| There was
a time when predicting the state volleyball champions in Ohio was simple.
You could select from two or three candidates, and often one team stood out.
But not any longer!
When I began predicting the winners there were no websites or even an
Internet to get information from. But in 1995 I actually picked all four
winners pre-season, and it was easy.
Cincinnati St. Ursula, Heath and St. Henry had made state the year
before and were coming back loaded. Three obvious choices! For Division I
had to choose between Mount Notre Dame, Seton and Ursuline, and I picked MND
based on a Cincinnati Enquirer article I’d clipped the previous December.
And all four won.
Division I was still a two-team choice two years ago, but Cincinnati
St. Ursula and Ursuline graduated a slew of stars, and it really got tough
last season. This time it’s even harder to discern a winner with at least 18
teams having a shot.
Making matters worse, Division IV has gotten in the act with some 15
contenders, and strong teams are strewn around the state in III.
In Division II there is, fortunately, Roger Bacon.
The state has rearranged the divisions this year to adjust for
changing enrollment sizes. That has introduced a few nuances, one being
Division III champion Newark Catholic’s move to Division IV.
With all that said, I’ve talked to lot of folks, and I’ve researched
and dissected all the information I can absorb, and I’ve picked my winners.
For those of you who just want to know who’s going to win the choices
are:
Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame
St. Bernard Roger Bacon
Rockford Parkway
Maria Stein Marion Local
For those who want to know why…read on.
Division I – (Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame, Toledo St. Ursula,
Cincinnati Seton, Wooster)*
* Final Four Particpants
2004 witnessed some big changes in the big school division. Toledo
St. Ursula won its first crown ever in their fifth straight trip to the
final four. The Arrows became the first Toledo area team to win the big
school title. For the first time in four years neither Cincinnati St. Ursula
nor Ursuline made it to the final. And, runner-up Mother of Mercy made their
first state showing since 1991.
What’s especially intriguing is how close those changes came to not
happening. Toledo St. Ursula, who ran the table at 29-0, almost fell off the
table against an inspired Seton in the semifinal. The Arrows were forced to
rally from 19-23 and 20-24 deficits in games three and four in order to
advance with a 16-25, 16-25, 39-37, 26-24, 15-6 win.
Just a week earlier Mercy pulled their regional final match with
Ursuline out of the fire 12-25, 22-25, 25-22, 31-29, 15-6.
With even more parity this season, the one thing we can be sure of is
that whatever finally does happen almost won’t. And that translates into
some great volleyball this fall!
We see the winner coming out of this alphabetical list:
Cincinnati McAuley
Cincinnati Mother of Mercy
Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame
Cincinnati St. Ursula
Cincinnati Seton
Cincinnati Ursuline
Dayton Chaminade-Julienne
Elyria
Perrysburg
Rocky River Magnificat
Solon
Toledo Central Catholic
Toledo St. Ursula
Wadsworth
Walnut Hills
West Chester Lakota West
Westerville South
Wooster
We’ll start with the southwest which has a preponderance of fine
teams. The Greater Girls Cincinnati League is brimming with talent as usual,
and any of their teams could win the league or challenge for state honors.
Or both!
We’re picking Mount Notre Dame to win the state, even if they
don’t win the league, which they’ve done three times before. This year’s
young and very talented edition is reminiscent of the 1998 squad that had
one senior. After losing eight regular season matches, they toppled unbeaten
Hilliard Darby and league champ Ursuline en route to the first of three
straight titles.
Mt. Notre played well at times last year but was plagued by
inconsistency. They will be led by three experienced outside hitters,
Malorie Wessel (Florida State), Alexis Lonneman (Central
Michigan), and Victoria Randolph (Eastern Michigan). Lonneman is also
a great digger and can play libero. The team is deep with young players
coming off great JO seasons. Middle/outside Emily Doerr and defensive
specialist Abbie Rees made the OVR High Performance HPC Team. Outside
hitter Mindy Stanislovaitis and setter Rachel Rohlfs…the list
just goes on.
Playing with consistency will be a big hurdle. Deciding on a starting
lineup will be difficult too, what with all the talent, but that’s the kind
of problem most coaches can only dream about.
Seton
graduated some serious talent but the Saints also return some serious
talent, and that could be their ticket to the Nutter Center. They will be
led by middle Emily Sullivan, strong outside Chelsea Graham,
setter Chelsea Graman, 6’0” basketball star Megan Griffin,
senior outside Gina Coffaro, and defensive specialists Maggie
Bonomini and Kelly Walter.
Mother of Mercy has one of the best setters in the state in junior Sam Viox.
Their top hitters are sophomore outside Missy Harpenau and seniors
Erica Janszen and Jessica Schachleiter. Kristina Stegman will
lead the digging.
McAuley
could surprise people this year. The Mohawks have a raft of hitters,
including 5’11” junior Kristen White, a hard worker and one of the
top spikers in Cincinnati, along with 6’1” sophomore middle Rachel
Krabacher and 5’11” Ashley Criswell. Junior Abby Schaller
was much improved in JO ball this year. Sophomore Michelle Clifford
will set a 5-1, freeing up Kristen Ruffing for passing. Jamie
Cooper leads the defense. The Mohawks will be a force.
St. Ursula
will be a threat as long as Julie Perry is their coach. The Bulldogs will
have firepower with 6’2” junior Michelle Kenning and sophomore
outside Jayna Stenger, and the defense will be solid with Ashley
Wassler. Others players of note are senior setter Jenny Roettker
and sophomore defensive specialist Emily Shelton.
Ursuline
should be solid again. The Lions will have a new setter, but that hasn’t
stopped them before. Junior Jordan Henderson and 6’ senior
Samantha Holden will lead the offense and Abby O’Connor will head
up a typically strong Lion defense.
That covers the GGCL, but we’re far from finished covering this
region.
This is the crescendo year for Walnut Hills, who burst onto
the scene with a freshman laden team four years ago. The Eagles will be led
by three seniors: middle blocker Natalie Marsh (Kentucky), outside
Brooke Sparks, and setter Jane Thompson.
Lakota West may have their best team since West Chester Lakota won the state in
1994, after which they split into West and East. Last year’s freshman
sensation, Amber Gray, is out for the season, but the Firebirds are
still loaded. 6’2” middle hitter Meagan Dooley (Pittsburgh) made the
all tourney team at Nationals, and junior setter Jenna Hagglund
played up on the Cincy Classics 17 team. Outsides of note are Kat Howard,
who made the OVR High Performance team, and Kelli Clear from Team Z.
Centerville returns several starters, including junior setter/hitter Jordan
Bradosky and sophomore rightside Jenna Caylor. They will team
with two top notch freshmen who had great JO seasons. Amy Disser has
the hops (“leaps” is a better word in her case), and Erin Kraska is a
great ball handler.
Chaminade-Julienne graduated a lot of top athletes but incoming freshman
phenom Lisa Treadway will ease the pain. With setter Natalie Bauer
(Cleveland State), middle Ali Hess, and sophomore outside Megan
Slayback, the Eagles will soar. A player to watch is 6’0” sophomore
Emily Kauth.
Vandalia-Butler won’t have a lot of height, but the Aviators are balanced and will
be scrappy. Setter Cassie Mangen can also hit and dig, Alicia
Sherrill is a solid hitter who’s even better on defense, libero Kelly
Oldiges is a top notch defender and Meagan Martin is strong at
middle.
With the graduation of two top hitters, Kings will rely on
returning junior starter Sarah Shipley and sophomore Erin Wolfe.
Shipley can really put the ball down and Wolfe has a great vertical. Key to
the Knights’ success will be the leadership of senior outside hitters
Julia Harvat, a hard to block lefty and top defender, and Brittany
Hock, who has an unusual style of spiking on the slide.
Sycamore
middle blocker Brittani Gray (Northwestern) is returning from an
injury. Assuming she’s good to go, the Aviators could make a run with some
talented juniors, including Sarah McGrath and setter Carly Conlon
and Hope Lohmueller.
Kettering Fairmont will be competitive with a group of seniors who’ve been
together three years. The Firebirds will be led by outsides Stephani
Bennett and Kelsey Rankin, along with Jenna Houseman who
can flat out play defense.
Lakota East has one of the top middles in the state in junior Sarah Luers
and a great libero in Amanda Bingeli.
Beavercreek senior Christina Lemke did well at Nationals. The Beavers
have two other players of note: sophomore libero Erika Garcia and
junior Jessica Raffa.
Oak Hills
lost some height but outsides Jessica Savage and Shelly Walroth
are back. Loveland returns middle hitter Tarah Childress and
outside/defensive specialist Carolyn Gagliardi.
Still more players to watch include Piqua sophomore hitter
Ashley Belisle, who was all-conference as a starting freshman;
Northmont setter/libero Kasey Roeser; Troy senior middle
terminator Beth Greulich (Cleveland State), and junior outside hitter
Jamie Grauvagel from Harrison, who made the OVR High
Performance Youth Team.
Whew!
That brings us at long last to the northwest, where Toledo now has
two teams that can take it all.
Toledo St. Ursula lost a slew of seniors, including four starters and
their libero, but don’t shed any tears for Coach John Buck, who has one of
the deepest benches in Ohio. He’s reloaded his quiver with Arrows. One of
his returning starters is Emily Florian, the gritty 5’8” setter who
served both rallies in last year’s semifinal comeback over Seton (she served
out game four). Her sister Allison will be back at rightside.
Katelyn Schissler a 5'10" very athletic middle with hops, was a solid
contributor in the state tourney run.
Two 6’1” subs from last year will assume starting duties, junior
middle Ashley Heyman, a strong blocker for the TVC 16-1 team, and
Alliya Drzewiecki, a sophomore outside who hits a very heavy ball. The
Arrows have excellent back row defenders in senior Tighe Westrick,
junior Abby Walla, and sophomores Felicia Shapiro and
Shannon Kanary.
Luckily for St. Ursula’s opponents, volleyball rules limit teams to
six players on the floor at a time! But with all that talent winning even
their district will be difficult. Just a few miles to the east lies
Toledo Central Catholic, a team that almost beat the Arrows in their
2004 league match. The Irish return almost everyone, including star middle
6’1” Ellen Herman (Ohio University), outside Margot Joniec,
middle Ashley Frazier and setter/defensive specialist Liz Steedman.
Central Coach Denise Wiczynski has to be hungry for a state title of
her own. Wiczynski is an assistant up the road at Michigan school Temperance
Bedford. That’s the school which upended top ranked Forest Hills Northern to
win Michigan’s big school title last March.
(Central and St. Ursula could meet in the Arrows’ Best of Ohio
Invitational on September 3. This prestigious tournament includes Elyria,
Cincinnati St. Ursula, St. Henry and Kenston among others.)
Perrysburg
has a lot of height, along with DI college recruits: 5’11” outside
Chelsea Campbell (Xavier), 6’ middle Melissa Szkutnik (Ohio
State) who also sets, and 6’2” blocker Nichole Diller. The Yellow
Jackets lack the depth of the Toledo powers.
Notre Dame
has a new coach in Scott Mattera who hails from TVC, and he has one of the
strongest freshmen classes in the area. His top players will be Kristen
Kerscher, a tenacious 6' senior middle/rightside who is rehabbing a sore
shoulder but can play any position, and 6'2" junior middle Noelle Spitler,
a great blocker who just keeps getting better.
Sylvania Northview has solid hitters in 6’ Megan Schoenrock,
(Northern Illinois) who played for Premier 18-1 last year, and 5’10”
sophomore hitter Megan Ozarzak, who gained experience as a freshman
on varsity and was a key offensive weapon for TVC's 15-1 team. Defense and
setting are questions.
Holland Springfield should be competitive, but the Blue Devils must deal
with two pieces of bad news. First, they’ve moved up to Division I. Worse
yet, 6’4” Stephanie Browne's father has been relocated to San
Francisco. (Browne will play at Monte Vista High in Danville, Calif.)
Springfield will be short, but athletic and tenacious on defense. Key
players are junior setter/outside Hillary Fountain and senior middle
Mallorie Lotycz.
Oregon Clay Coach Brad Morrison gets the most from his players, and he has 10
returnees to work with. Clay finished 3rd in the Maumee Bay Spiketacular,
losing to Seton and eventual winner Toledo St. Ursula. Their go-to player is
Ashley Rucki (Toledo University), the libero extraordinaire on TVC's
17-1 team. Rucki can put the ball away from anywhere and may be the best
passer in the Glass City.
Findlay
saw four hitters off to DI colleges, and will rebuild around senior setter
Nikki Baker (Florida State).
Elyria
lost ace setter Kate Verhoff to college (South Florida). She was the
last in a great run of volleyball and basketball sisters at the school, but
the Pioneers still have their big guns. They will be led by senior Kelly
Ruth, and Mid-American and Big Ten schools are also watching 6’3”
Karlee Bruck and 6’ Charde' Phillips, both juniors.
Magnificat
will have their best defensive team in years, which is just as well because
they will also have a new setter and be shorter than usual. It will be hard
to score against Carly Tobin, Sami Leonard and Carly Syms. And
the Blue Streaks will have power with 6’0” outside Clare Keeney and
twins Mary and Sarah Petrulis.
Lakewood
looks to make another charge. The Rangers surprised Magnificat in an
invitational last season and finished 22-2. Their top players are
middle/outside college prospect Britney Jurchenko, outside Sara
Mason, setter Katie Kmieck and 5’10” outside Kayla Kovach.
The last two are juniors and are third year starters.
Amherst Steele returns several starters, and Strongsville will be tall. A
player to watch is Cleveland St. Joseph Academy outside hitter
Katie Lehane.
A player to watch in
the region is 5' 10" senior outside hitter Whitney Zimmerman from
Mansfield Madison.
Over in the northeast things are heating up, and Wooster will
be hard pressed to return to state even though they return five starters
from a team that made the final four last year. Leading the Generals’ charge
will be 6’1” middle Michelle LaLonde (University Of Delaware) 6'1"
along with outside Becca Norman, both seniors, junior setter
Hannah Brown, and senior defender Alexa Weimer. Rightside senior
Katherine Salmans and outside sophomore Natalie Phillips
provide depth.
Wadsworth
returns its top two starters, Amelia Reynolds and Marie Mueller.
These juniors led last year’s much improved team in almost every category.
The Grizzlies also return two defensive specialists, seniors Shelly
Anderson and Gina Lorubbio, and senior setter Danielle Roberts.
A 6’1” junior basketball star, middle named Jen Uhl, could be a
surprise.
In Solon the buzz is over middle/outside Kayla Jeter, a
sophomore jumping jack with a 10-foot approach. She killed Wadsworth last
year. The Comets have height with several players at 5’10” or more,
including senior outsides Kristi Pumpa, Sam Kuehner and Shayla
Patrick, and 6’2” sophomore middle Erin Wisner. With 5’10” senior
Lindsay Buffington at setter and experienced defenders Alaina
Makar and Liz Simonik, this team will be tough to beat.
Canton GlenOak will be led by 2nd team all-district junior middle hitter Brooke
Bernabei. Senior setter Steph Schoolcraft looks to have a break
out season, and senior libero Katie Filicky just had her best summer.
Massillon Jackson has a very athletic team led by senior Danielle
Fulmer, and Mentor figures to be a factor as well with a good
setter and some solid attackers.
Central District is home to the Hilliard Regional, which draws big
schools from Columbus and the southeast and, more significantly, includes
one district from the southwest. In nine of the last ten years the southwest
team has gone on to state.
Past experience suggests Westerville South, Lancaster and
Bishop Watterson as teams to beat for three regional spots, and we look
for whoever comes over from southwest to advance to state.
With nine returning seniors, including a couple of college prospects,
Westerville South is definitely a pick for the regional, and they
might go farther. The Wildcats will be led by all-Ohio outside hitter
Jackie Eads, 6’0” middle Katie Snead and Kristen Calo, one
of the top liberos in central Ohio.
Watterson
will field another experienced team. Leading the Eagles will be standout
senior outside Katherine Yuskewich, and moving up are two talented
sophomores, opposite Cassie Farrell and outside Claire Lee.
Other seniors of note are middle blocker Brooke North, setter Kate
Miller, outside Nicole Lorenze, and defensive specialist
Callan Slavin.
Lancaster
received bad news when super athlete Heather Powers suffered a career
ending injury. But the Gales still have plenty of punch with 6’ lefty
rightside Megan Wills and middle 5’10” Liz Fox, both seniors.
Several teams have the horses to challenge this triumvirate.
Thomas Worthington will be led by 5’11” middle hitter Erin McCarthy,
and she’s getting DI looks. Other players of note are middle Joy Peterson,
outside Abby Alden, and setter Natalie Box, all seniors.
With eight seniors, Worthington Kilbourne will have their
strongest team in a while. Setter/rightside Michelle Hammond can play
anywhere on the floor - and she’s a DI prospect. Two other seniors of note
are outsides Sammy Barber and Andrea Klabbatz.
Gahanna-Lincoln will have a say in things with 6’1” junior outside Holly Evans,
and senior outsides Katie Stein and Tiara Wiley.
Hilliard Davidson returns one of the top Central hitters in 6’1” middle
Katie Butz (George Washington University)
Upper Arlington will have solid hitting with All-District outside power hitter
Alexa Bean, and middles Katie Livingston and Caroline Brocker.
Bean made the state championships in swimming, and has a very strong
arm.
Other players and teams to watch are Dublin Scioto and
sophomore High Performance Team setter Alana Hayes; and Delaware
Hayes with setter Katy Hays, and 6’2” middle Katie McKee.
Division II – (Roger Bacon, Norwalk, Olmsted Falls, West Holmes)
When asked “who is the strongest team in Cincinnati”, a lot of folks
say “Roger Bacon”. That’s not good news for Division II teams with state
title aspirations.
Roger Bacon won going away last year and seems poised for an encore. Katie
Veatch (Kent State) is one of the top setters in the state, and outside
hitter Jamie Frey (University of Cincinnati) could dig all the way to
China if she had to. Also returning for the Spartans are middles 6’0”
Heather Hausfeld and Lauren Newton, and defender Vicky Auer.
With outsides like Kelsey Rose and Katie Westerfeld coming up,
this year’s team looks even stronger than last.
Getting to state will be tough, however, as Roger Bacon will have to
tread regional laden with mines. Cincinnati McNicholas is loaded with
tall hitters again and will be led by 6’0” Sara Staubach (Southwest
Missouri State) and 6’2” Katey Schroeder (University of Cincinnati).
Archbishop Alter will be well-balanced and experienced, with four junior starters
back from last year. Setter Kacie Hausfeld will again run the
offense, and we may see big things from junior outside Sarah Fisher.
Middle hitter Emily Borchers is an excellent passer with great moves.
Katie Laravie has a very strong arm. A possible X-factor is junior
Moira Cummings, a great leaper and blocker in JO ball this summer.
Exciting things are happening up at Tipp City Tippecanoe. The
Red Devils are coached by former USA National Team member Pat Carus. They
have an incredible core of young talent, including 5’9” junior setter/rightside
Emily Carus; 5’11” sophomore middle hitter and extraordinaire blocker
Gina Porto; 5’10” sophomore Hillary Andrews who is quick off
the slide and frustrates the defense with her ability to get around the
block; sophomore Abby Dowd, whose athleticism rivals Andrews, and
5’9” freshman Shelly Langdon, who can jump out of the gym.
Clermont Northeastern is coming on this year with a strong team led by Emma
Keough, a middle/outside hitter who can do it all.
Bellbrook
returns mostly intact with one of the area’s top setters in Lynzee
Johnson, and a great leaper and blocker in Stephanie Zollars. And
Megan Smith is one of the most improved spikers in the Dayton area.
Her ability to hit over and around everything and thereby frustrate the
opposition has college scouts looking.
Dayton Carroll drops down to Division II, but that’s not much of an advantage when
you’re in the southwest. Coach Yoon Ha does a great job of preparing his
team technically. His top players are setter/outside Linzie Evans
(Youngstown State) and outside Gretchen Van Der Slujis.
Oakwood
was hit hard by graduation, but will have another strong team this year.
Unfortunately they move up to Division II. One returnee is junior sensation
Katie Fritz who has hops and handles the ball as well as anyone.
Coming up are Anne Murphy who, at 5’7”, plays like Fritz and
rightside Lauren Enns.
Washington Court House returns five juniors from last year’s district runner-up
team, and has beefed up their schedule. They have one senior, Jessica
Bain, a transfer. Top juniors are Ashley Pepper, Morgan Mace and
Olivia Sword.
Urbana
will be led by hitter Michele Derr, setter Liz Mossbarger and
digger Amy Dilts, all seniors.
Players to watch include middle hitter Erica Richardson from
Wilmington; middle/outside Kelsey Schaefer of Indian Hill;
outside Jayme McKirahan of Benjamin Logan; and, libero/setter/all-around-player
Casey Smith from Springfield Northwestern.
Another team to watch is Springfield Shawnee.
In the northwest the talent is really spread around, and several
teams have a shot at making going to the Ontario regional and advancing to
state.
We’re going with Norwalk, where Grace Hutchinson is well known
for getting her players to excel. If she does that with two sophomores, the
Ladies in Blue will turn some heads this fall. Outside hitter/setter
Lauren Simon is considered one of the top sophomores in Ohio, and strong
hitting outside Jessica Winkleman is close behind. All State senior
Lisa Lee will try to lead her team farther than last year’s regional
semifinals.
The Ladies in Blue will have to get through some toughies from their
own league. One is Galion, who beat Roger Bacon for the title in 1999
and 2000. The Tigers return senior spikers Katie Holt and Brittany
Gadd.
Tiffin Columbian will be a force. The Tornadoes suffered a blow with the loss of top
notch middle hitter Shannon Reuter (IPFW). But plenty of talented
seniors return in outsides Kirstin Worland and Ellyse Bowen,
middle Carrie Laub and defensive specialist Heather Morris.
The top player on the team may be junior setter/outside Megan Florence.
Several teams in the western part of the region have go-to players
who can make things happen: Celina’s 5’11” junior setter Betsy
Hone (Ohio State); Ottawa-Glandorf with Madalyn Shalter, a
great 6’2” sophomore setter who can also hit from the anywhere;
Defiance’s 6’2” hitter Rachelle Hagerty (Minnesota); and
Bowling Green’s athletic setter/hitter Kristen Barr.
Pemberville Eastwood returns everyone from a winning squad. The Eagles will
be led by last year’s team MVP and top server Mallory Dudley and
defensive specialist Kim Young.
Central District will send two teams to the Ontario regional. One
leading candidate is Big Walnut, with middle blocker Hannah
Swysgood. Another is Bishop Hartley, led by setter Michelle
Mangia and hitter Megan Krebs.
Bexley
will be strong again with middle blocker Allison Rawlings, who is
ranked 11th in the state in single season blocks, and libero Brittany
Zink.
Other possibilities are Granville with middle blocker
Ashley Goodwin and St. Francis DeSales, which is always tough.
The northeast will be stronger this year for two reasons. For one
thing, Olmsted Falls is back after a one year hiatus in the east
where they were ousted by West Holmes in the regional final. Most of their
hitters are also back, notably 5’10” outside Alex Brown and middle
Amanda Paydock. The Bulldogs, who must replace their setter, will be
challenged in their district be Oberlin Firelands and Revere.
Revere
has a solid outside hitter in junior Zeta Lines and a good middle in
senior Laura Galbraith. They could challenge Wadsworth for their
league’s title.
Oberlin Firelands returns six seniors from last year’s starting rotation.
Outside Alyssa Stanley and setter Jamie Niedzwicki are in
their third year on varsity. Stanley was second in kills and first in digs.
Libero Alyssa Stevens can pass nails and had a 98% serve receive
midway through last season. New this year is middle hitter Lara Eigenmann,
an exchange student from Switzerland.
Kenston
lost their top player to graduation but the rest are back. The Bombers will
be led by outside hitter Hallie Hanks (Miami University). Other top
seniors are setter Erin Slattery, outsides Sarah Gallik and
Kristen Kovack, and middle blocker Samantha Marincek. Three
sophomores will also see a lot of action, and the mix should be interesting.
Mentor Lake Catholic was extremely young last year and has their big guns
back. Top players are senior outside Katie Barbis, junior middle
Jill Mohr and sophomore setter Ashley Mason.
Walsh Jesuit has one of the top hitters in the state in 5’10” Katie Dull
(Ohio State). The Warriors nipped Lake Catholic last year and these teams
will duke it out again in the regular and post seasons.
Jefferson Area is coming on strong with a young team. 5’11” outside hitter
Kelcie Hellmer is their top all around player, and junior 6’2 middle
Haley Kapferer and sophomore Jamie Kapferer provide added
firepower.
Lakeview
is set for another run, returning everyone but their libero. The hitting
looks solid with middle Lauren McCumber and outside Lindsay
Whetzel.
Hubbard
has a big hitter by the name of Maggie Bogdan. And watch for <
Padua>defensive specialist Michelle Rossi (Pittsburgh).
That brings us to the east region, where West Holmes hopes to
make their fifth consecutive trip to state with a young and talented team.
Their top player is junior Keysha Allison, an All-Ohio candidate as a
middle hitter, setter and all-around kid.
But even with Olmsted Falls gone, the Knights will have their work
cut out, and not just because of their youth. Any of the following teams
could end their run at state.
You may not have heard of Norton, but the Panthers have a big
athletic team, led by 6’1” middle Kristan Provchy (East Tennessee
State), junior middle Jessica Plouse and junior setters Tessa
Villers and Abbey Johanyak.
Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary hopes to build on last year’s success. The Fighting
Irish have several seniors including middle/outside Chelsea Thayer,
outside Katie Snyder and setter Jessy Nanez who will run their
5-1 offense.
Warsaw River View returns most of their team including 6' middle hitter
Kristin Daugherty, and Byesville Meadowbrook will be led by
seniors Katie Lee and Jennifer Woodby.
Copley
lost their star hitter but everyone else is back, including setter Abbey
Parker and sophomore hitters Kimmie Dyer and Lauren Pietz.
Division III – (Rockford Parkway, Villa Angela-St. Joseph, Hamilton
Badin, Tuscarawas Valley)
The southwest region could have been a simple coin toss between
Versailles and Anna. With redistricting, however, Hamilton Badin and
Purcell-Marian have dropped down from Division II, complicating the picture.
You may not have heard much about these teams because they lose lots of
matches and don’t go far in the state, but that’s because they are members
of the GGCL.
Once again a Central District champion will also head southwest,
possibly Bloom-Carroll or Worthington Christian (more on Central later).
With five returning seniors Hamilton Badin has a shot at
getting somewhere, maybe even state. The Rams’ top players are Anna
Richter, who swings with power, 6’1” rightside Jana Clear and
setter Meredith Keep. 5’11” sophomore Tricia McCutchun will
add depth and junior libero Amy Frazier will lead the defense.
Versailles
returns six of their 8-man rotation from last year's regional runner-up
team. Back for the Tigers are 6-0 sophomore setter/outside Justine
Raterman, 5'11 junior middle Melissa Heft, 5'9 sophomore outside
Emily Bohman, 5'8 junior outside Laura Grilliot, 6-0 senior
middle Mallorie Brand, and 5'5 senior libero Kylie Davis.
A regional final between Badin and Versailles would be intriguing.
Versailles is in St. Henry’s conference, a small school version of the GGCL,
and they lose lots of matches too. The Tigers had a 2-7 conference mark in
2003 when they were Division III Runner-Up.
Purcell Marian has come a long way the past few years, but the Cavaliers haven’t
won a sectional in a decade. They used to be bracketed with St. Ursula, and
more recently with Roger Bacon. Last year they scored 52 points against the
Spartans in the sectional final. That by way of comparison was four points
more than perennial state power West Holmes scored in the state final with
Bacon.
Having lost four starters, Marian will be inexperienced, but their
grueling schedule should grow them in a hurry. The returnees are setter
Stephanie Healy and outside Aleese Willis. Look for the Cavs to
win their sectional and possibly go to the regional depending on the
pairings.
Anna
also plays a strong schedule and they have some exciting young talent from
Team Atlantis. Racheal Billing led Anna in kills last season, and
6'2" sophomore middle Kelli Barhorst was first in solo blocks. The
Rockets will run a 5-1 with freshman setter Kelsie Zumberger. Senior
outside Diane Albers will provide leadership.
Middletown Fenwick is looking forward to strong leadership from six
seniors. Tops on the Falcons are hitters Molly Adams, Kelsey Dauer
and Kelly Sink, and libero Marianne McGoron.
One team to watch is Shroder Paideia, which is loaded with
athletes.
In the northwest, fans are eagerly anticipating a regional showdown
between Rockford Parkway and Huron that almost happened last year. Parkway
lost to unbeaten Lutheran West in the regional semifinal 25-21, 12-25,
18-25, 25-17, 11-15.
With four really good seniors, Parkway is gunning for their
third state title, having won it all in 1996 and 1997 (even though St. Henry
won their league). The Panthers will be led by 5’11” all-district Player of
the Year middle hitter Rebekah Roehm. She broke Parkway’s school
record with 433 kills last year and will probably topple their career mark
this season. The Panthers’ other middle is Laura Art, and they are
blessed with two good setters, Tory Henkle and Erika Snyder.
Parkway’s trip to state won’t come easily. In the sectional they are
likely to face league opponent Coldwater, who will be led by setter
and outside hitter Karla Niekamp. Eventually they will meet a Central
District toughie in the regional semifinal, and then play Huron for the trip
to the Nutter Center.
That assumes Huron gets that far!
A lot of people are picking the Tigers as the team to beat, which is
understandable considering that their lineup includes 6’5” sophomore middle
hitting sensation Sara Sage, who was voted Best Blocker on the Gold
Medalist USA Red Youth Division team this summer. The Tigers also have
another sophomore phenom in outside hitter Susie Isphording, and an
experienced senior setter in Julia Butler. But do they ever have to
run a gauntlet!
One threat in their sectional is Collins Western Reserve,
which brings back a strong lineup that includes senior outside Danielle
Sidell, and setter Julie Finley.
Another menace is league opponent Margaretta, which stunned
the undefeated 2003 Huron team at districts. Middle hitter Micki Kuns
contributed to that surprise as a sophomore starter.
In the district Huron could face Colonel Crawford and the
sister duo of Carly and Courtney Volkmer. Both hit with
authority and Carly is known for tenacious defense. Riverdale is
another possible district foe and their forte is setting in the name of
Ashley Price.
Huron’s likely opponent in the regional semifinal will be Lima
Central Catholic. The Thunderbirds feature 6’0” junior Courtney
Niemeyer, who played up on Team Atlantis 17’s.
Heading northeast, Cleveland Villa Angela–St. Joseph gets the
nod as they return seven of eight top players. Junior setter Colleen
Lynch will again run the offense. The Vikings have lots of hitting
including last year’s kill leader Margo Amigoni, 5’11” junior middle
Hailey Martin, and senior outside Shannon Davis.
Girard
looks forward to the return of middle hitter Courtney Madden, who
missed last year with an ACL injury. She will be joined by middle Chelsea
Morrison, who has a 24 inch vertical, and outside Elise Roscoe,
who plays on 18’s in club.
With six returnees strong on passing and defense, Lorain Clearview
hopes to go farther than last season’s district semifinal. Laurie Weber
is a two-time 1st team All Lorain County senior setter. She’s also a good
blocker and will drive a 5-1 offense. Senior outside Ali Garver plays
taller than she is with a great vertical. (Both players are honors students
with GPAs over 4.2). The Clippers are solid in the middle with Kaye
Zellers and junior Abbey Thompson.
You can’t count Orrville out, but the Red Riders were
decimated by graduation. A top sub last year was middle hitter Ashley
Hershberger.
Players to watch in the northeast include Morgan Bonekovic, a
6’1” sophomore middle hitter from Brookfield, Trica Richards of
Columbiana Crestview and Rachele Fitz of Garfield Heights
Trinity.
In the southeast we’re going with Tuscarawas Valley to make
their first state appearance in three years. The Trojans were nosed out by
Westfall in 2003 and 2004 but the Mustangs graduated much of their team.
Top returnees for Tuscarawas Valley are senior first team all state
hitter Courtney Ripley (Cleveland State) and setter Abby McCreery.
Senior Rachel Ritter and junior Olivia Richardson provide more
fire power.
District finalist Huntington returns pretty much intact and
will make a strong run at both Tusky Valley in the state, and Frankfort
Adena in their league.
The Huntsmen have solid outside hitting. Courtney Jenkins is a
mainstay of their program, and Toshia Zimmerman has a great vertical
to go with excellent ball placement. They will be stronger at middle with a
new blocker Chelsey Eblin, and sophomore Lydia Bridenbaugh,
who can hit hard at all angles and has a strong block. Libero Caitlinn
Reynolds will lead the defense.
Eastern Brown will be a contender again, with talented junior middle hitter
Heather Koehler leading the way. Brittany Hesler will provide
strength at the net.
Scioto Northwest drops down from Division II with a fully loaded squad that gave
Washington Court House a tussle last year in districts. The Mohawks’ top
players are setter Katie Jordan and hitter Kristen Bradshaw.
Westfall
lost four starters but last year’s frosh outside hitting sensation Cassie
Sowers is back along with outside Kari Rodgers.
Players to watch are Newcomerstown setter Rachel Miller,
who averaged about 30 assists as a frosh, and junior Jami Turrill
from Albany Alexander. Teams to watch are Buckeye Trail and
Coshocton.
Central District will send one team to the northwest regional and
another to the southwest. We won’t know the precise brackets until seeding,
so it’s a guess as to who will go where, but with defending champ Newark
Catholic having dropped to Division IV, we expect Bloom-Carroll and
Worthington Christian to win district titles.
With two Ohio State hitting recruits, Bloom-Carroll returns a
lot of fire power. One is 6’5” Meghan Simons, and the other is
setter/hitter Ashley Hughes. Last year the Bulldogs went southeast
and were ousted by Westfall.
Worthington Christian will be led by sophomore setting phenom Courtney
Boggs, and her favorite target will be senior middle Allyson Moye.
Elsewhere, junior hitters Molly Creamer and Joscelyn Ute
will keep Marion Elgin in the thick of things. Former perennial state
power Fairbanks has a new coach, and a strong middle hitter named
Jenny Halterman. And middle hitter Katie Troyer will try to lead
Jonathan Alder back to the regional.
Teams to watch are Marion River Valley and, of course,
Centerburg, which moved up from Division IV.
Division IV – (Marion Local, Newark Catholic, Buckeye Central, Old
Fort)
To understand how this division may play out, a geography lesson is
in order. Northwestern Ohio is farm country, dotted with lots of small
towns, each having its own little school district. This means there are lots
of small schools, so many that there are six district titles up for grabs.
The northwest regional can only accommodate four of the districts, and two
district champions must travel to other regions.
Now with the number of schools it should be no surprise that 11 of
the 15 teams we see as contenders for the state title come from the
northwest. But due to schools’ locations and the way they are bracketed,
only one of the eleven can actually go to the northwest regional.
Ten of the northwest teams in contention are bunched into the
districts that travel.
Getting to the matter at hand, the eventual champ should come from
this group:
Fort Recovery
Marion Local
Minster
New Bremen
New Knoxville
St. Henry
Convoy Crestview
Sidney Fairlawn
Sidney Lehman Catholic
Bucyrus Wynford
Buckeye Central
Norwalk St. Paul
Old Fort
Newark Catholic
Frankfort Adena
The first six teams are members of the rugged Midwest Athletic
Conference, and are situated about halfway between Toledo and Cincinnati
near the Indiana border. They will all go to the New Bremen Sectional (this
will be a great one to watch!), and two will advance to a district
semifinal. The winner will likely meet Convoy Crestview, and that winner
will go to the southwest regional to duke it out with Lehman and Fairlawn!
Wynford, Buckeye Central and St. Paul are located more toward the
north central part of the state and whoever survives their district will
head northeast.
That leaves Old Fort alone in the northwest regional, so we’ll
start with them. The Stockaders look to be stronger than last year when they
were ousted in a close three game match by state semifinalist Kalida.
Morgan Magers will provide senior leadership at setter and she will have
6’2” targets in junior middles Amy Benz and Melissa Goodman.
Shannon Nye is a threat outside.
Several teams will try to rain on Old Fort’s parade. Allison
Siefker is gone but Kalida will still have some punch with 5’11”
Michele Remlinger.
Hopewell-Loudon should be strong again with Andrea Engleman returning at
middle. The Chieftains have younger talent moving up.
Toledo Christian has seven returning varsity players, three of whom made All
District. Players of note are senior outside Jackie Emmecker, junior
setter Maggie Busch and junior middle Jasmine Vugrinac.
Liberty Center is a team to watch, and it is worth noting that northwest has been
notorious for sending a surprise entrant to state.
Turning south, it will be interesting to see if defending state
champion St. Henry can capture the MAC title, which they’ve won twelve
consecutive times. Folks are saying the league is the toughest top to bottom
ever with 7 or 8 teams capable of winning it. That is especially poignant
considering that six MAC schools have advanced to state during St. Henry’s
reign.
Whatever happens to St. Henry in conference, the Redskins will have
to beat the same crowd again at the New Bremen Sectional, and they’ve met
their downfall there before.
Just for the record, we like Marion Local in the region, but we’re
going with St. Henry to make it a lucky 13th straight MAC crown.
Marion Local will be led by a DI college prospect, 6’2” all-Ohio middle hitter
Jenna Barhorst. Adding experience will be two three-year starters,
outside Stephanie Brunswick and rightside Jenny Hartings.
Sophomore Abby Niekamp is coming up – she’s 6'1" middle blocker who
was selected for the USA High Performance Camp.
Minster
has loads of experience returning from last year’s MAC runner-up squad.
Fourth year setter Laura Morsey will run a 5-1 offense. Her top
targets will be outside Danae Spieles and middle Laura Gruber.
Spieles is recovering from surgery and is expected back in September.
Defending state champion St. Henry graduated five seniors but
they will reload as usual. Top returnees are outside Kayla LeFeld,
junior middle Betsy Hoying and libero Kylie Elking. The
Redskins play a brutal schedule – two of their three losses were to Toledo
Central Catholic and host Toledo St. Ursula in the Best of Ohio tournament.
Fort Recovery played a lot of good teams tough last year, and junior outside
leaping sensation Tiffany Gaerke can only get better. The Indians
gave St. Henry their closest state tourney match in a 25-18, 22-25, 23-25,
25-22, 10-15 sectional loss.
New Knoxville will have a say in matters with junior middle Nicole Wright
and outside Alicia Niemeyer. Sectional host New Bremen could
also play spoiler. The Cardinals top hitter is senior middle Liz Schnelle.
Convoy Crestview has their entire team back, which translates into leadership and
experience. The Lady Knights serve well and are strong on defense, and have
four solid attackers. Three four-year starters will lead: Shea Dietrich,
last year’s NWC MVP; hard hitting lefty Courtney Springer and a
great libero in Jamie Perkins. Three-year starting setter Alisha
Etzler will run the offense.
Sadly, only one of these fine teams will make it to the Vandalia
Regional.
Depending on the district seedings, the other three entrants could be
the same as last year: Sidney Lehman, Sidney Fairlawn and Jackson Center.
Sidney Lehman returns three All-Ohio nominees from a team that defeated St. Henry
last year in regular season. Jessica Butt (1st team) may be the top
outside hitter in Division IV, and Roshelle Watercutter (2nd team) is
close behind. Emilee Seger (honorable mention) will handle the
setting.
Sidney Fairlawn returns most of their team, including three All-Ohio selections:
senior setter Jenna Zumberger, senior middle hitter Jessica Girod
and sophomore outside jumper Amanda Francis. The Jets, who lost to
Lehman in a close regional semifinal, also have a top defender in sophomore
Morgan Zumberger.
Jackson Center will be led by 5’10” senior outside Catie Halberstadt and
6’0” junior outside Kristi Platfoot. The Tigers took St. Henry to
four games last year.
Fort Loramie will try to break up the triumvirate. The Redskins will be led by
6’1” All-Ohio senior middle blocker and Team Atlantis star Leslie
Hoelscher and junior outside hitter Kara Francis.
Turning to the southeast, which also includes Central District,
Newark Catholic is the team to beat. The Green Wave will be led by 6’0”
Sarah Clapper, who spearheaded last year’s Division III state title
run, with Shannon Wilson at the other middle. Clapper and Wilson
contributed 25 and 12 kills, respectively, in the Green Wave’s win over
undefeated Lutheran West in the final. Also returning are setters Sadie
Warthen and Meredith McDonald. Newcomers are libero Andi
Stollard, outside hitter Megan Kane and 6' lefty rightside hitter
Amy Cox.
The drop to Division IV will pit the Green Wave in a regional
semifinal against Frankfort Adena, who also returns most of their
State Semifinalist team. Leading the Warriors will be senior middle
Amanda Atchison, junior setter Haley Holcomb and junior middle
Leah Hirsch. Adena will be tough to score on with Catherine Glandon
and Casi Coy in the backcourt.
One of Newark Catholic’s chief competitors in district will be
Lancaster Fisher Catholic. The Irish expect big things from sophomore
hitter Katie Helm and spiker Katlyn Berry.
Delaware Christian will feature strong defense and passing, and will be led
by senior Sarah Carroll and junior middle Sarah Hartman.
Other teams to watch are Ridgedale, Shekinah Christian and
East Knox.
The other regional bracket looks like Berlin Hiland or
Tuscarawas Central Catholic against Beaver Eastern.
In the northeast we look for Buckeye Central to return to
state for the ninth time, and first since 2001. The Buckettes, who gave
runner-up Norwalk St. Paul a tussle at district, will be led by two middles,
6’2” all state middle hitter Blaire Hiler, who delivers a ball with
tremendous power, and Kelsey Hernstein. Ohio State and Kentucky are
looking at Hiler.
Central will have to contend with Bucyrus Wynford in their
sectional. The Royals are led by two junior hitters, middle Jenny Slone
and outside Shauna Rowland. Slone sets out of back row and has a
great swing. Rowland has been first team all Conference two years running
and played up for Wooster Elite 17. She led Wynford in kills as a frosh and
was second last year despite missing six matches with an ankle injury. Other
players to watch are outside Brittany Fullenkamp, and a left setter
who hits rightside named Dana Shifley.
Norwalk St. Paul lost their big guns from last year but several non-starting
youngsters should step in to fill the holes, like junior middle Ryan
Centers.
Whoever makes it out of district will contend with the likes of
Mogadore and junior Kelli Pollock, and possibly Kidron Central
Christian, Windham or Ashtabula Sts. John and Paul.
And now, last but not least, here is my Pre-Season Top 25 (all
divisions), which may differ from the top teams as reflected in
PrepVolleyball.com’s pre-season national rankings:
1 St. Bernard Roger
Bacon
2 Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame
3 Toledo St. Ursula
4 Cincinnati Seton
5 Cincinnati McAuley
6 Toledo Central Catholic
7 Cincinnati Mother of Mercy
8 West Chester Lakota West
9 Cincinnati Ursuline
10 Cincinnati St. Ursula
11 Kettering Archbishop Alter
12 Cincinnati McNicholas
13 Wooster
14 Marion Local
15 Solon
16 Rockford Parkway
17 Westerville South
18 Dayton Chaminade-Julienne
19 Walnut Hills
20 Newark Catholic
21 Elyria
22 Huron
23 Sidney Lehman Catholic
24 Magnificat
25 Wadsworth
25 Minster
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