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Moeller follows St. Edward rallies with "unbelievable" rally to survive incredible State semifinal June 12, 2009 by Jim Jicha So near and yet so far. That’s what Lakewood St. Edward fans must have been thinking after the Eagles came ever so close to pulling off the biggest volleyball win in school history. But top ranked Archbishop Moeller rallied from 7-0 and 21-16 in game four, and from 10-9 in the tiebreaker, to squeeze past St. Edward 25-18, 23-25, 24-26, 27-25, 15-12 in a sizzling state semifinal that left fans on both sides breathless and abuzz at the same time. Both teams left everything and more on the floor in what was one of the best played and most thrilling volleyball contests this reporter has ever witnessed. Cincinnati is a hot bed for high school volleyball in Ohio and the nation, and schools from the Greater Catholic League and Girls Greater Cincinnati League have dominated big school volleyball in recent years. The top teams in those leagues can vary, but what remains constant is that teams from other leagues in the Cincinnati area and from other regions of the state almost never beat whoever happens to be on top in the GCL and GGCL, especially come state tourney time. That has been a poignantly painful reality for Cleveland volleyball powers, or it was until last fall, when Olmsted Falls took down top ranked Cincinnati Ursuline Academy 39-37, 16-25, 25-21, 25-12 in the girls Division I state championship match. St. Edward fought Moeller with the same gritty never-say-die determination as Olmsted Falls did Ursuline. The Eagles trailed 23-21 in the second game and 23-20 in the third, but instead of letting those games slip away as often happens with anybody up against a Cincinnati power, they dug deep twice and found ways to win. And after Moeller returned the favor in game four and jumped out 5-2 in the tiebreaker, the Eagles rallied ahead. This was Cincinnati volleyball at its best. It is often difficult in a team sport to select one player as most responsible for a remarkable performance like the one put on by St. Edward. All seven starters repeatedly made big plays at opportune times, while minimizing costly mistakes. Shaking his head afterward, Moeller Assistant Coach Dan Meyer said “I give St. Edward a lot of credit”. He added “I’d like to see their stats. They couldn’t have made many errors”. Nevertheless, one player, Second Team All-State libero Rhett Cash really stood out in this contest of stellar performances on both sides. Cash has had many a great match – and no doubt will have many more at Ohio State – but he saved his best for last. Cash seemed to be wherever Moeller hit, as time after time he defused Crusader bombs into nice passes that fueled an amazing offensive barrage. Meyer called him a “ball magnet”. “Wherever we hit he was there” Meyer said, adding “We told the guys to keep the ball away from him”. That proved to be impossible most of the time, although on two crucial points at the end of the fateful fourth set, Moeller spikers hit into precise spots where Cash could only get a hand on the ball but not control its destiny. Moeller Head Coach Greg Ulland acknowledged it was not possible to keep away from Cash, explaining “Our kids needed to take the swings that they were confident in, the same swings they had relied on all year. It wasn't the time to make a drastic change”. But he did tell them to “to stop free balling it to Rhett. I told them if they had to free ball it, take it to the right back". Cash ended his high school career with 26 digs against the eventual state champion. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary when Moeller won game one 25-18, because the Crusaders had previously beaten St. Edward 25-18, 25-21, 25-21 in the Centerville Elite. The Crusaders took a 2-0 lead on a great dig by First Team All-State Trevor Skove and a kill from Honorable Mention All-State Richie Lovell, both 6’0” senior outside hitters. Honorable Mention All-State middle blocker Will Troxil got the Eagles on the board when he demolished a Chris Royer short set. Crusader 6’5” middle Phil Neuville and Eagle sophomore outside Mike Powers traded kills. Moeller went up 5-2 on a cross court blast from 6’5” opposite Chris Tenkman and a well placed hit by junior setter/opposite Landen Hunter, and stayed in control 6-4 via a slam off the block by Moeller 6’5” middle Mark Holtkamp. The Eagles tied on kills by Powers and junior outside Andrew Winter (following a great pass from Cash), and the teams traded points to eight. Hunter pounded a backset by Moeller setter/opposite Dane Owens, and Troxil demolished a short set from Royer. But following a long Eagle serve the Crusaders added five more points, including an ace by Skove and two cross court shots from Lovell, to forge a 14-8 advantage. Scoring went back and forth from there until St. Edward closed to 22-18. Chris Tenkman dashed any hopes of a comeback with a kill followed by a dump, and Lovell popped game point into a hole, after Cash dove to keep a block alive. Chris Tenkman ended a long opening game two volley with a kill to back middle, and the teams exchanged leads and traded errors to 3-3. Then Eagle freshman middle blocker Owen McAndrews, who had been quiet thus far, slammed and tipped five short sets to give his team an 8-4 lead. But the Crusaders rallied in front 12-10, helped by two block kills from Neuville, and then upped the ante to 16-12. Lovell, Moeller’s top spiker with 18 kills, followed with two terminations and the Eagles hit wide, advancing the score to 19-13. And even when McAndrews crunched another short set, nothing foreshadowed what was about to transpire. Then the Eagles dug in their talons as junior outside Jonathan Eagan followed with an ace, and Powers spiked a kill to back middle. Eagan followed with a line drive serve that was dug over but out, and when Moeller hit long, the score was 19-18. Chris Tenkman ended the run with a blast that was dug into the stands, but Royer riposted with a block kill on a play at the net. And although 6’4” Crusader outside Kevin Tenkman hammered two more kills, St. Edward kept pace as Winter answered each, leaving the score 22-21. Owens, who would serve 20 times without an error, deftly placed dump that was dug three times and into the net. But Winter parried that too, smashing a quick set that was preceded by a great serve receive from Cash. Powers ended the back and forth action just in time, with a big block on the left, evening matters at 23. Winter continued his offensive rampage from back row with an ace. And when Troxil demolished a Royer short set, the script had changed. Game three was positively wild with seven lead changes and a whopping 18 ties. Skove led off the scoring with a tip, Winter countered with a smash through the block, and the teams traded points to 3-3. The Crusaders jumped out 6-3, but St. Edward rallied to their first lead 7-6 on an ace by junior defensive specialist Ben Durst. Moeller went back on top 8-7 via a booming block by Holtkamp, and the teams parried blocks, kills, great saves, errors and leads, and matched each other’s intensity, as Moeller remained on top 17-16. Two terminations by Winter put the Eagles back on top, but Holtkamp retied, and after a kill by Troxil, Skove dove to save a booming Eagle block and Lovell block killed to make it 19-19. Skove would lead the Crusaders with 30 digs. Defensive specialist Ian Kerley gave advantage back to Moeller by dropping an ace on the back line, but Troxil replied with a short set demolition. Chris Tenkman then blocked Powers, and Skove came up big with a diving dig which he followed with a kill from backcourt. On the next volley, Hunter and Neuville rejected spikes until Hunter finally block killed one. That put the Crusaders in seeming command 23-20. With the game was slipping away, McAndrews came to the rescue with two more short set kills, and Powers tied it with a line drive that was dug into the stands, this coming after a saving dig by Eagan. Lovell broke the run with a cross court kill that moved Moeller to game point, but McAndrews and Royer teamed up for another short set blast, and Winter put St. Edward back in the driver’s seat with an empty net cross court shot. And when a Crusader hit sailed long, fans were assured they would witness either a stunning victory by St. Edward or a great comeback by Moeller. The Eagles proceeded to stun a lot of folks at The Dome in Walsh Jesuit High School, as they streaked to a 7-0 lead in game four. Winter led with a spike from the right that was blocked into the stands. Cash morphed a would-be termination into a nice pass and eventual kill by Powers. Troxil blasted another Royer short set and Moeller obliged with two hitting errors. With his team down 5-0, Moeller Coach Greg Ulland called time. Ulland gave his team some advice that was both inspirational and tactical. He said afterward that as the rout progressed “I couldn't help but think of our 2004 final against Centerville. We were trailing 22-17 (actually it was 24-18!) and we called our final timeout. We ended up winning that match in five to win the title”. When the players came over to the bench, Ulland said he told them three things. First he said “We are going to try and do something that is very, very special, maybe even unbelievable. I have experienced some of the most unbelievable events of my life at this stage”. Then he added “The first thing we have to do is believe that we can do it. We all need to believe that we can win this game”. That was the inspirational part. Concluding with the tactical, Ulland told the team “We need to get the ball to Chris Tenkman. He has had a great match, and he is good with the game on the line”. For the record Tenkman finished second with 16 kills with a team high efficiency of .414. “That was that” Ulland said, “and the kids took it from there”. But not immediately, and not fast enough for nervous Crusader fans. For awhile it seemed that time might run out on the Crusaders. Following the timeout, Cash thwarted another termination, Powers scored through blockers, and Troxil cremated yet another short set. Kevin Tenkman finally got Moeller on the board with a kill, but St. Edward kept pace to 9-2. The Crusaders rallied with three as 5’5” sophomore defensive specialist Connor White made a great pass that led to a kill by Lovell, and Holtkamp blocked McAndrews. Soon after, an ace by Lovell narrowed the margin to 10-7. But the Eagles moved back up 14-8 as Cash kept spikes from landing and Royer served an ace, and they kept pace to 17-11 on kills by Winter, Troxil and McAndrews. And when Moeller closed to 18-15, St. Edward advanced to 21-16 as Winter scored on a kill and a Crusader touched the net trying to prevent his encore. On the next volley, Winter and Troxil did their best to keep spikes from crossing the net, but Moeller defenders kept the blocks in play until Lovell finally got one though. Then St. Edward touched the net on what would have otherwise been their block kill. And after a double hit by the Eagles, Neuville boomed another of his team record six solo blocks on the left. That left St. Edward clinging to a 21-20 lead. Moeller was caught reaching over on the next volley, but Chris Tenkman responded with a blast to an empty right corner. That was followed by two intense volleys, both of which ended in Moeller’s favor. On the first St. Edward hit into the pole. The second seemed to go on for minutes. It ended on a double block by Neuville and Chris Tenkman, but not before heroics by Cash for St. Edward, and Hunter who dove at the bench to save a Crusader dig that looked gone. Moeller had its first lead, 23-22. Powers tied it with a cross court blast, and after a cross court kill by Chris Tenkman, McAndrews cremated yet another short set. Then Hunter smashed a shot down the right that was far enough from Cash that all he could do was dig it out of bounds. Once again McAndrews tied, this time with a spike to the middle, but Holtkamp parried with a well placed hit. On the ensuing volley, McAndrews tried for another tie, but Crusader libero A.J. Eckhoff was there for one of his 28 digs. Lovell, who was serving, hammered a game point spike from back court down the right that was dug under the net. Ulland’s words of wisdom had come to fruition. The Crusaders started the final set strong, going up 5-2 as Skove spiked through the block and tipped from back court, and Chris Tenkman answered St. Edward points with kills. But the Crusaders were caught reaching again, and after an ace by Eagan and a long Moeller hit the game was even. There followed a long volley with two saves by Cash, and a reaction dig by McAndrews who finally terminated a short set to put the Eagles on top. But a serving error retied things. Moeller obliged with a long hit that ended a long volley kept alive by a Cash pancake. The Crusaders tied again at seven on an extremely frantic volley with saves on both sides, when Holtkamp demolished a spike right at Cash. But Moeller missed a go-ahead opportunity by touching the net while St. Edward was hitting long. The Crusaders retied on a kill by Skove and then took the lead as Neuville block killed after a diving save from Hunter, who contributed 18 digs and a team leading 34 assists. St. Edward parried back in front 10-9 on a cross court termination from Winter. Skove knotted the score for the sixth time, and when he went back to serve Moeller did what it had done seven times before during the season. Pull out a close win. Neuville blocked Troxil who was trying to tip a short set. That put Moeller up 11-10 and the Crusaders added two more points when St. Edward hit into the net after Hunter saved another dig that looked gone, and Lovell blocked Winter. Troxil demolished a short set to stop the run, but Lovell retaliated with a cross court blast, taking Moeller to match point. And following a Crusader net infraction, Holtkamp perfectly placed a hit in the middle that three digs could not save. Moeller had forged a great comeback to end a truly phenomenal volleyball match. Three hours later they would perform an encore. **************************************************************** Moeller finished second in the GCL South, after losing both league contests to St. Xavier, first in four and again in three. Their other three losses came in an early season tournament against Illinois powers. After nipping St. Edward, the Crusaders were a perfect 8-0 (soon to be 9-0) in down-to-the-wire matches against Ohio teams. If one assigns them a 60 percent likelihood of winning one close contest, the probability of winning eight in a row is .017. They must be doing something right! Their close wins: LaSalle 25-22, 29-31, 25-20, 23-25, 16-14 (first match of the year) Elder 25-20, 25-12, 20-25, 17-25, 15-11 (early April) St. Xavier 23-25, 25-17, 25-17, 24-26, 15-12 (Centerville Elite championship) Centerville 25-23, 25-21 (Buckeye Classic, first round) Elder 27-25, 19-25, 15-13 (Buckeye Classic, semifinal) St. Xavier 23-25, 25-19, 16-14 (Buckeye Classic, championship) Elder 18-25, 25-18, 25-20, 22-25, 17-15 (final regular season match of the year) St. Edward 25-18, 23-25, 24-26, 27-25, 15-12 (State Semifinal) As Coach Ulland said, Moeller pulled out an similarly incredible win in the 2004 state final with Centerville. For a write-up, see (State Championship match one to remember)
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