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Moeller, Elder final is one to remember June 2, 2007 by Jim Jicha Just before the warm-ups for last weekend’s state championship, Moeller Assistant Coach Dan Meyer said “this will be a war”. After Moeller (29-0) had narrowly defeated Greater Catholic League rival Elder (23-6) 22-25, 25-19, 27-29, 26-24, 15-12 to win their fifth title, he offered that the match went pretty much as he’d expected, adding “we told them to prepare for five”. The match was a two hour marathon of long games and intense volleys. Both teams left everything on the floor, and long before it was over the players were soaked in sweat, with play being halted frequently to wipe the floor or get a dry ball. This was one of those rare contests that you savor long after it’s over, one that those who witnessed it will never forget. It compares to the 2004 title contest when Moeller nipped Centerville 22-25, 25-19, 28-26, 19-25, 15-12. Moeller was the better team on paper. They were undefeated and had beaten Elder three times. Going into the match they were 81-3 in games. But as Crusader Coach Greg Ulland pointed out afterward “the difference between the teams was marginal...they played on an even keel the whole match”. He also noted Elder had taken Moeller to five once before. In fact, Moeller outscored Elder by an average 2.8 points per game in their three prior meetings. That would be an overwhelming advantage in soccer, but it disappears in a heartbeat with a net serve followed by two quick opposing blocks. That earlier five gamer with Elder no doubt helped the Crusaders, as did a scare with Centerville in the Buckeye Classic. Sports annals are littered with great teams that romped through a regular season only to come unglued when backed up against a wall at tourney time. For the Crusaders it was “been there, done that”. And it helped immensely that the Crusaders have a second team that can beat most first teams. Their second squad pushed the starters hard in practice and even had them at match point a couple of times. Moeller started well, taking a 3-0 lead on blocks from 6’3” middle/outside James Emming with help from 6’5” Brian Schings. But Elder outside Craig Wessels then blocked Emming and served up an ace, after which the teams traded points to 5-4. Lee Meyer scored a block, and drilled a couple of cross court line drives as the Crusaders advanced to 8-5. Elder tied it on a kill by junior outside Rob Malone, and blocks by Wessels and 6’4” Outside Nick Toth. But a net serve ended that, and when Crusader libero Dan Frank pancaked an Elder dump attempt, Emming teamed with setter Doug Cherry for a block, as Moeller went ahead 11-8. The Crusaders maintained that edge to 16-13. Elder tied it again at 17 on kills by Malone and Andrew Wessels, and an ace from outside Austin Averbeck. Crusader middle Judd Hopkins tipped for the first of two more Moeller points, but following a net serve Elder surged ahead on a kill by Toth, an errant Crusader spike, and blocks by setter Craig Wessels, with help from Toth. That made it 22-19 and the teams traded scores to 24-21. Meyer spiked a termination down the left line to keep Moeller alive, but on the next volley Craig Wessels deftly left handed a split second decision dump into a big hole. And Moeller found themselves in a hole. Game two started as a mirror image of game one with the scoring in reverse, as Elder took a 3-0 lead. The Panthers advanced to 8-5 on a tip by senior middle Nick Hanneken that was dug out, and a kill off the block by Averbeck. But Hopkins scored on a well placed hit and, with Meyer serving, Moeller tied it up, and at that point the mirror shattered. Meyer served up an ace, Cherry scored a dump and Hopkins found an empty back middle on a slide right. After a couple service exchanges, Cherry found the groove, nailing two aces, with 6’4” outside Dan Brandel tipping in between, and the Crusaders charged in front 17-10. The Panthers roared back with five points behind the serving of libero Travis Schimmel and a kill and dump by Craig Wessels. But Schings broke that and two more Elder serves to keep them at bay 21-17. Hanneken scored a tip but a service error followed by one of Brandel’s cross court blasts got Moeller to 23-18. Averbeck smashed a short set from Johnnie Buttelwerth into an empty back court, but then came another service error. Emming crunched an Elder overpass from a serve by Pat Kanetzke and the match was tied. In game three it was Moeller’s turn to take the 3-0 lead, which they did as Emming crushed a hit, Schings blocked and Cherry aced. Toth broke it up with a tip, but when Brandel served two aces to spark a run to 8-1 it seemed Moeller was now in control. When Elder crept up a little, Brandel pounded one down the line to make it 12-6. But a volleyball match can turn on a dime, and this one performed a double axel, as Elder scored six straight to tie. After that is was a brawl to the end, with thirteen more ties! Andrew Wessels started the rally with a kill, adding two more as Schimmel contributed an ace. Meyer broke up the rally with a smash from back court and Toth countered with a short set tip. A line drive by Brandel was tipped out, but Elder tied again tied on a dump by Wessels, and grabbed their first lead at 15-14 on a long Moeller spike. After two more ties, the Panthers went up 18-16 as Hanneken spiked through the block and Averbeck served an ace. Hopkins blocked Wessels to retie it, and the teams exchanged errors. Wessels spiked Elder back on top 20-19, and Brandel responded with a cross court bomb that was dug way out. Elder then scored two and Moeller responded in kind. Wessels nailed one from back court for a 23-22 lead. Emming tied it with a kill despite a great save by Averbeck. Brandel turned a go ahead spike by Elder into a great pass, but Elder went ahead anyway on a double block by Hanneken and Averbeck. Meyer put Moeller back in the lead by crunching two cross court spikes. Hanneken smoked a Buttelwerth short set to retie, but Meyer terminated the next volley to put Moeller atop 26-25. But Elder regained the edge as Andrew Wessels blocked a short set tip attempt and Rob Malone blocked a spike. A Panther hitting error left matters tied at 27. Elder finally won it when Wessels came up with a well placed tip that was dug across court and Toth delivered a short set spike to an empty side line. Game four was a brawl all the way with eleven deadlocks. Only once did either team lead by more than two, when Moeller moved ahead 24-21 on an ace by Hopkins. And wouldn’t you know it, Elder tied it up before Moeller prevailed! By this time players on both sides were soaked in sweat, but if fatigue was a factor it didn’t show as the intense play continued unabated. Moeller drew first blood on kills by Emming and Meyer. Elder went up 3-2, and Moeller took leads of 4-3 and 5-4. Elder edged ahead 6-5 and 8-6, after which the teams traded four points apiece, with Moeller tying at 12, Elder got to 13 and 14 first, after which the lead changed hands twice, leaving Elder atop at 16-15. At this point, Moeller came up with their only three point run of the game, and they never again trailed. And the Crusaders might have cruised away at the end but for the 6’0” Averbeck who plays like he’s five inches taller. He interspersed three kills between Crusader points to keep Elder within a point. When Moeller finally took what seemed their clinching 24-21 lead, the Panthers got a kill from Andrew Wessels, a block on Emming by Malone and a net call on Moeller after a save by Averbeck. But alas for the Panther faithful dreaming of an upset, Meyer, who afterward said he’d played his best game ever, spiked a kill from back court, and a long Panther hit sent the match into overtime. Elder scored first when Andrew Wessels hit one that was blocked over but out, this coming after Moeller libero Mike Chandler had prevented a previous Panther missive from scoring. No loss of intensity on either side. Schings spiked off Elder’s block for a tie. But Craig Wessels came up with another great dump as Elder went up 3-1 and 4-2. Moeller tied at 4 with Meyer scoring a kill, and the Ball State recruit added two more, the second from back court, to force ties at 5 and 6. Malone put Elder back up 7-6. Emming spiked through blockers on a slide right, and then killed an overpass from Cherry’s serve as Moeller went up 8-7. And the Crusaders kept on charging, as Schings scored on a kill down the right with Emming faking at middle. On the next volley, Cherry got stuck with the pass, but no matter, Schings set to Emming whose kill put Moeller up 10-7. A net serve ended the rally, but Emming found an empty back court for another kill. Averbeck scored twice from the left to bring Elder back to within a point at 11-10, but a long serve ended that threat, and Meyer terminated the following very intense volley. On the ensuing volley, Averbeck was foiled twice. His first spike was dug by defensive specialist Brendan Lacey, and his second was blocked by Hopkins. That put Moeller on the cusp at 14-10. But Elder was not finished. Averbeck sizzled a shot into Moeller’s backcourt, and Malone scored on a well placed hit after Chandler dug his previous spike. Chandler, however, had the last laugh. He dug Malone’s next smash, and when Elder’s ensuing spike sailed out, the Crusaders were state champions. It was 9:33PM. The war began at 7:30. Asked to compare this championship with two years ago, Meyer said “this means so much more…it’s my senior year…to go undefeated”. He added “it can’t get better than this”. Amen. ***************************************************************************** Elder reached the final by taking down Centerville for the second time this season. The score was 25-16, 25-18, 26-24. The Panthers never trailed in game one, but took awhile to pull away thanks to six early errors. Andrew Wessels scored first with a smash to back middle, and Centerville senior outside David Tanner tied it with a block. Toth and Averbeck scored three points, but a net serve and two hitting errors left it tied again at 4. Malone, Averbeck and Hanneken came up with four more kills, but the Panthers had a player, a serve and a hit go into the net, and consequently led only 8-7. Elder finally pulled away on a five point run after an Elk service error, with Craig Wessels contributing a block and Schimmel an ace. Junior outside Austin Tudor kept Elder within five at 17-12, but a booming block by Averbeck started an 8-4 Panther run, with Toth ending it by smoking a backset from Buttelwerth. Centerville junior outside Alex Hill opened game two with a kill, giving his team the first of three leads. Elder scored the next three points. But senior middle Grant Oakley tied it at 5 with a big block followed by a kill. He and Hill then contributed to an Elder error with solid net play. And after the Panthers went back on top, Tanner scored a tip as the Elks moved back in front. With the score 12-12, Craig Wessels and Toth teamed on a block that ended an intense volley. And, then Elder slipped ahead for good, as the Elks were called for a lift, a serve by Toth skipped off the net into a hole, and Hanneken blocked for a point. Elks center Christian Jolley staunched the run with a dump, and kills by Tudor and Oakley twice more pulled Centerville within a point. At this juncture, Malone demolished a Buttelwerth short set, and Centerville obliged with an error and Elder went up 20-17. Oakley countered by mashing a Jolley short set, but Malone came back with a kill for Elder. Schimmel served the rest of the way, keeping his own run alive by digging a sky hook from 6’8” Elk senior middle Nick Valencia, and ending it with an ace. Game three was a good old dogfight, with one of those endings that when you’re on the losing end leaves a bitter taste that lingers long after the match is over. Elder’s biggest lead was two, Centerville’s was three, and there were nine ties. The Elks jumped out 3-0, continuing the margin to 9-6, with Valencia feigning hits and blocking for points, and Tudor, Hill and Oakley pounding kills. Elder used a four point spurt to take their first lead. Andrew Wessels started it with a block, Schimmel served another ace, and Craig Wessels blocked an overpass from a serve. After a short set blast by Valencia tied it at 12, Averbeck and Buttelwerth scored a kill and ace as Elder edged ahead by two. Another tie ensued and, following point trading, Averbeck pounded a back court shot for a 19-17 Panther lead. And then Centerville made a move when Valencia terminated a cross court spike to start a three point run. The teams traded errors and Averbeck retied it with a crosscourt shot. A net call put Centerville back on top 22-21. On the next volley, Bertke and Andrew Wessels did a great job to keep a dump by Jolley from landing, but Jolley followed up with a short set to Oakley who pounded point 23 into a hole. And when Tudor cremated a cross court spike, it looked like game four was in order. A few seconds later, game four was one foot away with a misplaced Panther set dropping fast at the net, but somehow Hanneken managed to get under it and stay out of the net, and when his save landed in a hole in Elks’ territory, Elder had a reprieve. Centerville had at least three shots at game point on the next volley, but Averbeck (who was now serving), Buttelwerth and Malone dug every one, and Malone finally scored on a kill through the block. Averbeck kept the next volley alive with a one-handed save of an errant block, and Wessels followed up with a knock down kill to tie the game. Hanneken and Malone blocked Centerville’s next attempt, and while that didn’t score directly, the Elks’ dig went into the net. Now it was Centerville’s turn for a dramatic save as Averbeck’s next serve skipped off the top of the net. A pancake and a dig later the ball was in Elder’s court, but unfortunately for the Elks, Hanneken’s next hit was off the block and out, and hopes of game four were just that. ***************************************************************************** Moeller won their semifinal over Hilliard Darby 25-12, 25-13, 25-23. The Crusaders led all the way in the first two games, and while the scores seem lopsided, it should be noted the Crusaders played flawlessly. As a result, Darby had to earn almost everything. They scored a mere three points off Crusader miscues. Moeller took early leads of 2-0, 4-1 and 7-2, with 6’5” junior middle John Tholen scoring Darby’s points, one on a great short set by junior Austin Miller. A kill down the line by 6’5” junior rightside Thomas Howard made it 7-3, but before Howard got his next kill, Moeller had added six more tallies. The Crusaders raced to an 18-4 lead before senior outside Everett Bell spiked a kill through the block that began a 5-2 Darby run. Moeller scored next, but senior outside Pete Stahl and 6’4” junior middle Austin Brown spiked kills and Miller scored on a dump. After Emming terminated a short set with one of his slide rights, Stahl scored again. That left the score 20-9. Emming scored on another slide, and with Brandel serving and Meyer spiking and blocking, Moeller surged to match point. Howard temporarily stopped the inevitable with a kill and Stahl served an ace. And then, finally, Moeller committed their first unforced error, a double hit. But Darby returned the favor and the game was over. Moeller jumped out 3-0 in game two, increasing their margins to 6-1, 9-3, 14-5 and 17-6. Tholen and Howard scored two points each for the Panthers and junior outside Derek Brooks had one. Point six came on Moeller’s first serving error of the match. After Brandel served an ace to make it 17-6, Darby went on a 5-1 run, with Stahl scoring a kill and an ace, Miller an ace, Howard a kill, and the stingy Crusaders yielding a double hit. But it was too late, as Hopkins pounded a knock down kill, and Cherry added a dump. With the score 21-13, Cherry took a pass too close to the net, stayed out of the net and set Brandel who started the final rally. Two points later, Pat Kanetzke served up a game point ace. Game three was completely different with seven ties. And Moeller committed a more human seven errors (which meant Darby still had to earn 16!) At any rate, Darby scored two of the first three points on booming blocks by Tholen. Stahl gave Darby their last lead at 4-4, at which point Meyer scored a tip and an ace. Stahl and Brown blocked for a 5-5 tie. Miller tried two dumps for Darby, but Cherry and Frank teamed up on saves to return the first, and Hopkins blocked the second for a point. Emming scored on a block to put Moeller up 7-5. The teams then traded several errors, leaving Moeller atop 10-8. Hopkins scored on a big block, but Tholen and Howard teamed up for a block on Meyer. Meyer reposted with a kill. Darby tied at 13, as Miller came up with a big dump. But Darby then made a hitting error, and Moeller put together their biggest rally. Kanetzke and Meyer came up with big saves as Emming scored on another slide. Emming then spiked from the middle, and Brandel spiked through the block. The Crusaders were up 18-13. Brooks stopped the run, and soon after Miller served two aces as Darby closed to 19-18. Following an errant Panther hit, Brandel served an ace, but Brooks responded with a kill and Moeller lifted a serve by Bell. Meyer put Moeller up 22-20 with a blast that was tipped way out, and the Crusaders got a break when Darby was called for back row attack. But Darby wasn’t through. Stahl terminated the next volley with a spike that was tipped way out, and then slammed two crosscourt shots for a tie. Darby got a break when a shot by Meyer was partially blocked and slammed into a backboard. There was no way anyone could have gotten it, but because it hit the backboard a replay was called. The score stayed at 23-23. However, Darby could not capitalize as their next serve was out. Brandel then made one of his pinpoint passes, Cherry set Meyer, and this time Meyer slammed the ball cross court into Darby’s floor. **************************************************************************** This was Moeller’s fifth straight appearance in the state championship match. It was also their fifth state title: their previous wins were in 1997, 1998, 2004 and 2005. Centerville has won three titles. St. Xavier, Elder and Lebanon have two each.
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