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St. Ursula, Ursuline to meet again, this time in regionals November 3, 2004 By Jim Jicha With rally scoring, coupled with best-of-five, in effect this year matches are taking a lot longer. That was in evidence at last Saturday’s Division I district finals held at the Nutter Center in Fairborn. Five matches were on the agenda, with the first scheduled for 11:00 A.M. and the last for 4:00 P.M. Even though none of the matches went five, the final one between Cincinnati Seton and Centerville did not get underway until close to 7:00 P.M., which meant, unfortunately, that I missed seeing it. The first match was between Vandalia-Butler and Chaminade-Julienne, two Dayton area powerhouses who had not met this season. They were in the same bracket at Mercy’s Fall Classic. Chaminade won the bracket by beating St. Henry (Ky.) and Louisville Holy Cross, while Butler lost to those same teams and finished fourth. For those who follow the southwest district you know results like that don’t carry much weight, and so it was no big surprise when Butler turned up their intensity on Saturday and knocked the Eagles off their perch. The match was hotly contested as evidenced by the score of 25-20, 25-20, 25-27, 25-22. Butler used a balanced attack to take an opening game lead of 14-6. Meagan Martin, Meredith Herzog, Alicia Sherrill, Cassie Mangen and Beth Oldiges all had kills. With the hitting dispersed like that you know the setting had to be superb. It was. Chelsea Noble was on fire the entire match. The Tennessee bound setter played as if this was her last high school match, and as a result, she’ll play another one. C-J came back with six points behind the serving of Emily Strader, as Pittsburgh recruit Stephanie Ross spiked three kills and Sara Dorman and Katie Slayback added one apiece. However, Butler moved ahead 21-15 and finally prevailed, despite scores by Ali Hess and Ross. Butler won game two by the same score but this time it stayed close with the Eagles taking a 16-15 lead on a three point rally led by Ross and freshman Megan Slayback. Butler then went of a six point run, with Mangen and Sherrill scoring four. Oldiges nailed two kills to make it 24-19, and after an Eagle point, the Aviators won on a net serve. Chaminade took charge in game three with leads of 6-3, 10-5 and 15-9. They were led by the hitting of Ross, serving and setting from Bauer and two big blocks by Hess. Butler rallied to tie it at 20-20, and took a match point 24-23 lead on a bomb from Sherrill. Hess tied it with a well placed hit, but another hit by Sherrill was dug out of bounds putting the Avaiators on the cusp again. Butler was unable to put the match away as their next two hits were out. The first was a two handed tip down the line by Noble that barely missed ending the match. After that Dorman blocked a tip by Sherrill and the Eagles were back in business. Game four saw some momentum shifts. After Butler took a 7-3 lead, C-J went on a 12-4 run to go up 15-11. The Aviators countered with a big rally started on a kill by Noble, who then blocked Megan Slayback. Oldiges followed with two more blocks as Sherrill served up eight points to put her team up 20-15. After Butler increased the lead to six at 23-17, Ross and Hess led a mini-rally but Butler only needed two points and got them on a well placed hit by Martin and a tip by Sherrill. The match between Cincinnati St. Ursula and Walnut Hills was most intriguing, for while these schools are within walking distance of each other they had never met before in volleyball and their past records stand in stark contrast to each other. This was Walnut Hills’ first ever appearance in a district final. Until last year, when the Eagles burst onto the scene and into the rankings with a team comprised of nine sophomores and three freshmen, nobody had heard of them (in volleyball, that is- they are well known academically). St. Ursula had won eight state titles and was last season’s PrepVolleyball.com national champion. Volleyball fans in Winnemucca, Nevada know who they are. On Saturday the teams’ finally crossed paths at the Nutter Center, with a trip to regionals hanging in the balance. The Eagles brought a 24-match winning streak to the contest, their only blemish a season opening loss to Girls Greater Cincinnati champion Mercy. Late in the season they went on the road and handed second ranked Findlay their only loss. For St. Ursula this had been a tough season as they had an uncharacteristic 12-10 record and finished 5-5 in the GGCL. At one point they were 3-8, on a seven match losing streak. The Bulldogs play a brutal schedule, so you have to take those ten losses with a grain of salt. And it didn’t help that senior Maggie Schmelzle missed the early part of the season with a sprained ankle. People raved last year about Bryn Kehoe and the other seniors, and those kids deserved all their kudos, but it was Schmelzle who led the scoring against arch rival Ursuline in the state final. The match proved to be as good as it looked on paper. St. Ursula won 21-25, 29-27, 25-21, 25-20, but every game was in doubt until the end, and the teams left everything on the floor. For Walnut Hills the bitter disappointment of coming so close was written in their faces during the trophy presentations. The match started as a back-and-forth with Walnut Hills going up 7-6. At that point Schmelzle went on a barrage, scoring three kills and a booming block on middle hitter Natalie Marsh. Allison Mercurio added a kill to put the Bulldogs up 11-8. Eagles setter Jane Thompson the rotated to backcourt and served up nine points, three on aces, making it 18-11. Marsh added three kills and a block, while outside hitter Samantha Robinson had a kill and teamed with Marsh on another block. St. Ursula closed to 19-16, helped by kills from Mackenzie Angner and Stephanie Wessels. But Robinson kept the Bulldogs at bay with two kills, and a couple of Bulldog errors gave the Eagles a 23-17 lead. St. Ursula setter Emily Ray put a well placed hit in the Eagles’ backcourt and Wessels served two aces to cut the lead to 23-21. However, when her next serve was in the net, Thompson scored the game winner on a dump that was dug out of bounds. St. Ursula took an early 7-3 lead in game two, but the Eagles rallied to a 9-8 lead. The Bulldogs retorted with an 8-2 run to go on top 16-10. Marsh came up with some great tips to get her team back within three, and a few volleys later she served two aces to tie it at 18-18. The Bulldogs scored three, only to have the Eagles tie it again. The Eagles went ahead 23-22 but St. Ursula scored to to go up 24-23. Outside Eagle hitter Brooke Sparks tied it with a kill, after which Schmelzle parried points with Marsh and Robinson until it was 27-27. Ray then saved the game for St. Ursula with stellar defense. With the game tied she came up with a great dig, and the Eagles eventually were called for four hits. Angner scored the game winner on a tip off the blockers, but this came after Ray passed a smash by Robinson. Game three went back and forth as the teams tied ten times en route to a 14-14 score that came after a Schmelzle block of Sparks. The Bulldogs got three more points on kills from Angner and Wessels and another block by Schmelzle. Walnut Hills tied it again at 17, but Schmelzle scored three more to fuel a five point rally. After Marsh scored two kills to keep it close, Schmelzle spiked yet another kill and 6’2” sophomore Michelle Kenning tipped for the penultimate point. Thompson scored the Eagles’ final point after some intense net play, and then Kenning ended it with a blast. In game four St. Ursula rolled out to leads of 10-4 and 13-8. But they could not shake the Eagles who rallied to 13-12 behind an ace from Veronica Arenander and a kill from Marsh. Schmelzle hammered three straight kills for a 16-12 Bulldog lead, but Marsh retorted with three kills to lead a five point run that put Walnut Hills on top. With the Eagles leading 19-18, St. Ursula rallied. Schmelzle scored on a tip, Mercurio and Angner nailed kills, Schmelzle served an ace, and an Eagle hit was out, this coming after Ray saved a smash by Marsh. That made it 23-19. Robinson got Walnut Hills back on the scoreboard with a spike that was blocked over but out. But that proved to be the final score for the Eagles. Anger spiked a kill from the right side after her previous smash from the left was returned. She then blasted one down the line to send her team to the regionals. Leaders for St. Ursula were: Ray, 38 assists; Schmelzle, 26 kills, Mercurio, 12 kills; and, Wessels, 30 digs. The Bulldogs will face Ursuline on Thursday. These two teams have met in the state championship match the last three years. Speaking of Ursuline, the Lions had a struggle of their own as they survived a scare from Lakota West to win 25-22, 23-25, 25-22, 25-17. West Chester Lakota has had powerful teams in the past. In 1994 the beat Wooster in the Division I state title match. But the high school had grown too large and split soon after into East and West, and that diffused the talent. The Firebirds came on strong this season with a young team, and with players like 6’2” middle hitter Meagen Dooley, 6’0” junior Sally Ogle, 5’9” sophomore setter Jenna Hagglund, and 6’0” middle Amber Gray we can look forward to hearing more from them next year. Ursuline’s win was due in no small part to two non-starters, Bridget Mustard who scored oodles of points on spikes, tips and blocks, and sophomore defensive specialist Abby O’Connor who kept the Firebirds at bay with several great digs and passes. Lakota West jumped out to a 4-0 lead behind the blocking of Rose and Hagglund. The Lions tied it at 5-5, but Lakota used a 9-2 run to lead 15-8 as Ogle and Dooley combined for three blocks and three kills. The Lions countered with a run of their own scoring nine straight and 11 of 12 to go up 19-16. Mustard led the attack and Amy White served the big rally. After Lakota went back on top 22-21, Ursuline middle blocker Catherine Wolfe tied it with a tip, Mustard scored a kill and two errors by the Firebirds sealed the win for Ursuline. The Firebirds took another big lead in game two, 15-7, with Rose, Ogle and Dooley leading the attack. Ursuline gradually cut into the margin, and a smash by Samantha Holden capped a three point mini-rally to cut it to 24-23. But Hagglund came up with a great dump that was dug out of bounds to give the Firebirds the win and tie the match. Ursuline took an initial 9-4 lead in game three , but Lakota crept back and eventually went up 15-14 on a block by Rose. The teams went back and forth and Lakota went back in front 21-20 on a kill by sophomore Kelli Clear. That’s when Mustard took over, scoring two blocks and getting a kill for the game winner. In game four Ursuline again took the initial lead, 7-2, only to see the Firebirds rally to go on top 12-11. However, Lions’ sophomore Becky Shaffer served up a seven point rally and Lakota never got closer than four. Mother of Mercy had an easier time in their match with Northmont, winning 25-9, 25-15, 25-8. The Thunderbolts got themselves in deep holes in every game as Mercy took initial leads of 12-1, 11-0, and 9-0. Mercy had solid serving from Tori Sunderman and Lauren Harpenau. Leading the Bobcats attack were Tricia Meyers, Erica Janszen and Maria Schmitt. Megan Snorf was the top hitter for Northmont.
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