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Moeller awesome at Worthington By Jim Jicha
What do you get when you put eight of the top ten volleyball teams in the state together in a gym? Well, you end up with the Wolf Open, 2003 version. That’s the tournament that Worthington Kilbourne hosted last weekend.
A total of twenty four teams participated in what has to be the biggest regular season extravaganza of the boys’ season. All regions were represented. Nine of the top ten Central teams were there, three of the top five from Southwest, Centerville from Northwest and Stow, Walsh Jesuit and Archbishop Hoban from Northeast.
The teams were divided into six pools and played scrimmages on Friday night to determine their placements in Saturday’s tournament brackets.
The six pool winners plus the top two second place finishers moved on to the Gold Bracket. The remaining four second place teams joined the top four third place teams in the Silver Bracket. Everyone else formed the Bronze Bracket.
Each bracket was a full blown tournament. The Gold Bracket was, of course, for the championship.
Archbishop Moeller won the Gold, and the overall tournament, taking down host Worthington Kilbourne in the final 15-8, 15-3. Roger Bacon came back to beat Archbishop Hoban to win the Silver 6-15, 15-3, 15-8. St. Charles took the Bronze, beating Hilliard Davidson 15-6, 15-11.
The Gold Bracket results went against the State Poll which had Centerville, St. Xavier and Moeller 1-2-3. St. X beat Centerville in the first round only to lose to Moeller in the semifinal.
The results also contradicted the Central District Poll with Dublin Scioto, Hilliard Darby and Worthington Kilbourne ranked 1-2-3. Darby beat Scioto in the opening round, then lost to Kilbourne.
Moeller’s win over St. Xavier also went counter to actual results earlier in the week, where the Bombers beat Centerville who in turn upended the Crusaders.
Moeller looked simply awesome the entire day at Worthington, taking all three matches in two games. They began with a convincing 15-0, 15-7 win over Gahanna.
In the semifinal with St. Xavier, the Crusaders won the first game rather quickly 15-8. St. X lost their opening serve on a kill by Moeller’s 6’8” middle Nick Meyer. But after a service error and three more Moeller mistakes, the Bombers were on top 3-0. They continued their lead at 6-4, with Patrick Corrigan nailing two aces.
Then Crusader setter Matt Gold went to the line and served up nine unanswered points. Moeller’s rally was fueled by three Meyer kills, and several miscues by the Bombers. St. X added two points of their own on Moeller mistakes. The Crusaders then put the game on ice thanks to three more errors by St. Xavier.
While it may seem the game was a comedy of errors, those were simply what scored the points. The play leading up to the points was intense on both sides with great digs and other defensive plays, and, of course, some of the best spiking in boys volleyball.
The second game lasted longer but the result was the same. This time Moeller grabbed a 4-0 lead on kills by Meyer and Robbie Klein. But after a service error, net call, two hitting errors, a hit that was long and a Bomber kill, St. X was on top 5-4. Moeller came back to score six straight points with Meyer and Klein again pounding down the kills.
St. X tied it at 10, scoring two points on a block by Corrigan, a kill by Josh Lorenz and three Crusader mistakes. Moeller moved back on top 13-10, and, after several sideouts, put the match away on a smash by Meyer.
Watching this match, it was interesting to contemplate on what might happen to an opponent on a day when Moeller serves 95 percent, stays out of the net and keeps a high percentage of hits in bounds.
St. Xavier had reached the semifinal by beating Centerville in the first round. Even though the Bombers won in two, this match was closely contested. The Elks led the first game 13-11, and the second was tied at 12.
The Bombers led 7-4 lead in game one after a block by Lorenz. Centerville then rallied to a 10-7 lead. The scoring started on an ace by Reed Chilton, who served the entire rally, and ended on a smash by Brett Versen.
St. X rallied to an 11-10 lead, only to see the Elks go up 13-11 as Versen spiked a kill from backcourt and Brandon Pollack added an ace. After a service error by the Elks, outside hitter Jason Motz got a kill to start the Bomber’s final rally. Two points and two sideouts later, Motz ended it on a service ace.
In game two, St. X jumped on top 4-0, as Grant Simpson stuffed an Elks’ overpass and then added a spectacular block. Centerville rallied for a tie, scoring on kills by Ben Devine and Versen. The Bombers then moved way out in front 12-5, with kills from Corrigan and Nick Tenhundfeld, and an ace by Corrigan.
Centerville was not through, as the Elks rallied to tie. Reed Chilton scored on one of his patented dumps and Versen added two blocks. But after five sideouts, the last two on service errors, St. X iced the match, scoring on an ace by Motz and a booming block by Colin Johnson.
The match between Hilliard Darby and Worthington Kilbourne was one of momentum, first Darby, then all Kilbourne. The Panthers raced to leads of 8-1 and 12-5 in game one behind solid hitting and blocking, notably by Jimmy Stern and Ben Willford.
Then the roof fell in as Kilbourne scored 25 of the last 30 points. The Wolves were led offensively by Matt Lookabaugh and Alex Kamenetsky. The entire team did a great job defensively keeping the ball in play and frustrating Darby’s hitters.
Kilbourne coach Glynda Rice credited her team’s turnaround on getting the middles involved, passing better and making good digs.
The match for seventh saw Gahanna put up a valiant battle, but in the end Stow’s 6’7” middle hitter Ben Spurlock was simply too much. The Bulldogs won both games 15-11. The Lions were led by middle Neil Malernee and rightside hitter Landon Bentz.
For a while it looked like the second game would go late into the night. With Stow leading 12-8 the score remained stuck for ten minutes as the teams traded sideouts and the referees conferred on matters.
In the fifth place match Centerville topped Dublin Scioto in a three game match that featured two major momentum shifts. That these two teams played for fifth shows what a great field was in this tournament.
Game one saw fourteen of the points scored on balls out, rotation violations and other miscues. After an initial 4-1 lead by Scioto, the Elks were in control all the way. Centerville junior hitter Greg Caylor’s kill ended the game with the score 15-7.
The second game was all Scioto as the Irish rolled 15-4, powered by the hitting of Joey Rossetter and Kevin Douce. Setter Kevin Irby contributed a block and a dump late in the game, which ended on a smash by Douce.
The final game started where game two left off as the Irish blew open to a big lead. But after a smashing back court kill by Douce made the score 8-2, momentum shifted, and the Elks rallied to score 13 of the match’s last 15 points. Centerville got service aces from Brett Versen and Ben Devine to help them get untracked.
With the game tied at 9, Reed Chilton scored on a block. After four sideouts, Chilton served up an ace, then nailed a second one on the line. Versen got point fourteen on a kill, and, after two sideouts, a Versen spike was blocked out of bounds for the win.
Unfortunately for the fans, at least those who just go to see great volleyball, the matches for third and first were not as close. St. Xavier topped Darby 15-7, 15-10 and Moeller ran away from Kilbourne 15-8, 15-3.
St. X rolled to leads of 7-0 and 11-2 in the first game. Darby got as close as 13-7, but two Panther hits were out for St. X scores and the game was over. The Bombers jumped on top 8-3 in game two. Darby rallied to trail 11-9. Darby’s Brandon Mitchell made a great diving dig to keep one volley alive.
But the Bombers went up 13-9 and won on a block by Colin Johnson and a kill by Jon Shook.
As for the final, hitters Nick Meyer and Robbie Klein were just too hot for Kilbourne to handle. The two hitters combined for some twenty points on kills, blocks and aces.
The Wolves went up 4-0 and 5-4 in the first game. But after Moeller responded with a 6-0 run, the game and match were never in doubt. Klein’s ace serve in the corner ended matters.
Several of the matches were watched by large and enthusiastic crowds. Scattered among the crowd were past and present girls volleyball high school stars.
One was former All-State middle hitter Maggie Stern, who led Hilliard Darby’s 1998 team to an undefeated regular season and a Regional Runnerup finish. Last fall Stern completed her collegiate volleyball career at Tennessee Tech.
Current stars included Danielle Meyer and Bryn Kehoe. Meyer was a freshman starter on Mount Notre Dame’s 2000 State Champion team. Kehoe, Cincinnati St. Ursula’s setter for the past two years, also has a State Championship under her belt.
Last fall Kehoe led the Bulldogs in their big win over nationally ranked Louisville Assumption. Meyer and Kehoe play for club volleyball powerhouse Team Z, which is currently in the hunt for the national title.
Getting back to boys volleyball, the state power triad of Moeller, Centerville and St. Xavier, will be at each other’s throats again next week. On April 26 Moeller and St. Xavier will trek up Interstate 75 to Elk Country where they will try to bag the Centerville Elite Tournament trophy.
Last year Moeller won at Centerville, but the Elks had the last say when they won the state, beating St. Xavier in the semifinal and Watterson in the final. The way this year is going, we can expect more topsy-turvy results before it’s finally over.
Wolf Open - 2003 Results
Saturday’s Scores
Gold Bracket
First Round Moeller d. Gahanna 15-0, 15-7 Worthington Kilbourne d. Stow 15-10, 15-8 St. Xavier d. Centerville 15-13, 15-12 Hilliard Darby d. Dublin Scioto 15-12, 15-9
Second Round Centerville d. Gahanna 15-5, 15-10 Dublin Scioto d. Stow 16-14, 15-7 Moeller d. St. Xavier 15-8, 15-10 Worthington Kilbourne d. Hilliard Darby 15-12, 15-5
Seventh Place Stow d. Gahanna 15-11, 15-11 Fifth Place Centerville d. Dublin Scioto 15-7, 4-15, 15-10 Third Place St. Xavier d. Hilliard Darby 15-7, 15-10 First Place Moeller d. Worthington Kilbourne 15-8, 15-3
All Tournament Team
Nick Meyer, Moeller (MVP); Brett Versen, Centerville; Reed Chilton, Centerville; Jason Motz, St. Xavier; Joey Rossetter, Dublin Scioto; Matt Lookabaugh, Worthington Kilbourne
Silver Bracket
First Round Walsh Jesuit d. Westerville South 15-9, 15-8 Pickerington d. Dublin Coffman 8-15, 17-15, 15-11 Akron Hoban d. Delaware 15-6, 15-11 Roger Bacon d. Watterson 10-15, 15-12, 16-14
Second Round Watterson d. Westerville South 15-8, 15-10 Dublin Coffman d. Delaware 12-15, 17-15, 15-8 Akron Hoban d. Pickerington 15-10, 7-15, 15-7 Roger Bacon d. Walsh Jesuit 15-13, 15-12
Seventh Place Westerville South d. Delaware 15-11, 8-15, 15-8 Fifth Place Dublin Coffman d. Watterson 10-15, 15-13, 15-10 Third Place Walsh Jesuit d. Pickerington 17-15, 17-15 First Place Roger Bacon d. Akron Hoban 6-15, 15-3, 15-8
Bronze Bracket
First Round Hilliard Davidson d. Toledo Central Catholic 15-13, 15-1 Thomas Worthington d. Kilbourne Too 15-5, 7-15, 15-9 St. Charles d. Westerville North 15-8, 15-7 Olentangy d. Centennial 15-10, 15-10
Second Round Westerville North d. Kilbourne Too 15-9, 16-14 Centennial d. Toledo Central Catholic 17-15, 15-7 Hilliard Davidson d. Olentangy 12-15, 15-7, 15-9 St. Charles d. Thomas Worthington 15-8, 15-7
Seventh Place Toledo Central Catholic d. Kilbourne Too 4-15, 15-10, 16-14 Fifth Place Centennial d. Westerville North 15-7, 15-5 Third Place Thomas Worthington d. Olentangy 15-7, 14-16, 15-10 First Place St. Charles d. Hilliard Davidson 15-6, 15-11
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