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Toledo St. Ursula knocks Elyria out……..again November 4, 2006 By Jim Jicha When people hear the name Toledo St. Ursula they naturally think of volleyball and, indeed, the Arrows are a recognized state power. But prior to Year 2000 they’d never been to state. They’ve become regulars ever since, however, so much so that they now think of the Nutter Center as their home away from home. The Arrows also consider Norwalk High School, which plays host to the northwest regional, as home. Other schools in the region, however, think of Norwalk as a way station where title hopes get shot full of arrows. One of them is Elyria which on Thursday evening was ousted by St. Ursula for the fifth times in six years, 25-27, 25-18, 25-14, 25-19. Elyria overcame one bugaboo by winning game one - they were 0-10 versus St. Ursula in four previous regional matches. The Pioneers showed poise too, leading much of the time, and fending off the Arrows at the end. But St. Ursula took charge in games two and three, and they pulled away to win game four and end the Pioneers' season once again. Setter/outside hitter Ashley Yuhas started Elyria off with a cross court kill, and after Toledo tied on an error, she and 6’0” Minnesota bound middle hitter Charde' Phillips each spiked points. The Arrows went up 4-3, but Elyria gradually built a 13-8 edge. Then Arrow right side Kelly Thomas drilled a short set cross court and the Arrows flew back into the game, as Thomas won a battle at the net with Phillips, 6’1” junior outside Alliya Drzewiecki pounded two cross court kills and Thomas tied it with a well placed two handed tip. Elyria scored twice but Drzewiecki and 6’1” senior middle Ashley Heyman tied it at 15. St. Ursula went up 17-16 on an ace by Abby Walla, as the teams fought for every point. Arrow junior Hannah Boggus gave St. Ursula what was to be their last lead with a kill at 19-18. Elyria scored four straight on two kills by Michigan bound 6’3” middle Karlee Bruck, a misfired arrow, and an ace by sophomore outside Amanda Medvetz. Toledo retied on a kill from back of the net by Hailey Marvin, a block by Boggus and a kill by Drzewiecki. Yuhas kept Elyria a step ahead, nailing a cross court spike, and spiking a point through defenders, with Drzewiecki tying it in between. Phillips scored a go ahead kill at 25-24, and blasted a short set from Nicole Bates to make it 26-25, after which an Arrow spike sailed out to end the game. It was a good start, but a quick review during intermission revealed some stats that did not bode well for Elyria. St. Ursula had committed 12 errors, including three serving miscues. Elyria was perfect at the line with only three errors total. Tellingly, the teams would make one service error apiece in each of games two and three, with overall mistakes pretty even in game two and Elyria making more in the third. St. Ursula jumped out 8-2 in game two with Heyman scoring on three well placed hits and teaming with Kristin Sheely for a block. Elyria closed to 13-11, but Drzewiecki and Heyman led an 8-1 run in which Walla had an ace and Thomas chipped in with a tip. At this point Phillips, who was in perfect position to deal with an overpass of her own spike, started a five point rally in which she added two more kills and a block. Heyman blocked a tip to end that, and soon after Marvin ended the game with a smash that seemed long but ricocheted off a ducking defender. Yuhas hit another cross court point to put Elyria up 2-0 in the third, but Toledo rallied with an ace by setter Molly McCabe putting them up 6-3, and they led the rest of the way. Elyria got as close as 10-9 on kills from opposite Amanda Folop, and Medvetz. But the Arrows scored five straight starting with a kill by Boggus and an ace from Marvin. Soon after, Drzewiecki commenced a 6-0 run, in which McCabe served three straight aces. That made it 22-12. Marvin spiked the game winner through a Pioneer double block. Elyria took leads of 5-2 and 9-7 in game four, with Yuhas, Phillips, Medvetz and Bruck all chipping in. At this point St. Ursula used three 2-1 exchanges to take the lead and after one more tie at 13, the Arrows pulled ahead 20-16 with a 6-2 run. The teams traded points, with Thomas nailing a short set by Maggie Hills. Yuhas and Drzewiecki then exchanged two kills apiece, leaving St. Ursula up 23-19. And after Elyria hit one long, Heyman found an empty back court to send her team to yet another regional final. This match marked the end of Carol Russo’s illustrious 26-year career as Elyria’s head coach. Russo has also served for several years as President of the Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association. Her final record stands at 555-119. We wish her well!
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