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Elder defeats St. Xavier fifth time to capture third state title June 3, 2008 By Jim Jicha It’s hard to beat a good team three times, as the saying goes, but Cincinnati Elder did that and then some when they defeated St. Xavier for a fifth time 25-23, 25-16, 29-27 to capture their third boys state volleyball title. The Panthers also won in 1999 and 2000. Elder finished the season a perfect 29-0, and in a testament to their ability to play well with consistency, eleven of those wins were against St. Xavier, Archbishop Moeller and Hilliard Darby, the state’s second, third and fourth ranked teams. The Panthers also chalked up wins over sixth rated Centerville and second ranked Division II state runner-up McNicholas. St. Xavier ended at 22-6. The Bombers only other loss was to Archbishop Moeller, whom they beat three times. This was the fourth straight time, and fifth in six years, that the state championship match was between Cincinnati schools from the Greater Catholic League. Elder came into the match a bit “starry eyed” according to Coach Sean Tierney, after an emotionally big and draining 25-23, 23-25, 25-9, 25-19 decision over Hilliard Darby in the semifinal. Tierney cautioned his players to stay focused and not to give St. Xavier opportunities. That advice went unheeded for while in game one. St. Xavier’s semifinal win over Worthington Kilbourne was not as emotional, and they came in fired up. The Bombers play the toughest defense in the state (although Elder fans might disagree), and beating them requires putting the ball away. But the Panthers match up well against St. Xavier with their arsenal of terminators, like Rob Malone, Andrew Wessels, Jake Neiheisel, Clancy Gay, and most especially Tony Baldrick who simply crushes the ball and dares you to try and dig it. “Tony Baldrick had the game of his life” Tierney said after the 6’4” lefty led the Panthers with 13 kills, and ace and two blocks. Several of his volley ending blasts came at critical points near the ends of games one and three. Baldrick also figured big in the contest with Darby, especially in game four after Darby (also nicknamed Panthers) crept to within 21-18 in an effort to force a tiebreaker. At that point Baldrick smashed a termination, put up a booming block, and after a Darby kill, created an overpass opportunity for Gay, then rifled a shot that was blocked into Never Never Land for match point. St. Xavier scored first on a net serve, and Elder went ahead thanks to two Bomber miscues. But Elder’s next serve was long, as was their next hit, and St. Xavier got on track on a cross court ace from junior outside Michael Cunningham and a block on Wessels by senior outside Ryan Engdahl. Another Panther missile sailed out to make it 6-2. The teams traded two scores apiece as Panther setter Craig Wessels scored on a dump, Engdahl spiked a kill, Neiheisel blocked and Bomber middle Steve Walsh spiked off an Elder block. Then freshman Bomber defensive specialist Matt Kues added a second point with an ace, and St. Xavier followed with two more 2-1 upticks. The first came after a kill by Craig Wessels, when Bomber hitting ace Ryan Doll smoked a cross court shot that was blocked way out, and on the next volley Bomber middle Chaz Jennings dove to save an errant pass and Doll dove and lined the save over for a point. Baldrick interrupted with a kill, but a Panther hitting error and a service ace by Walsh left the score 13-6 in favor of the Bombers. Malone and Doll traded kills, and Elder scored two on a left handed dump by Craig Wessels and an error. But St. X came right back with Cunningham spiking a kill and serving an ace, and Jennings blocking for a point in between. What appeared to be an innocuous serving error by St. X left the Bombers in front 17-10. That brought Malone to the line and the senior middle served up eight points as Neiheisel spiked through the block, Craig Wessels hit another left hand dump and Andrew lofted a soft high hit to an empty left back court. St. X also contributed with some errors, although not all were unforced. Doll broke the run with a cross court missile, and a long Elder hit put St. X back on top 19-18. Neiheisel and Doll traded kills and a long Bomber hit on a play at the net left matters even at 20. That also brought the heretofore mostly quiet Baldrick back to the front row and he delivered a right side blast that was blocked out of bounds. After a net serve, Baldrick sent a termination down the right into the corner, and encored that with a knock down kill on the right. And when Doll responded with a kill from back court, Baldrick powered a cross court blast into the left corner to put the Panthers on the cusp at 24-22. Another net serve gave Elder fans pause, but Malone came through with a kill to deep back, ending game one. St. Xavier led 1-0 and 2-1 in the second set. Craig Wessels tied it on a dump and Elder went ahead after a net call ended an intense volley that saw many saves on both sides. Gay followed with an ace. Doll retied it, alternating a cross court termination with a tip, and the teams traded to 5-5. But Elder came up with four, as Neiheisel spiked a kill down the left and he and Baldrick blocked. St. Xavier rallied with three, when setter Derek Kues blocked Baldrick and scored again on a heads up hit after a save. That left the Bombers behind 9-8, but Elder came up with another long run, Andrew Wessels serving six points with Gay and Baldrick spiking kills, and Gay, Neiheisel and Baldrick patrolling the nets while libero Alex Bertke kept things from dropping in the back court. Soon after, Baldrick scored a double with a kill followed by an ace to that put Elder up 19-11. Malone, Andrew Wessels and Gay powered a three point spurt to 23-13, and it was a matter of time before Neiheisel delivered the game point on a cross court blast off a slide. At this point it would have been easy to let go, but St. Xavier saved their best for last, and the volleyball season concluded with a memorable game. The Bombers went up 2-1 and 4-2, and Elder tied after a kill by senior Alex Haring. Scoring went back and forth leaving St. X up 8-7. Baldrick then delivered a cross court shot that was dug into the stands. On the next volley Ryan Noonan, Walsh and Ben Lottman teamed up with some razzle dazzle back court play to keep two Elder missiles in play, but Baldrick finally prevailed with another blast. But St. X kept pace and after two kills and a block by Jennings, they were up 13-11. Elder tied at 13 and again at 14. Walsh spiked a kill, ending an intense volley kept alive by digs on Doll from Andrew Wessels and John Lucas. Baldrick tipped over the block into a hole for another tie. Following a Panther net serve, the Bombers surged ahead 19-15 on an ace by Walsh, and a net infraction by Elder after Jennings and Engdahl rejected two Baldrick spikes. Errors on both sides left the score 20-17, and after Malone and Jennings traded short set kills, more errors left the Bombers still atop 22-20. Neiheisel blocked Doll but outside Kenny Doud delivered a cross court kill for St. X to keep pace. Unfortunately for the Bombers, they then yielded a point on a long hit, negating a great reject by Derek Kues and Walsh that prevented Baldrick from scoring. Baldrick followed up with a termination shot aimed right at a defender to tie things at 23, and a big block by Neiheisel put Elder on the verge. Doll was having none of that and terminated a cross court spike through blockers. Baldrick delivered a spike that was blocked over but out for another go ahead, and after a Panther hitting error, Gay found an unprotected net on the right for a kill and a third go ahead. A net serve ratcheted up tensions in the Elder crowd, but Andrew Wessels delivered a back court shot that landed just out of reach of a diving Doll. Jennings and Doud teamed up for a block that ended an intense volley and left the score even at 27. Now it was St. Xavier’s turn for a net serve, and Elder was at their fifth chance for match point. Malone delivered a great serve, but Jennings dove to keep the receive in play. However, that resulted in a free ball and when Andrew Wessels smoked a kill down the right the match was over. When asked after the match how winning it all felt, Tony Baldrick summed it up with one word “amazing”. Synonyms for amaze are “astonish” and “astound”, and what more is there to say? Tierney used the word “fantastic”, and added “I’m most happy for the kids, they’ve been playing together since grade school, and it’s very satisfying to see them achieve their goals”. He also said that “as a coach it’s nice reaching that pinnacle”, adding “especially after last year’s loss and my medical condition”. Last year’s loss was an excruciatingly disappointing setback in the state final at the hands of unbeaten Archbishop Moeller 25-22, 19-25, 29-27, 24-26, 12-15. It was the second time Elder had taken Moeller to five, which was all the more notable when you consider the Crusaders only lost five games all season. Tierney’s medical condition was one that would make doing many things challenging, let alone coaching a high school team which is a challenge all of its own. Tierney was recovering from a heart transplant.
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