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Toledo St. Ursula nips Cincinnati Ursuline in thriller at Vandalia-Butler By Jim Jicha
Toledo St. Ursula's Southern Cal bound hitting sensation Sarah Florian spiked the winning blast as the Arrows defeated host Vandalia-Butler 15-6, 15-9 in the opener of their tri-match. But Florian was serving when Sydney Antonio deftly tipped the ball into a hole at the net to give St. Ursula one of the biggest wins in their illustrious volleyball history, a 15-13, 13-15, 15-13 thriller over Cincinnati Ursuline. Ursuline entered the match unbeaten with impressive wins over teams like Mt. Notre Dame and Mercy. St. Ursula was coming off a strong showing at Magnificat’s Fall Showcase, which they won for the fourth straight year. They also had solid wins over Mansfield Madison, Canal Winchester and Clay. But the Arrows had one blemish on their record, a loss to Cincinnati St. Ursula in the finals of their own Invitational. Toledo has had problems with the Cincinnati schools. The Arrows have been to State three years in a row and they have been beaten by Mt. Notre Dame, Ursuline and St. Ursula, in that order. In those three years and up through yesterday their overall record was a glistening 90-7, but they were a dismal 1-6 in the same time span against Ursuline, St. Ursula and Mt. Notre Dame. So today’s win was extra special and it showed in the exuberance that erupted on the Arrow’s side of the net when Antonio’s tip hit the floor. The match lasted over an hour and fifty minutes. It featured long and awesome volleys, with over 120 sideouts and big momentum swings. Ursuline took leads of 6-0 and 9-3 in game one, only to see St. Ursula go up 11-9 with eight unanswered points. The Lions took the lead again at 12-11 before the Arrows put the game away. Carli Reihman scored several points for Ursuline on two aces, some kills and a block. Megan Cherry had some key kills for the Arrows. It looked things might finish early when St. Ursula moved to an 8-1 lead in the second game. But Ursuline scored five straight, then tied it at 9-9. St. Ursula scored a point, the Lions got two and St. Ursula added three, resulting in a 13-11 Arrows lead. Then Ursuline came up with four straight for the win. The last six points of this game were something to see. Sarah Florian scored on a knock down kill, and then on a tip off a cross court set. After this there were five sideouts accompanied by great plays at the net, with each sideout resulting from a kill. Once Ursuline resumed scoring they finished it. Stephanie Blackburn blocked an attempted dump. Their next point came on a block after a long volley that saw a back court tip by Florian almost work, balls being dug out of the net, balls being retrieved from never-never land, and some stellar net play. Another Ursuline block of a spike by Megan Cherry was too hot to handle and resulted in a lift. On the game winner, Florian attempted a back court kill. One Ursuline defender shrieked “out” as the other defender pulled away, and the ball slammed harmlessly into the hardwood a foot outside the line. St. Ursula got off to a 4-1 lead in the finale, but Ursuline responded with a five point rally. The Lions lead grew to 9-5 before St. Ursula tied it up. Ursuline got back on top 11-9 and 12-10. But it would be nine sideouts before scoring would resume. During this time both teams came up with some spectacular plays, with a couple of miscues thrown in to remind the spectators that these were mere mortals playing volleyball. After an Ursuline hit was out, Erin Kanetzke spiked a kill for the Lions. Kelsey Hills blasted a cross court kill. Kanetzke hammered a kill after a partially blocked Florian blast. Another Florian missile was rejected but kept in play by alert Arrow defense, and Florian came right back with a smashing kill around the block. After a service error, Florian hit a rocket that was blocked into the upper deck. Jeanna Staun retorted with a blast that was blocked way out of bounds. Florian got another kill after Ursuline’s Kate Otto made a couple of diving saves. Florian then served an ace, followed by the tying point. But even though that made the score 12-12, and Ursuline would only score one more point, the Arrows would not clinch it until a complete rotation put Florian back on the line. What more can be said about this match? Sarah Florian had a simply phenomenal day, both hitting and digging. Some of her hits came almost straight down. Others ricocheted off of defenders before they could react. She also scored on tips, reading the defense and finding holes. But Ursuline did at times stop Florian. Blackburn and other Lion defenders turned some rockets into nice passes. At times Florian was thwarted by Ursuline’s stellar blocking. Staun and Reihman teamed up for a booming reject that landed in the Arrows’ backcourt. A couple of long hits came when she tried to go over the blockers. Sydney Antonio was simply amazing in the Arrows' backcourt with her digs, passes and serve receptions. She’s a big reason Florian got such nice sets to attack. Kelsey Hills also had a solid match. She and Hayley Wiemar teamed up for two blocks on Stephanie Blackburn in the first game. Hills also scored three big points in the middle of the third game. Kanetzke, Blackburn, Staun and Reihman pounded lots of kills for Ursuline. Blackburn also had some acrobatic defensive plays. The setting was superb on both sides with Emily Florian and Jessica Dominiak trading off for the Arrows, and Erin Webster leading the Lions. So where do we go from here? Well, Ursuline goes home to face the other St. Ursula this coming Thursday in their first meeting since last year’s State Championship. For anyone planning to attend, home will be at Mt. Notre Dame, and a standing room only crowd is expected. The teams will meet again on October 9 in St. Ursula’s new gym. Meanwhile, the Arrows now have to concentrate on returning to the Nutter Center, where they very well may have to face one or both of the Cincinnati teams. The tri-match at Vandalia saw a great win added to the annals of Toledo St. Ursula volleyball. But the one they really want will be played in Fairborn. For the rest of us, we can only hope it’s as great a match as the one we witnessed today.
Vandalia Tri-Match 2003 Results Toledo St. Ursula def. Vandalia-Butler 15-6, 15-9 Toledo St. Ursula def. Cincinnati Ursuline 15-13, 13-15, 15-13 Cincinnati Ursuline vs. Vandalia-Butler
Vandalia Tri-Match 2002 Results Toledo St. Ursula def. Vandalia-Butler 2-15, 15-4, 15-11 Cincinnati Ursuline def. Toledo St. Ursula 14-16, 15-1, 15-5 Cincinnati Ursuline def. Vandalia-Butler 7-15, 15-5, 15-7 |
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