert, and Henderson tipped and spiked for three as the Lions’ lead grew to 15-9.

Meyer then powered a spike down the right that was dug way back and then some more, and MND rallied a bit. Eckels and Meyer double blocked Henderson after MND libero Kylee Tarantino, whose 25 digs led both teams, kept a dump attempt by Reinert from landing.

On the next volley Reinert dove to dig a serve that dropped over the net and Schings scored by tipping into a hole. That proved to be a big point because Huser and Eckels then blocked Schings, and Huser delivered a cross-court shot to cut the margin to 16-13.

Ursuline and MND traded three point runs with, and the Cougars crept to within two on a dump to left back by setter Kelly Morrissey and a long hit by Henderson. After a block from Beer, Morrissey hit a hole in mid-court with another dump. That left the score 21-19.

A serving error and an overpass blast by Sensibaugh gave Ursuline some breathing room, but Meyer came back with a blast to the back middle, and when her next spike was rejected by Schings, she won a battle at the net by tipping into a hole.

Ursuline called timeout after which Henderson got the Lions back on track with a spike that was blocked over but out. Schings ended the game with a big block in the middle.

Game three was the most intensely fought with 12 ties and six lead changes. Henderson blocked to start and Otto scored a kill off the dig, and the scoring and leads went back and forth. MND went up 4-3 on kills by 6’1” senior Amanda Wilken and Eckels. But Schings retied on a tip to the right, after Meyer had rejected her initial spike. Lions’ defensive specialist Annie Juenger served an ace.

Scoring continued back and forth with MND up 6-5 and 8-7, and Ursuline on top 7-6 and 10-8. Beer ended a long volley of spectacular digs with a kill to put Ursuline up 11-10, and from that point on the Lions never trailed, although there would be three more ties.

Two errors that put Ursuline on top 17-15 proved to be the Cougars’ downfall. Marlatt followed with a cross court to right front, and an ace by Schings and two Cougar miscues, one that followed a timeout, left Ursuline with a comfortable 22-15 edge.

MND rallied with three points, but Moster ended that with a diving dig that landed in a hole. Marlatt and Beer teamed on a block in the middle and when Beer cratered a Cougar overpass, the Lions’ bench poured onto the floor in what was reminiscent of a celebration they had on the same side of the floor in 2002.

The 2002 festivities, however, came after they ended a long rally to score the winning point in the state championship match with GGCL league champion Cincinnati St. Ursula. The Lions still have one more to go, with undefeated Olmsted Falls standing in their way.

Case said in the media room “I will make sure tomorrow they aren’t celebrating anymore”.

Parma Padua Franciscan, Archbishop Alter advance to Division II final

Parma Padua Franciscan achieved another goal yesterday.

The Bruins started last season with the goal of playing volleyball in November, something no Padua team had ever done. That came to fruition when they reached the regional.

But after losing a hard fought four game regional final to top rated Salem they made “one more step” the new goal for this year. As Coach Tony Messina explained, the goal was “One more victory which would put us in the state”

When the Bruins defeated Walsh Jesuit and Lake Catholic to win the regional last weekend, they reached that goal.

So they needed another goal, explained Messina, because “I’m a goal oriented person and this is a goal oriented group of young ladies”. Their goal coming to state was “not just showing up”.

The 25-3 Bruins achieved that and then some with an aggressive performance that brought home a 25-23, 25-22, 25-18 win over Mansfield Madison (26-3).

They also did a good job of “separating”, according to Coach Tony Messina.

Right back Abby Kornowski explained, “Usually half way through, they’ll tell us separate, separate. That’s where we have to go on a run. That gives you the lead, that’s when you really step on the gas”.

“We’re a slow starting team” noted Cugliari.

Messina said the Bruins have gotten better at starting aggressively and separating. “Early in the season, some of the matches we lost, we never got that separation, we always found a way to give back three or four points back to the other team. In the past two weeks we’ve done an incredible job of focusing. This match was like our regional semifinal with Walsh Jesuit where we were able to separate and finish the job. We were close every game and the girls were able to separate”.

The Bruins separated nicely in games one and three, and they led both all the way except at the beginning. And in game two, which was tied eight times and saw five lead changes, Padua finally took the lead for good at 15-14, although they never completely shook the Rams.

Padua was led by 6’0” junior middle/outside Kaitlyn Leary with 16 kills. Christie Fritsche, Jaklyn Veres and Brittany Morris combined for 18 more. Leary tied setter Meghan Cugliari defensively with 11 digs and Jaklyn Veres had 10.

Madison was for the most part unable to stop Leary who scored big points when needed.

The Rams’ top hitter was 6’0” junior Lauren Townley with nine kills. Seniors Holly Siwek and Lauren Schwamberger, and freshman Ashley Galbraith, totaled another 14. Libero Kellie Orewiler paced Madison in back court with 18 digs, while sophomore Nikki Holmes contributed 13.

Both squads had five team blocks.

Madison took a 2-0 game one lead when Townley block killed against Morris to start, and Siwek spiked through the block. Padua tied on a kill by Veres and an ace from Kornowski. The Rams went back in front 4-2 thanks to two Padua miscues.

But after a long serve Padua added points on a run-up termination by Leary, a cross-court service ace from Veres and a kill by Morris. After a kill by Holmes, Leary sparked a three point run to 11-6 with two more blasts.

Madison cut the lead to 13-11 on an ace by Schwamberger, and again to 16-14 when Orewiler dug an attempted dump by Cugliari, and Townley followed with a block.

Padua separated again as Leary blasted three kills, and teamed with 5’11” sophomore Becky Jay to reject spikes from the Rams. After a block kill by Jay their lead was 21-15.

But Padua was then called for a double hit, and Siwek ended a long volley kept alive by Orewiler, Holmes and Padua libero Lauren Goebel with a smash down the line. She added a block and a kill to cut the edge to 21-20.

A serving error ended the run, and Madison dug a Padua smash into the pole. But Padua returned that favor and Schwamberger crunched an overpass to leave the margin at 23-22. Fritsche came up big with a spike that was dug under the net, and after a kill by Siwek, she ended it with a kill to back middle.

Madison again scored first in game two. Padua went up 2-1 on a kill by Veres and Madison retook the lead at 3-2 on a spike by freshman outside Emilee Muzechuk.

The Bruins went back atop 7-4, helped by errors, and upped the lead to 10-6. But kills by Siwek and Galbraith and an ace from Schwamberger fueled a five point burst by the Rams, who took leads of 11-10 and 13-11.

Padua retied at 14 on a Rams’ attack error and Leary blasted a go-ahead point off a block by Townley. Veres served an ace, and after a Rams’ timeout she served another for a 17-14 lead. Townley ended the run with a kill, but Leary sent three blasts over on the next volley with the last one resulting in a Rams double hit. An ace by Morris left the Bruins up 19-15.

The Bruins could not fully separate, however, as Muzechuk spiked a kill and defensive specialist Kaley Remy served an ace. And after a couple of Padua errors their lead was again down to one at 20-19 and the teams traded points to 22-21. Fritsche again came up with a late game kill, and an attack error put Padua at game point. After one more kill by Galbraith, Morris ended the game with a kill off the block.

Townley killed an overpass to put Madison on the board first in the third set, but Padua scored three straight, with Kornowski contributing an ace. The Bruins went up 6-3, but the Rams retied at nine on a kill by Galbraith. Padua broke again from 14-all when Morris spiked a cross-court kill, Veres added a point and Cugliari dumped into a hole. And when Jay and Cugliari teamed up on a block, Padua’s lead was 19-14.

The Rams called timeout and Townley responded with a kill. But Leary terminated the next volley, and added another demolition to fuel a four point run to 23-15. Leary ended another long volley to push the score to 24-16. Madison got two more points, and might have scored another on a spike by Galbraith. The Bruins’ first two bumps went awry, but Goebel dove to the floor, and her dig hit the net and rolled over the top into a hole for match point.

That brought the entire Padua team to the floor with Messina in the middle yelling “One more time”.

While the goals and separation strategy certainly helped, Padua’s blocking was also a factor in slowing Madison’s powerful hitting game, and stellar passing fueled the Bruins’ quick offense.

Cugliari said afterward, “This season we worked a lot on blocking, and we’ve got the chemistry going where we help each other out at the net, and the back row will read off the block. We’ve never been the best blocking team but we worked real hard to get a block on their hitters and it worked, and we had Lauren in the back row picking up some things.”

As for the offense she said “We’ve been working on tempo and speeding up our offense”. She added “I couldn’t ask for better passers”.

The loss to Padua prevented Madison Coach Jen Lauber from reaching a milestone and now she’ll have to wait until next season. Her career record is 499-78.

Padua will face Kettering Archbishop Alter for the state championship. The Knights (20-8) defeated Columbus Bishop Hartley (22-6) 25-18, 21-25, 25-20, 26-24 in their semifinal.

The loss was especially heartbreaking for the Hawks who led 18-17 in game three and 24-20 in game four.

The match featured long volleys with great digging. Alter libero Kelsey Buehrle registered 30 digs, which prompted Coach Tina Jasinowski to remark “She’a a four-year varsity player and she played the best match of her career today”. Middle hitter Annalyse Schmitt had 14 digs, 6-1 freshman setter added 13 and senior defensive specialist Jess Hart 10.

Hartley’s defense was stellar too, with 90 team digs, led by libero Abby Weisenberger and sophomore Lauren Hughes with 23 and 20, respectively. Lindsay Gaughan added 15 and defensive specialist Katie Ludwig had 12.

The teams were pretty even hitting with Alter enjoying a 51-49 advantage, but blocking was a different story. There the Knights enjoyed a 12-2 edge, and blocking was key to Alter’s run which ended game three.

As for hitting, Schmitt led both teams with 21 and sophomore Kelly Westerkamp added 12 more for Alter. Senior middle Allison Hagans paced Hartley with 14, junior Shelby Sagle had 12 and Hughes added 11.

Jasinowski credited her players for not quitting in game four and added “we play a tough schedule, we’re used to that situation and that helped us climb out”. She told her team that Hartley would not quit.

Games one and two saw no ties and no lead changes. Perhaps to foreshadow the performance that would follow, Buehrle started Alter off with a well placed hit from back court. Alter went from 2-0 to 4-1 after a dump by Courtney.

The Knights increased the lead to 10-4 on a spike through a double block in the middle by Monica Lachey, a kill while falling down backwards by Westerkamp and an ace from Courtney. Hartley closed to 12-10 but Schmitt helped re-up the lead to 16-11 and 5’11” senior Kelly Wolff spiked a quick hit as the Knights moved out 18-12.

Hartley narrowed the lead on kills by junior CharAnna Dixon (who won state last spring in the 100 meter run) and Hagans, but Alter kept pace with an ace by Kristin Ignozzi leaving them atop 22-17. A kill by Knight 6’1” junior Kellie Joseph made it 23-18, and two Hartley errors sealed the win. The second miscue was abetted by Alter blockers Joseph, Wolff and Schmitt who rejected three Hawks’ spikes.

Hartley took leads of 2-0 and 5-1 in game two, helped by four Alter miscues. Trailing 9-4, Alter rallied with three, but Sagle, Hughes and Hagans combined for five kills as the Hawks flew ahead 17-11. Players on both teams made some incredible digs, particularly Weisenberger. Alter scored three with Courtney quick setting Lachey, but Hartley kept pace as both teams continued their defensive intensity.

Alter scored three straight to get within 23-20. But Hughes dug a partial block and Hagans moved the Hawks to game point with a spike. On the next volley, Gaughan, Hughes and Weisenberger for Hartley, and Buehrle for Alter, made saving digs until Schmitt finally blasted a cross-court kill. That left Hartley atop 24-21, and Gaughan scored the game winner by lining a kill from back court down the right.

Hartley moved ahead 4-1 in game three, led by Hagans and Hughes, but the Knights rebounded to an 8-6 lead helped by a block and kill by Westerkamp. Alter was up 14-9 after Wolff and Courtney teamed on a block, but Hartley rallied with three, as Hagans clobbered two Gaughan short sets. Hughes contributed a kill and an ace and Gaughan two more kills as the Hawks went ahead 17-16. Lachey and Sagle traded kills.

But Westerkamp and Lachey teamed up on a block, and this started a run to the finish for Alter. Schmitt scored a kill, Lachey blocked a tip. Hartley called time out to no avail as Schmitt blocked a spike, and Lachey blocked a hit from back court. The Knights committed a couple hitting errors but Schmitt followed each with a kill, and Courtney stuff-block killed for Alter’s winning point.

Game four became even more contested with 12 ties and six lead changes. Schmitt opened the scoring for Alter, but kills by Sagle and Dixon tied matters at 2 and Hartley went up 4-3 on a kill by Sagle. Alter regained the lead at 6-5, Hartley went up 10-8, and Alter 11-10. The teams traded points to 13-12, at which time Hartley rallied ahead 16-13 led by Hughes and 5’11” outside Loren Fallert.

Alter closed to 17-16 on a block from Joseph, but Hartley scored three straight, on kills by Hagans and Hughes, and an intervening ace by Fallert. But Schmitt spiked a kill that was blocked to the media table, and Wolff blocked Hagans. However, Hagans retorted with a slide right smash to left corner, and the Knight’s next hit was in the net. That left Hartley atop 22-18. Schmitt and Sagle traded points, and after Schmitt scored again, the Knights committed an error, putting Hartley on the verge.

But Hartley returned the favor, and after a kill by Westerkamp, Hartley called two time outs. Those were to no avail as Ignozzi hit into a hole and Westerkamp spiked a cross-court off a Hawks touch to knot the score. The Hwaks were then called for a double hit. On the next volley, Ignozzi and Beuhrle made saving digs for Alter, another Hartley spike bounded back off the next and the match was over.

Afterward, someone asked Jasinowski how scary 24-20 was. She responded “How scary is it to be a freshman looking at that scoreboard?” Jasinowski added “She’d really missed a couple of earlier serves”.

Actually, the score was 24-21 when 6’1” freshman Megan Courtney when back to serve. And she didn’t look scared.

Kelsey Buehrle’s take on the comeback was “you have to be mentally tough, it’s not your physical abilities”. Then she laughed and said “although those help too”.

Hartley Coach Max Miller was also asked about losing the 24-20 lead, and he said “I thought it happened in the third game when we shot ourselves in the foot”.

Two factors Miller felt worked in Alter’s favor were their floating serves, and their being “tall and athletic”. He said “tall we can handle, but athletic is a problem because we’re not tall”.
At any rate, on Saturday Alter will go for its fourth state championship in four appearances. The Knights won in 2002 and 2003 when they were what Jasinowski said was a “freight train”. In 2006 they had to develop with a team of seniors. This year they have a lot of first year players.

Buehrle was a member of the 2006 team. She said making state this time “means a lot more…back then I was the cheering benchwarmer”. On Saturday she’ll be running the back court.