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State tournament preview...a look at the teams May 30, 2008 by Jim Jicha The 21st annual boy’s state tournament will be played this Saturday and Sunday at Hilliard Davidson High School. And with the new two-division setup, for the first time two champions will be crowned. Division I has more teams and will feature a quarterfinal round on Saturday, followed by semifinals and finals Sunday. Division II will have semifinals on Saturday, with the final on Sunday. Here is a summary of the teams (overall records and final state poll ranks are in parentheses). Division I Cincinnati Elder (26-0, #1) When the Panthers lost in last year’s state final to unbeaten Archbishop Moeller 22-25, 25-19, 27-29, 26-24, 15-12 with a great junior cast, they became the favorites to win it all this time around. And they’ve certainly lived up to those expectations. Now they hope to cap things off with their third state crown, having last won in 2000. Elder is unbeaten, they rule the rugged Greater Catholic League and they’ve been atop the D-I state poll all year. Despite their incredibly strong schedule, they have not been in a tiebreaker, and a full third of their schedule has been played against St. Xavier, Archbishop Moeller and Hilliard Darby, ranked second, third and fourth, respectively. Elder is 9-0 against them. The Panthers looked invincible at the Centerville Elite, holding three ranked opponents to 17 or less points in the nine games. But they did lose one game at the Elite, 25-17 to Hilliard Darby, and they have been in several four gamers. And a 25-22, 26-24, 25-22 straight set match at home over St. Xavier was a bit close for comfort, as was their 25-11, 23-25, 26-24, 27-25 win over fifth ranked Centerville. Elder has racked up decisive wins over strong teams like Archbishop McNicholas, Mason, Oak Hills, and Archbishop Alter, and they began the season with a St. Charles Classic crown. The Panthers are led by 6’4” line drive spiker Tony Baldrick, setter Craig Wessels who led in assists last year with 520 and was third in blocks, outside/all-around Andrew Wessels who pounded 20 kills in last year’s state final, and libero Alex Bertke who heads up a stellar defense. Also watch for hitters Clancy Gay, Rob Malone and Alex Haring, and, oh yes, 6’6” Curt Graman and 6’4” Jake Nieheisel, both juniors. Everyone can block. Elder gives new meaning to the term cluster weapons! Cincinnati St. Xavier (20-5, #2) The Bombers are Elder’s biggest challenge, and if both teams take care of business they will meet in the final. They have also won state twice before, beating Moeller in 2003 and 2006. St. Xavier tied third ranked Moeller in the GCL after splitting their league matches, and beat them two other times, once at Centerville and most importantly in last weekend’s regional final 25-23, 25-17, 19-25, 25-23. The Bombers are 0-4 against Elder, but gave them trouble twice. They’ve beaten many of the best: Centerville twice, St. Edward, Worthington Kilbourne and McNicholas. And they opened the season with St. Charles Classic wins over St. Ignatius and Archbishop Hoban, before falling to Elder. Their defense, which may be the best in the state, is spearheaded by Ryan Doll and Ryan Engdahl, and setter Derek Kues can flat out dig when necessary. Doll is also one of the state’s premier hitters. He doesn’t look that menacing but absolutely drills the ball, and Kues only makes him stronger. Also watch for middle hitters Steven Walsh and Chaz Jennings, freshman outside Ben Lottman and blocker Ryan Noonan. Hilliard Darby (17-10, #4) This has been a frustrating season for Darby, what with having to forfeit three matches coupled with near misses against Moeller and Centerville. The Panthers were all over Moeller in game one at home but lost 25-9, 17-25, 21-25, 22-25, and the Crusaders nipped them again at the Elite 29-27, 25-22, 23-25, 27-25. Darby took Elder to four twice, and also dropped a 23-25, 21-25 decision them in the St. Charles Classic. They lost a five gamer to Centerville the last day of the regular season. Top wins were over Archbishop Hoban three times, St. Edward, Gahanna-Lincoln twice, and rival Hilliard Davidson (a couple of those were forfeited). The Panthers will try to assuage their pain with a couple of big wins this weekend, and avenging a 14-25, 25-21, 33-35 loss to St. Ignatius in round one will be their first priority. Darby’s top players are Ohio State bound 6’6” middle hitter John Tholen, setter Austin Miller, 6’6” right side Thomas Howard, and 6’4” middle Austin Brown. Centerville (21-6, #5) Centerville could avenge two losses to St. Xavier in the first round if they can improve where they left off in their last outing against the Bombers – they lost game three 26-24. Their other losses were to Moeller, Elder, St. Edward, and Hoban which they did avenge. The Elks have scored decisive wins over Archbishop Alter and Lakota West, and have beaten Fairmont, Chaminade-Julienne and Walsh Jesuit as well. On May 15 they rallied from 0-2 to nip Darby 16-25, 14-25, 25-11, 25-21, 15-11. Centerville is led by outside hitter Austin Tudor, 6’6” middle Steve Gang, 6’4” outside Eric Wohlford, libero Sean Hayes and setters Andrew Ervin and Bryan Gorsuch. The Elks have won three titles, more than anyone but Moeller, but have been shout out since 2002. Lakewood St. Edward (20-4, #7) St. Edward began the season winning the Silver Bracket of the St. Charles Classic, where they defeated OCC powers Mt. Vernon and Gahanna-Lincoln. Three week’s later they finished second in the Gold at Kilbourne’s Wolf Open, beating St. Charles before dropping the title match to St. Xavier. The Eagles nipped Centerville early in the year 25-23, 21-25, 21-25, 25-23, 15-7, and have also beaten the likes of Kettering Fairmont and Walsh Jesuit. They split match with St. Ignatius and lost twice to Hoban. St. Edward is led by middle blockers Adrian Rutt and Thomas Fayen, setter Chris Royer and libero Rhett Cash. Worthington Kilbourne (24-3, #8) The Wolves have racked up another great season which included winning their 300th match. They won a tri-match at home over Gahanna-Lincoln and St. Ignatius and beat Gahanna again in an OCC Challenge match ten days later. Earlier in the year they rolled over Lakota East and McNicholas in a tri at East. They’ve beaten Division II power St. Charles twice. Their losses are to St. Xavier and Hilliard Davidson twice. Kilbourne is led by 6’4” outside Clay Straker, and junior opposite John Barry, 6'2". Cleveland St. Ignatius (17-6, #9) St. Ignatius has been feared and respected in many sports over the years, but volleyball has not been one of them. But all that is changing. The Wildcats started off this campaign getting drilled by St. Xavier, but then beat St. Charles and pushed Hoban in a four set loss. And they raised some eyebrows on April 5 with wins over Darby and St. Edward. Since then they’ve lost to St. Edward, Kilbourne and Hoban, but a couple of those were oh so close, and they’ve beaten St. Charles along with underrated Massillon Jackson twice. Players to watch include setter Mark Roth, 6’5” outside Alex Robertson, libero Mike Messina and hitters JJ Zakelj and Greg Herceg. Lakota West (18-4, #11) Lakota West has the unenviable task of facing Elder in the first round. The Firebirds advanced by beating Kettering Fairmont 19-25, 25-15, 25-27, 25-23, 15-10 in the West Region final, thereby avenging an 18-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-23, 14-16 loss ten days earlier. West’s wins include Archbishop Alter, Mason, Milford and Beavercreek. They’ve lost to Oak Hills, Lakota East and Centerville. The Firebirds are led by senior setter Randy Thomas and sophomore outside Dylan Kembre. Division II Akron Archbishop Hoban (22-4, #1) Hoban is the team to beat in Division II as they try for the school's first ever state volleyball title. Well actually their first boy’s title. Hoban's girls have amassed four state championships, and they dominated Division II from 1900-92. Hoban's boys finished runner-up to Moeller in 1998. Of relevance to this weekend, the Knights have beaten semifinal opponent St. Charles twice in straight sets. They racked up a 5-0 record against Division I North Region toughies St. Edward, St. Ignatius and Massillon Jackson, and they trounced Centerville at home. They gave St. Xavier fits in a 25-22, 20-25, 20-25 loss at the St. Charles Classic, and their other losses are to Darby and Centerville. Hoban is led by outside terminator and Quincy College recruit JoJo Sokol, 6’5” middle blocker Curtis May, libero Andy Veverka, 6’4” middle hitter Nick Crème and setter Scott Weaver. Also watch for outsides Paul Blischak and Jeff Ondracek. Cincinnati Archbishop McNicholas (20-5, #2) Hoban could have their hands full with McNicholas in the final, assuming both attend to first round matters. Except for Elder, St. Xavier and Moeller the Rockets beat everyone in the GLC, including semifinal opponent Archbishop Alter and Chaminade-Julienne. Their loss to St. Xavier was only 20-25, 25-23, 25-19, 18-25, 13-15. However, and more significantly, they also lost to St. Charles 25-19, 25-20, 24-26, 22-25, 15-17. The Rockets own impressive wins over Kettering Fairmont, Milford, and Roger Bacon three times. Player to watch are libero Mark Hamad, setter Michael Oberschmidt, 6’6” junior outside Gary Bauer, and 6’6” middle James Hofmann. St. Charles (13-13, #3) The Cardinals would be 16-10 without three unfortunate early season forfeits. And they've played a strong schedule with impressive wins over Division II powers. Most relevant was their gutsy 19-25, 20-25, 26-24, 25-22, 17-15 comeback against McNicholas at the Wolf Open. They’ve also beaten 6th ranked Dublin Jerome and #9 Bishop Watterson twice each, and they had to forfeit a victory over tenth rated Westerville Central. St. Charles Lost twice in straight sets to both Hoban and St. Ignatius, but scored 20 or more points in six of the 10 games. They are led by setter Justin Miller, libero Zach Hartmann, and outside hitter/defensive specialists Ned Gruber, Damon DiSabato, and Matt VanVolkenburg. The Cardinals were state runner-up in 1990. Kettering Archbishop Alter (18-8, #4) They say it’s hard to beat a good team three times, but the Knights did just that to 5th ranked Chaminade-Julienne, downing them in the West Region final to advance to Hilliard. They’ve also topped 7th ranked Roger Bacon, and honorable mention Bishop Fenwick and Purcell Marian. Five of their losses came in the GCL, the most relevant being to McNicholas 21-25, 25-20, 14-25, 18-25. The Knights are led by two 6’4” setter/outside hitters, Quincy College recruit Robbie Courtney and Sam Miller, libero Matt Girouard and 6’9” junior outside Kevin Van Oss.
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