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Archbishop Alter repeats as state champions By Jim Jicha They say lightning doesn’t strike twice, but don’t try to tell that to West Holmes volleyball coach Jim Park who for the second year in a row saw his team fall to Archbishop Alter in the title match. This time the score was 15-3, 15-11. Actually it wasn’t lightning that struck West Holmes – it was Duke bound middle hitter Carrie DeMange who shredded West Holmes’ defenses with 20 kills in 29 attempts. Talking about the outcome of the match Park said “Carrie DeMange is the difference. We can’t stop her”. To a comment about differences in schedule strengths Park retorted “Our schedule is tougher now, but we still can’t stop DeMange”. Not many teams can stop her. Maumee couldn’t in the semifinal when she hit 14 kills in 21 tries. Nobody at the Nike Challenge could stop her either, not Kentucky state champion Louisville Sacred Heart who plays a grueling schedule, and not Mater Dei who did manage to beat the Knights. Both teams had mixed emotions after it was over. Even though they won Alter’s mood was subdued because for many it was their last time together as a team. Three of them, DeMange, setter Ali Hausfeld and outside hitter Lindsey Woeste were starters as freshmen. DeMange said of the match “I wanted it really bad”, but added “I was excited and sad at the same time”. Outside hitter Nikki Kelly echoed the sentiment “I didn’t want it to end because it was our last game”. Coach Tina Jasinowski, comparing the win to last year’s said “it is personally more satisfying this year, but bittersweet because we’ll never be on the court again together”. West Holmes on the other hand found a silver lining in defeat. After they were beaten 15-1, 15-0 in last year’s final they were itching to get back and show they could play with Alter, and senior middle hitter Tristen Dye was satisfied they did. “The second game we showed we could play with them. A lot of people stepped up and played”. For Mandy Humphrey this was an experience she would never forget. She said “I’d love to get on the court and play again”. She’s a junior so maybe we will see her again at the Nutter. For awhile the match did look like a replay of last year as Alter dominated the scoring in the first game and rolled to a 9-1 lead in the second. DeMange started things off by breaking West Holmes’ serve, a precursor of things to come. The teams exchanged eight more sideouts with Humphrey and Dye parrying kills with Mandy Robbe and DeMange, leaving the score tied at 1-1. Alter broke to a 5-1 lead on two West Holmes errors, a kill by DeMange and a double block by DeMange and Lindsey Woeste. West Holmes scored on a rotation error, but Woeste then served seven points in a row to put Alter up 12-2. DeMange scored on a block and a short set kill, Woeste had an ace, Nikki Kelly a kill and setter Ali Hausfeld a dump. The teams traded service errors and DeMange scored another kill. Morgan McDowell scored West Holmes’ third point on an ace, but DeMange blocked Humphrey for a sideout. Alter scored point fourteen when West Holmes was called for under the net. This occurred after DeMange raced way back twice to save errant Alter digs and keep the play alive. DeMange ended game one with a service ace. For a while it seemed not much was going to change from last year as Alter rolled to a 9-1 lead. However, there was a difference. West Holmes was getting sideouts this time. Alter’s first point came when West Holmes overpassed Mandy Robbe’s serve to DeMange (and you know the rest). After a net serve, McDowell got her second ace to tie it. But DeMange slammed a cross court kill to the other line and after two West Holmes errors and another blast by DeMange it was 4-1. Alter served into the net, but DeMange forced another sideout. Alter moved on top 6-1 when West Holmes was caught in the net and then committed a two hits error. Then it happened. West Holmes dug in their heels, and began to battle with their powerful opponent from the GGCL. It wasn’t noticeable at first because Alter kept increasing their lead. But between scores of 6-1 and 9-1, there were fourteen sideouts. Tristen Dye started it with a kill from back court. DeMange responded with a kill from back court. During this time there were two sideouts to Alter that almost were points for West Holmes. Mariel Hebrun’s block on a tip by Robbe was just out of bounds. A little later a spike by Brittany Mathie was barely out. But for a couple of inches West Holmes could have had two points instead of losing two sideouts. Alter scored their 8th and 9th points on kills by DeMange and Amy Wetterau. But Alter’s next hit was out, and three more errant hits resulted in West Holmes points. Then Dye nailed a kill, and 5’6” Trisha Uhl went high over the block for another. On the next play Uhl hit another spike that was headed out, but was dug by DeMange. The ball came back to West Holmes and this time Uhl buried it. Alter’s lead had suddenly dwindled to 9-7. On the next play Ali Drushal pancaked an Alter blast, but Woeste finally got the serve back for Alter on a cross court kill. Woeste scored on a powerful smash, but Dye went over the block to slam down a kill and Uhl scored on a great reaction hit that landed in Alter territory. Robbe spiked for sideout and DeMange scored on a kill. A net serve gave the sideout back to West Holmes. DeMange tried two spikes but was rejected on one and dug on the other, leaving Hausfeld to dump for sideout to keep West Holmes from scoring. But Humphrey came right back and blocked DeMange, and Brittany Mathie nailed a kill. The score was now 11-9. DeMange smashed back to back kills but Humphrey and Mathie responded in kind to make it 12-10. Hausfeld put up a great back set that DeMange crushed for a sideout. Dye smashed a kill. But two West Holmes mistakes kept them from closing further. Dye hit another kill after the first error for sideout, but after the second miscue Hausfeld made a great tip on a play at the net, and Alter was up 13-10. Another error took Alter to match point. Dye, DeMange and Humphrey traded kills, and then Humphrey hit one that was blocked out. After a service error by West Holmes the teams parried kills, Humphrey, DeMange, then Dye. But then came a net serve by West Holmes and, when the Knights overpassed Kelly’s serve to Robbe, Archbishop Alter had their second straight title. Jasinowski knew this year was going to be more difficult than last. “It’s a lot harder to defend a championship than to win it” she explained adding that “every time a team comes back on us it adds pressure” However, she sensed her players seemed relaxed and she “felt very comfortable with our demeanor”. West Holmes Coach Jim Park credited Alter’s blocking with touching lots of balls. He said Hausfeld was a great setter noting that with her Alter’s offense has no accidents. He thought his team had a chance to go ahead but three service errors near the end hurt. West Holmes did not stop Carrie DeMange. But in the second game they did slow her down. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Archbishop Alter rolled into the state final on Friday with a 15-1, 15-9 win over Maumee in a match that saw only 22 sideouts and lasted 27 minutes. Carrie DeMange scored first for Alter. A cross court kill by middle hitter Laurie Schade gave service to the Panthers but DeMange nailed another kill. Lindsey Woeste then served up eight points on blocks by setter Ali Hausfeld, spikes by DeMange and a couple of hitting errors. The last kill came on a blast from backcourt by Amy Wetterau. A Maumee tip finally forced a sideout, but not before Woeste made a great pancake dig. Maumee scored on an errant hit by the Knights, but then DeMange and Schade traded kills, with Maumee blocking DeMange’s second kill into the scoreboard. DeMange served up four points with Wetterau contributing a kill to put her team up 13-1. After two sideouts Lucy Febus served the final points, nailing an ace for the game winner. Maumee drew first blood in game two on an Alter hitting error. A dump by Hausfeld gave the serve to Alter. Woeste started with an ace and continued serving until it was 8-1. DeMange had three kills, one a smash on a slide that was blocked into the crowd. After that Alter began making mistakes and the teams traded points. Maumee scored three on two Alter errors and a booming block of DeMange by Schade. DeMange scored on a line drive from back court, but the Knights then hit two wayward balls as Maumee closed to 9-6. A straight down spike by Woeste made it 10-6, but after three sideouts and some nice defense by the Panthers, Alter had another errant hit. Hausfeld’s dump gave service back to Alter, and Woeste served her team up to match point, nailing two serves that were technically not aces, but never came back. Maumee got a reprieve on a kill by Schade, after which Sarah Dunn served an ace and Joanie Burkhardt spiked a ball that was blocked back but out of bounds. A kill by Tracey Walterbusch gave Alter the ball and Hausfeld served up the winning point that came when a nice hit by Schade landed just outside the line. Afterward Ali Hausfeld talked about what it would take to slow down the Knights’ powerful attack. She said the “other team would have to put up a great defense … our offense is unstoppable, and it’s not just Carrie”. Hausfeld is right about Alter not being just one person. But it’s debatable whether there is a defense anywhere at the high school level that can stop Carrie DeMange. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “We won the first game … then we thought, oh my gosh we can win … then we got hesitant”. That’s how Brian Coughlin described his Kenston Bombers downfall in Friday’s Semifinal 15-6, 14-14, 8-15 loss to West Holmes. The Bombers came very close to making the final in their first trip to state. They led most of the first game and won going away. They stayed close in the second but were undone by mistakes at the end. And they let things get away in the third. Errors led to the first three points of the match as Kenston took a 2-1 lead. The Knights tied it on a block by Tristen Dye. But Jessica Barrow responded with two kills to put the Bombers up 4-2. After a two hits call on Kenston made it 4-3, Barrow smashed a kill and served an ace. On their next sideout, Alexi Sawayda served three points on two errors and a booming block of Mandy Humphrey by Hallie Hanks. The Knights closed to 8-5 on an errant Bomber hit and Humphrey’s block of Hanks. They added another, after four sideouts, on a smash by Dye. But then the roof fell in on the Knights, starting with a net foul. Dye got another kill to end a long volley that was kept alive for West Holmes on a great dig by Ali Drushal. But their next hit was out. And their next. And then they hit the antenna to put Kenston on top 10-6. A nice pass from Kelsey Wintringham led to a tip kill for Kenston. Loren Antolino hammered a short set kill. Barrow smashed two more kills to make it 14-6. Then Dye hit one out to end it. Angeline Sabol served all six points for the Bombers. The Knights took a 3-0 lead in game two with Dye scoring on a tip from back row and Humphrey blocking a short set spike. After Dye saved one spike from landing with a pancake, Barrow’s kill broke the string. Kenston then tied it getting a kill from Wintringham and an ace from Barrow. West Holmes went on a five point run with the teams trading sideouts on all but one of the points. Humphrey started the run with a tip, Mariel Habrun put a block into a hole, Dye had an aerial smash and a spike by Trisha Uhl was blocked way out. It was 8-3. Kenston closed to 8-6 scoring on two errors and a tip of an overpass by Hanks. Kenston mishandled a serve from Drushal, but then closed to 9-8 on a kill by Barrow and, after four sideouts, a lift by the Knights. Humphrey scored on a kill, but the Knights then committed two errors, and the game was tied at 10. Brittany Mathie forced a sideout for West Holmes. After an intense volley a smash by Dye hit the Bombers’ floor and after two sideouts a Bomber lift put West Holmes up 12-10. Hanks blasted a short set for sideout, and Barrow followed with a short set smash that West Holmes blocked into the crowd. That made it 12-11. Dye came up with a kill, but Hanks followed with a booming block on Dye. After two sideouts on errors, Humphrey went airborne and smashed a spike straight down. On the next play Humphrey pounded another kill to make it 13-11, and she smashed a hit from the middle to the right line to take it to 14-11. For the game point Humphrey was there again but setter Morgan McDowell instead opted for a dump. Kenston was expecting that and Sabol set Barrow whose smash landed on the line. Wintringham scored on a kill and West Holmes hit one out for two Kenston points. The Bombers got a break on the next play when Dye went diving for a Kenston hit that was just out of bounds. It appeared to hit the floor a split second before hitting Dye but the referee ruled she touched it -- and the match was tied. Whether the call was right or wrong, the play could have provided Kenston the psychological boost they needed to put the match away. Instead a net serve turned the ball over to West Holmes. On the next play Kenston hit one out, and Humphrey’s terminating kill gave West Holmes new life. The Knights wasted no time in the finale. Kenston took a brief lead when Wintringham scored on a kill and Barrow served an ace. But Humphrey’s tip put Uhl at the line. Dye smashed a back court spike that landed on the left line. Kenston committed an error after Humphrey rejected their spike. Humphrey scored a kill. Uhl scored an ace on a serve that appeared to nick the net. Humphrey hit another kill. After four sideouts West Holmes added two points on a hitting error and Dye’s block of an overpass. The Knights were up 7-2. Kenston scored twice on West Holmes miscues. But after Dye’s nice sideout tip over blockers into a hole, the Knights added three points. Humphrey had two of them on a kill and a stuff block of Hanks. This made it 10-4. Wintringham scored on another kill but the Knights went up 13-5 on a kill by Dye and two Kenston errors. Following a sideout Hanks blocked Dye and Kenston scored again on a West Holmes error. But Dye’s kill prevented any serious damage, and her next spike made it 14-7. Barrow forced a sideout and Kenston scored on a four hits call. Dye’s next missive hit the top of the net and found a hole. She followed with a net serve, but Kenston did the same. Mathie then scored the winning point, the play helped by a nice pass from Uhl, and West Holmes had achieved their goal of a rematch with Alter. Coughlin felt his team gave West Holmes too big of a lead. He thought the Bombers did an excellent job on defense but weren’t effective coming off the dig. He said “when things went their way in the third game we lost control and they put up five points”. He praised West Holmes middle hitters Dye and Humphrey. He cited his own hitter Loren Antolino for her sterling first game performance. You could tell Coughlin expects to be back. He said the experience will help. “it will be “easier setting goals because we’ve been here … we will fill the setting spot ... we’ll come back just as strong”. Barrow echoed her coach’s comments adding “it was definitely a great experience coming down here”. Barrow is a junior and if she keeps playing like she did against West Holmes the Bombers may very well be back.
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