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Moeller is the obvious choice to win, but.... May 16, 2007 by Jim Jicha Once again state tournament time is upon us. The seasons keep flying by, and it’s been five years since I began this website. In 2003 it was difficult to pick winners because results kept contradicting previous results. St. Xavier ended up winning the state title match over Moeller despite having lost three of four to the Crusaders in the regular season. Moeller had advanced to the final with wins over Elder and Centerville, against whom they were 0-3. And that was just the culmination of what was one wacky season. By way of contrast, this year has been fairly predictable so far, and Moeller is a must-pick to win it all. Of course, to a lot of football folks Ohio State seemed a shoe-in, and many felt Michigan should have been their opponent in the title game. Florida and Southern Cal obviously thought otherwise! With that in mind, we’ll begin our trip around the regions with the South One bracket, from which Moeller is trying to advance to their fifth straight final. And this time they’re undefeated, as they go for their third title in five years! The Crusaders are led by Ball State recruit 6’7” outside/middle Lee Meyer, and 6’4” outside Dan Brandel. As sophomores these two helped pace the senior-laden 2005 team to a championship. One of them is always in front, and Brandel’s passing makes Meyer’s hitting even more effective. The Crusaders regular season mark of 24-0 is all the more impressive considering their schedule. Half their wins came against Elder, LaSalle, Centerville and St. Xavier, with another over Chaminade-Julienne. They were 66-3 in games. Elder and Centerville did take Moeller to a tiebreaker, once each. Those close matches should actually help if things go awry at some point. Moeller won three major tournaments, kicking off their season with the St. Charles Classic. Five weeks later they bested one of the strongest ever fields at the Centerville Elite, and the following weekend they finished first in the Buckeye Classic over 48 teams from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Illinois, New Jersey and Ontario. The Crusaders won state in 2005 and 2004, beating St. Xavier and Centerville, respectively, in the finals. They lost the finals to St. Xavier last year and in 2003. Another all-GCL final is a distinct possibility, with Elder the most likely to advance from the opposite bracket this time. But the Panthers will have to beat LaSalle or St. Xavier just to get to state. The latter two will have it even tougher, with one having to beat the other, and then Elder! McNicholas will try to stop Moeller in the Regional final. The 18-4 GCL Central champs had a great run at the Buckeye Classic, winning their bracket over three out-of-state powers. The Rockets only losses this season are to Moeller, Elder, St. Xavier and LaSalle. Moeller will probably face a talented junior-laden Archbishop Hoban, seeded second in the North, in the state quarterfinal, a team they dispatched early in the season 25-15, 25-18, 25-19. Hoban has notched wins over the stronger teams in their bracket, including third seeded North Olmsted 25-11, 25-12. The Knights suffered two tiebreaker losses to top seeded North power Lakewood St. Edward, and also lost in four to Hilliard Darby. Speaking of which, Darby looks like Moeller’s state semifinal opponent. The third ranked Panthers lost to Moeller in the 2005 semifinal. Darby was runner-up to LaSalle in Kilbourne’s Wolf Invitational, beating St. Xavier in the semifinal. The Panthers finished third at the Centerville Elite, where they knocked off Chaminade-Julienne, lost to Elder and nipped the host Elks 25-23, 25-22, 25-22. Darby lost a squeaker to central Ohio rival Kilbourne in the Buckeye Classic Silver Bracket consolation. This came on the heels of a tough loss to eventual Silver champ Maine South, who beat Elder in the final. At any rate, the Panthers avenged the loss to Kilbourne three nights later 25-13, 25-18, 25-19. Their immediate threat is scrappy Westerville North, followed by either Dublin Jerome or St. Charles. Chaminade-Julienne gets the nod to oppose Darby in the quarterfinal, based in part on a late season 25-19, 25-16, 11-25, 25-18 win over 20-3 Lakota East. The likely district final opponents have both beaten respective their semifinal threats Kettering Fairmont and Beavercreek. C-J’s losses include strong opponents like Darby, Elder, St. Xavier (twice), and McNicholas. Lakota East pushed LaSalle and Centerville in their other losses. Heading to the opposite side of the state bracket, top seed Centerville is a strong favorite in West One, having already dispatched of challengers like Edgewood, Kettering Alter and Lakota West. Notable Elk wins include Lakota East, St. Xavier, Archbishop Hoban, and Lakewood St. Edward twice. Their six losses are to Elder, Darby twice and Moeller three times. Centerville won a memorable game over Moeller at the Buckeye Classic, before falling 25-22, 14-25, 10-15. The Elks let nothing drop in their back court in game one. Worthington Kilbourne is a slight favorite to advance from East Two. The Wolves, who won their OCC division, have split with Westerville North, Darby and Gahanna. But they have not faced their next opponent, Dublin Coffman, which just ousted Gahanna. Assuming Kilbourne gets past Coffman, they’ll face either Pickerington North, whom they’ve topped twice in four, or Mt. Vernon which endured a rough Buckeye Classic, but has recent wins over Hoban, Jerome and Gahanna. Kilbourne’s other losses are to St. Edward and Elder. Lakewood St. Edward is a strong pick for a fourth straight trip to state, especially since Hoban is the only team in their region to really challenge them this season, and they’re in the opposite bracket. St. Edward has beaten Kilbourne twice, split with St. Xavier and lost twice each to Centerville and LaSalle. One 19-25, 25-23, 25-23, 13-25, 13-15 loss to Centerville came in the first round of the Elite. That brings us to the South Two bracket, the toughest of all to forecast. On paper Elder is the favorite. Three of their five losses are to Moeller, and one is to Maine South (which hails from Illinois, not Maine). But the Panthers also lost a squeaker to LaSalle in the St. Charles Classic, although they have since won both league contests. LaSalle, meanwhile, first has to get past St. Xavier, which they were unable to do in their last league outing. The Bombers won that one 25-23, 23-25, 25-12, 25-23 to claim a share of third place in the GCL. LaSalle was runner-up to Moeller in both the Buckeye Classic and the St. Charles Classic. The Lancers beat Dublin Jerome, St. Edward and Darby to win their first ever Wolf Invitational title this year. While St. Xavier has lost ten times, five of those are to Moeller and Elder. The other five are to Centerville, Darby, Maine South, LaSalle, and St. Edward. On an ominous note, the Bombers gained revenge in rematches with LaSalle and St. Edward, and they have produced spurts of stellar play against Moeller and Elder. Which makes you wonder how this team might fare if it were 2003 all over again. Or better yet, if they put it all together.
Quarterfinals Centerville vs. Worthington Kilbourne Lakewood St. Edward vs. Cincinnati Elder Cincinnati Moeller vs. Akron Archbishop Hoban Hilliard Darby vs. Dayton Chaminade-Julienne
Semifinals Centerville vs. Elder Moeller vs. Darby
Final Elder vs. Moeller
Champion Moeller
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