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Moeller plays bigger than they look May 17, 2005 By Jim Jicha “You know, they aren’t particularly big, but man can those kids get up in the air”. I overheard a rival coach say that while watching Moeller throttle Sycamore 30-15, 30-21 in a pool play match at the Wolf Classic last month. Pool play matches count as scrimmages, but since the results affect where you play the next day, they are as hard fought as the ones that do count on the win-loss record. And Moeller was taking no prisoners that Friday night in early April. The night before they had lost a 21-25, 25-23, 24-26, 28-26, 13-15 heartbreaker to arch rival St. Xavier, and the Crusaders were on a mission. Moeller finished pool play with a 30-17, 30-20 win over Walsh Jesuit and continued their onslaught Saturday by knocking off Centerville, and avenging their loss to St. Xavier 25-14, 25-18, 28-26 in the final. Since then the Crusaders have beaten Centerville and St. Xavier two more times each, and Sycamore. They have also beaten LaSalle and Elder twice apiece, plus Purcell Marian and Fairborn. And like that coach observed, the Crusaders seem to have springs in their legs. Everyone has a vertical, they have excellent setting and they play bigger than they look. They also score points with their tenacious defense. Midway into a five point rally against Centerville that put Moeller up 16-10 in game in the Elite Championship, Crusader defenders made a diving dig, popped a ball headed into the net over it, turned a Centerville bomb into a nice pass, and then watched a Centerville hit sail out. Just as they did when they won it all last year, Moeller has played consistently tough, winning 66 of 68 games the 23 matches they won. In only nine of those games have they yielded more than 20 points. And while they haven’t had a lot of experience in nail biters, the Crusaders handled two situations at Centerville’s Elite with aplomb. Tied at 1-1 in the opening round against a fired up Fairborn, the Crusaders trailed most of game three. They were down 21-23, but pulled it out 26-24, and won the next 25-20. In the title match they trailed Centerville 20-23 in game one and 17-22 in game three but won in three 28-26, 25-17, 25-22. So with all that said, I don’t have to tell you who the team to beat is. But now I’ll throw in that old sports bromide about “any given day”, because as good as they are, Moeller can be beaten. Fairborn and Centerville almost went up 2-1 against them, and St. Xavier did find a way once. Big favorites don’t always win, as New York Yankee fans can surely attest. Moeller will most likely run into Elder in the regional final, and then have a rematch with Fairborn in the state quarterfinal. Fairborn, who beat LaSalle in the Elite after losing to Moeller and Kentucky power Louisville Trinity 19-25, 25-23, 25-20, 22-25, 13-15, must first get past Lakota East in their regional. In the semifinal Moeller will face the winner of a quarterfinal match between Hilliard Darby and Lakewood St. Edward. After a 3-5 start, Darby is one of the hottest teams in the state with a 14 game winning streak. The Panthers lost to Centerville twice early but beat the Elks at the Pickerington Central Tri-Match. They won the Pickerington North Tournament two weeks later, taking host North and Roger Bacon, and then beat Kilbourne for the OCC title. Darby looked solid in the OCC Challenge match between division champions as they downed rival Davidson 25-12, 25-19, 25-22. The teams were 7-0 in their respective divisions. St. Edward has been hot all year with their only losses to Walsh Jesuit, which they avenged, and Louisville Trinity. At midseason they traveled to Kilbourne, topping their host and Hilliard Davidson. Those are their only common opponents with Darby. Darby versus St. Edward looks like a tossup, with the winner going on to play Moeller. The final could come down to a rematch between Moeller and either St. Xavier or Centerville. Those two will lock horns in the semifinal, assuming they both get that far. St. Xavier has a particularly tough bracket to negotiate. The Bombers will face LaSalle in the regional semifinal, and the winner of Sycamore or Purcell Marian in the final. They have beaten those teams before, but struggled against LaSalle. St. Xavier handed Louisville Trinity its first (and possibly only) loss at the Elite. Sycamore topped Purcell 25-22, 25-21 in a tri-match the first week of the season. Centerville has beaten their probable regional opponents Fairmont, Chaminade-Julienne and Alter. The Elks lost in five at home to St. Xavier, so the Bombers are a slight favorite. The other state quarterfinal bracket should come down to Walsh Jesuit against either Worthington Kilbourne or Pickerington North. Walsh has beaten the likes of Stow, Hilliard Davidson and St. Charles. They split with St. Edward and their other losses are to Mount Vernon and LaSalle. Walsh will have to beat Brecksville, a team that gave them trouble before, in the regional semifinal, and Stow pr Westerville North in the final. Pickerington North traveled to Kilbourne and beat the Wolves in their own Wolf Tourney on April 9, but the Wolves gained revenge in the OCC Challenge on May 10. That looks like a tossup. Westerville South gave both teams trouble during the season and will try to play spoiler. And with that, here is how the state brackets shape up. State Quarterfinals Centerville vs. Cincinnati St. Xavier Walsh Jesuit vs. Worthington Kilbourne Hilliard Darby vs. Lakewood St. Edward Cincinnati Moeller vs. Fairborn
State Semifinals Cincinnati St. Xavier vs. Walsh Jesuit Lakewood St. Edward vs. Cincinnati Moeller
Final Cincinnati St. Xavier vs. Cincinnati Moeller
Champion Cincinnati Moeller
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