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Sidney Lehman Catholic wins a classic, Seton advances November 9, 2005 By Jim Jicha When the Sidney Lehman Catholic volleyball team needs some words of inspiration, it’s often Lonnie Cain who provides them. And after losing 29-27 and falling into a 0-2 hole against Marion Local in last Saturday’s regional final at Butler High School, the Cavaliers were in need of some sage advice. Cain challenged the team in the huddle, asking “Does this seem maybe familiar to anyone?” He got the response he was looking for when someone responded “Yeah, St. Henry”. On September 13 Lehman were in an identical predicament against the Redskins and pulled the match out 17-25, 23-25, 25-21, 30-28, 15-13. So in the huddle they discussed how they had done this before and would do it again. As it turned out, the Flyers did do it again, by the closest margin possible, 16-25, 27-29, 25-23, 26-24, 15-13. This match was without question one of the ten best I’ve seen in over 15 years of following the sport. It was two hours and ten minutes of hard spikes, booming blocks, great sets, diving digs…and exhilarating tension. Lehman came with a glistening 27-0 record compiled against a rugged schedule. Marion was 21-5, but had bested four ranked opponents in the tournament, avenging three losses in the process. Beating Lehman would avenge a fourth. Giving no indication of things to come, the Cavaliers jumped out to a 5-0 lead. Senior outside hitter Roshelle Watercutter served an ace, junior middle Jessica Sargent and senior outside hitting star Jessica Butt spiked kills, Watercutter served another ace, and sophomore middle Jessica Slagle, who’d already had some good digs, found a hole. Marion broke the ice when Jenna Barhorst rejected a spike and the Cavaliers hit one out. The 6’3” middle hitter followed up with a tip that was lifted. Lehman stayed on top at 8-4, when Marion outsides Stephanie Brunswick and Kristin Bergman scored on a block and cross court kill, respectively. And after Butt hit another kill for Lehman, the Flyers taxied to an 11-9 lead. Katelyn Mescher served up four points, as 6’1” sophomore Abby Niekamp and 5’11” senior Jenny Hartings took turns blocking Wattercutter. The teams then traded scores, Watercutter getting kills through and past the blockers, and Marion’s Hartings scoring after a fake by Niekamp, with Brunswick pounding a kill down the left line. Marion served into the net leaving them on top 13-12, and then they really took off on kills by Bergman, a dump by setter Maria Moellor, and another block. The Flyers game winner came after they saved a bad serve receive, on a cross court smash by Hartings. The save was one of several the two squads made during the match. Lehman again jumped ahead in game two, using a 7-point rally served by outside Lauren Gleason to go up 8-3. Slagle had three kills, one a save of a teammate’s errant pass that she two handed into a hole, Butt drilled a kill and setter Emilee Seger surprised the Flyers with a dump. The teams traded points to 13-8, and Marion then began pecking away, closing to 15-16 on a backcourt kill from Brunswick. After a kill by Watercutter, Marion rallied ahead 20-17 with Niekamp scoring on a block and kill. Lehman scored four straight to go up 22-21, Gleason on a block and two kills, and Watercutter with an ace. Barhorst tied it with a kill and the Flyers went back on top when Moellor elected to spike a kill rather than set. Butt retied it with a blast through the block and, after Brunswick demolished a Lehman overpass, she tied it again at 24. Kills by Slagle put Lehman at game point twice, but Marion tied each time, and the Flyers went up 27-26 on an errant hit. Watercutter tied it one last time with a blast through two blockers. Marion prevailed when Niekamp followed with a short set kill, and she and Hartings blocked Watercutter for game point. Game three saw Lehman charge out 4-0 only to have Marion tie it. Butt then blocked Barhorst, who reposted with a cross court kill off a slide. Lehman rallied to a 10-5 lead with Butt scoring two kills. The Cavaliers also put up some stellar defense, as Butt rejected one Flyer spike, and Gleason and libero Nell Paulus made some nice digs. But the Flyers battled back, and the teams exchanged points as Marion crept to within 16-17. A nice hit over everyone by Gleason put Lehman up by two, but Marion then moved ahead on a kill and a booming block by Hartings, and an errant Cavalier hit. Lehman tied it at 19 and again at 20...and with every point, the volleys became more frantic. Marion went up two on a block by Hartings and a kill by Barhorst, and their crowd began sensing victory. Gleason provided a respite with a terminating shot down the left line, but Brunswick cremated a cross court blast that was dug halfway to Dayton. Lehman Catholic was running out of points. At that point, Butt provided another respite with a spike that was blocked back over, but out. And when Marion hit one into the net, Lehman had new life. All might yet have gone for naught had Seger not made a great dig at the net, but after her save, Butt found the right back corner to make it 24-23. Needless to say, on the next volley Seger set Butt who blasted the game winner off the Flyers’ block. The fourth game was every bit as dramatic as the third. Again Lehman charged out, this time 4-1 and 9-5, and again Marion roared back, taking a 10-9 lead with Mescher serving. Lehman went back on top 11-10, but Marion scored three straight, helped by blocks from Brunswick and Hartings, and the Flyers stayed on top to 16-14. There followed an intense volley featuring one handed digs, which Slagle finally ended with a well placed hit. That put Butt at the line and she served up three points including an ace. Lehman maintained a small lead, going up 23-21 on a kill by Gleason. The Cavs got two free balls on the next volley, but messed up a spike and Bergman's kill knotted the score at 23. A match of this nature would not be complete without a close call at a crucial time, and one was forthcoming on the ensuing volley when a spike by Butt down the left line went out and a line judge ruled it had been tipped. Barhorst kept Marion alive with a booming block on Butt’s next spike. Unfortunately for Marion, they returned Lehman’s favor by hitting out on a free ball situation, upon which Slagle found a hole to even up the match. In game five, for whatever the reason, Marion Local did not score on any blocks. Both teams appeared fatigued, and that may have favored the hitters who knew where they were going and could have the ball set their way, over the blockers who had to move all the time. Cain also noted that Lehman’s tough conditioning program helped them at the end. Nevertheless, Marion drew first blood on a kill by Brunswick, only to see Lehman grab a 5-2 lead, led by Gleason and Slagle who blocked Barhorst. Lehman continued their edge to 8-4 and 10-6 with Watercutter scoring two kills. Marion rallied to 9-10 on a kill by Barhorst, an errant Cavalier hit after an intense volley, and a kill by Bergman. But Gleason then pounded a kill to the line down the right side, and when a Marion hit failed to clear the net, Lehman’s lead was 12-9. However, the Flyers were not finished. Barhorst blasted a cross court on a slide, Hartings dug into a Lehman spike into a hole on their side, and Niekamp spiked a kill. The game and match were tied at 12. Flyer hopes were short lived, however, as Slagle pounded a short set from Seger, and Butt followed with a kill, putting the Cavaliers on the cusp. Niekamp kept Marion alive with a kill. On the next and final volley, Butt delivered a cross court spike past the blockers to an empty corner, sending her team into an ecstatic frenzy. Both teams played great all around defense. The taller Flyers were really into blocking. Lehman has but one player over 5’9” and none over 5’11”, while most of Marion’s hitters range from 5’11” to 6’3”, and Marion used their height advantage very effectively early on. During a timeout Cain told the Cavaliers that “big blocks are made to be used”, and Lehman focused on hitting smart and using angles. The Cavaliers had some blocks too, but their forte is digging. Lehman has plenty of offense with the equally potent Butt or Watercutter always in the front row. But a corollary to that is that whenever one is in the front row, the other is in the back. These two can flat out play defense, and often a kill by one starts with a pass from the other. Actually, the entire team is a digging machine and their hitting is deep too. For the match, Butt had 23 kills and 18 digs; Watercutter 16 kills, 28 digs; Gleason 13 kills, 32 digs; Slagle 16 kills, 19 digs; and, Seger 54 assists and 23 digs. Lehman will next meet Old Fort in one state semifinal. Old Fort coach Nancy Hoover just got her 400th win at their regional. The Cavaliers and Stockaders have met before, in the title match of the Convoy Crestview Pepsi Invitational title match. Lehman won that one 25-20, 25-22. Unbeaten Newark Catholic will face Norwalk St. Paul in the other semifinal. St. Paul finished seventh at Crestview's tournament, but then again Marion Local was sixth. That was one tough tournament! ****************************************************************** After a match like that it would seem hard to get psyched up for another. But when the floor was cleared the Cincinnati Seton Saints and Cincinnati Mother of Mercy Bobcats began their warm-ups, and with their history and a GGCL match up in store, getting psyched was no problem. Both schools had unfinished business leftover from last year when they lost to Toledo St. Ursula, Seton in the semifinal and Mercy in the title match. Nobody who saw it will ever forget the Arrows coming back to beat Seton 16-25, 16-25, 39-37, 26-24, 15-7, with Emily Florian serving four points in a row in game three with St. Ursula trailing 20-23, and serving out from a 21-24 deficit in game four. Last year Seton went through the Hilliard regional and Mercy won at Vandalia, which is how both got to the Nutter. This time only one could return, and this match would decide it. Seton had won both league matches this season, the second a five game marathon. The Saints scored first on a kill by middle hitter Emily Sullivan, but on the next volley Jessica Schachleiter blocked Sullivan to start a 7-0 Mercy run. Sophomore outside Missy Harpenau blocked for one and killed for two, Schachleiter spiked a kill and Erica Janszen served two aces. Seton used three consecutive 3-1 runs to go ahead 10-9, and while the game would be tied three more times, the Saints were not headed again. Setter Chelsea Graman got Seton going with a block on Harpenau, 6’1” middle Megan Griffin racked up four kills and outside Gina Coffaro landed a save into an empty Bobcat corner. Scoring went back and forth with outside Chelsea Graham and Griffin scoring for the Saints and Janszen getting three kills for the Bobcats. Three 2-1 spurts by Seton gave them a 20-16 lead. Janszen terminated a cross court spike to cut the lead to 22-20, but with defender Maggie Bonomini digging Mercy spikes, Sullivan nailed two short sets and then tipped over Mercy’s front line into a hole for the game winner. Seton led first in game two, 5-2, then Mercy went on top 8-6 and 13-9. Seton tied at 13 on an errant Bobcat hit, and three kills by Griffin. Emily Kelly kept the rally alive by digging a Schachleiter blast.
Four more ties ensued, the
last at 17, and then Mercy went up for good, with Harpenau serving an ace,
sophomore Kayla McWilliams scoring on a save and sophomore Colleen Meyers
pounding a great backset by junior setter Sam Viox down the right side. The Bobcats scored first in game three on a slide right cross court smash by Schachleiter, but Sullivan tied it and Seton went up 4-1 behind the digging of junior Emily Kelly and two kills by Griffin. Schachleiter spiked another cross court and Viox served an ace; however, except for a tie at 8, Seton led all the way. Coffaro scored a kill and a block, and Griffin had three kills as the Saints edged ahead 13-9. Mercy closed to 15-13, only to see Seton move out to 19-13 when Lindsey Svec demolished an overpass, and Libby Walter served three points including an ace. Meyers broke the run with a kill and Schachleiter served two aces, but hopes of a Bobcat rally were dashed when Coffaro terminated the next volley. Griffin then scored a block, and after a Mercy error, she and Coffaro teamed up on another block. When Mercy hit one in the net, Seton’s margin was 24-16. Sophomore Kayla McWilliams scored one more for Mercy on a tip, after which Graham nailed down the win with a hit to the right back line. Game four saw Mercy take a 5-2 lead and, after an 8-8 tie, move back on top 12-9. Schachleiter led with five kills and a block. At that point Sullivan got a sideout on a spike that was blocked over and out. The Bobcats followed with three miscues, and Griffin scored a kill to give Seton a 14-12 lead. Janszen and Schachleiter tied it up again, but after that the Saints took charge. 6’2” junior Annie Lucas spiked for point 15, Griffin crunched a Bobcat overpass and Libby Walter served an ace. Mercy got within one at 17-16, but Seton went on an 8-2 run to end it. Their final three points came on a cross court spike by Graham, a short set termination by Sullivan and an ace serve from Bonomini. Seton may get another shot at Toledo St. Ursula, but they will have to wait for the championship match. The Saints first opponent will be Wooster, a team that gave Mount Notre Dame fits at Stow and is returning with unfinished business of their own. And of course, St. Ursula must fend off Mount Notre Dame. Semifinals are Thursday night. ****************************************************************** On my drive home from Vandalia I passed through Mechanicsburg. Approaching the village around 7:15, I saw a bright glow that signifies an outdoor athletic contest is in progress. And I knew the Marion Local fans who sat next to me during the Marion-Lehman match were there. Undefeated Mechanicsburg, seeded first in the region, was hosting the eighth seeded 7-3 Flyers in the first round of the football playoffs. Marion Local won that one 17-7.
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