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East regionals belong to Hilliard May 22, 2006 By Jim Jicha Hilliard Darby and Hilliard Davidson both advanced to the state quarterfinals Saturday afternoon, albeit in different ways. Darby downed Mt. Vernon convincingly in three 25-10, 25-12, 25-18, while Davidson edged Pickerington North in a 24-26, 25-23, 26-24, 25-20 thriller. Darby took command early in all three games. Mike Baker got the Panthers off to a 6-3 game two lead, and Chris Dreger extended the margin to 15-8 with a tip and four service points. Nick Persons later served up four more to put Darby up 22-11 and junior Pete Stahl scored points 23 and 25 with a tip and spike. Stahl had five kills early in game three to put his team up 12-3, with Austin Flemming serving up a 6 point rally. Mt. Vernon narrowed the gap to five behind hitting from Patrick Blubaugh, who led the Yellow Jackets with eight kills, and Grant Cassell. Darby’s defense contributed to the win, as setter Jake McCrae dug one out of the net, and Baker and libero Sam Carlisle came up with diving digs to thwart Mt. Vernon spikes. Stahl led Darby with 11 kills and Persons chipped in with 10. Davidson’s win over North came a little quicker than their three previous meetings, which were all won by Davidson on tiebreakers. But it was just as nerve wracking. Game one saw 10 ties to 11-11, after which Davidson edged ahead to 21-19, only to fall behind 21-23, tie at 23 on two kills by Ryan Cahill and then fall 24-26 on a knockdown kill by outside Doug Schneider that ended a furious volley. Game two was tied three times on the way to 3-3, after which Pickerington took a 9-5 lead. Davidson scored three on kills by Brady Callaghan and Ryan McGuire. North edged back up 13-10 on a kill by Jeramy Griffith who then teamed with Eric Evans for a block. But a service error, one of several that plagued both teams ended that, and McGuire served Davidson to a 15-13 margin. North tied once more after which Davidson nosed back to a lead they kept. Michael Dietz put the Wildcats up 24-22. Griffith kept the Panthers alive with a kill, but although Pickerington saved two Davidson spikes, Dietz ended matters with a booming block. The next game was a seesaw with Pickerington up 5-2, and after a tie, back on top at 10-6. Davidson rallied to a 15-13 lead, only to see setter Ryan Maloney score on a spike to the left line and then serve up five more points. Two of those came on aces, and another on a kill of an overpass from the serve. But the Wildcats clawed their way back, finally tying at 22 on a block by Callaghan. However, Greg Lewis spiked the Panthers back on top and when Schneider followed with an ace, it appeared Pickerington would go up 2-1. But Callaghan gave the Wildcats new life with a kill, and Davidson scored twice on Panther hits into the net helped by some blocking from Dietz. Callaghan scored the game winner on an ace that was dug into the stands. Game four started with ties at 1, 2 and 3, but then Davidson spurted ahead 7-3. And they never lost the lead, six service errors kept them from possibly putting the game away. As it was Pickerington rallied to a 17-16 deficit, and was twice more behind by one point. With Davidson clinging to a 21-20 edge, Cahill smoked an overpass, and following a Panther hitting error, Michael Yarman smashed a cross court kill on a well executed slide to put Davidson on the brink. The next volley was intense, ending when a Pickerington hit sailed out. Darby now must tackle Moeller, while Davidson will face St. Xavier, in the state quarterfinals next Friday.
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