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St. Ignatius, St. Edward, Archbishop Hoban advance to state May 29, 2008 by Jim Jicha Last week’s regional final, with a trip to state in the balance, turned out to be a nightmare case of déjà vu all over again for Massillon Jackson as the Polar Bears fell to ninth ranked St. Ignatius in four. They again narrowly missed winning a game that would have forced a tiebreaker. At Jackson a month ago St. Ignatius, having already lost game one, rallied from 23-18 in game two and prevailed in a match that featured more ties than you could shake a stick at 25-27, 25-23, 25-23, 25-20. Last Thursday at Case Western University’s Veale Center, the Wildcats rallied from 26-25 in game four and advanced to the state quarterfinal with a 25-23, 16-25, 25-21, 29-27 win. The teams picked up right where they left off in game one, which featured 15 ties and 10 lead changes. Jackson setter Alex White scored on a dump, outside hitter Geoff Groenke smashed a kill and middle hitter Mike Krieg served an ace to give the Polar Bears their second lead at 6-4. Wildcat outside Gregory Herceg spiked a kill and setter Matthew Roth retied it for the fifth time with a block. Jackson moved back in front when libero Devin Bolon saved a bad pass at the net and St. Ignatius obliged with a hitting error, and a kill by John Gray made it 8-6. But St. Ignatius retied again and took their third lead on a spike through the block by Alex Robertson. Krieg scored twice from back court and Zach Pugh added a kill as Jackson went back atop 12-10 but Roth retied with a short serve ace and JJ Zakelj hit off the block to put the Wildcats up 13-12. And so it went until Zakelj pounded a cross court shot for yet another tie. Patrick Adler then put St. Ignatius up for good 23-21 with a block followed by a kill. Pugh followed with a steamer down the left for the Polar Bears, and Adler kept pace by tipping a short set into a hole. Krieg kept Jackson alive with a kill, but an intended tying cross court shot sailed out and St. Ignatius was up 1-0. Jackson turned the tables in game two, which transpired unlike any of the other seven sets these teams played. St. Ignatius led 1-0 and 2-1, but it was all Jackson afterward as the Polar Bears went up 4-2 and 7-3, and then blew the game apart with an 11-1 run. White served five points and Groenke four more as Bolon and Kolton Miller kept volleys alive with digs and Groenke, Miller and Krieg ended them with kills. In the ensuing team huddle, Wildcat Coach Casey Marcelo told his players to focus on what Jackson was doing, and then go after the ball aggressively. That seemed to work as game three reverted to form with 15 ties. However, the Wildcats kept a step in front most of the way, and there were only two lead changes. Ahead 11-10, St. Ignatius pulled away 15-11 on blocks from Sean Kristoff who also added a kill. But Jackson rallied for four points, and after three more ties they went up 19-18. Herceg smoked a short set from Roth to retie at 20 and Robertson put St. Ignatius back atop with a kill. White tied it again at 21 with a dump, but Roth riposted with a dump into a hole on the line. After a Polar Bear hitting error, Roth blocked for the final two points. With the Wildcats now focused, Marcelo instructed his team to keep the serves in and keep the ball alive. The Wildcats had committed ten service errors to this point, along with assorted hitting miscues. As it turned out the Polar Bears opened a 4-2 lead thanks to just what Marcelo had cautioned about as St. Ignatius hit both long and into the net, and served wide right. Jackson’s biggest edge came at 10-7 after blocks by Gray, Groenke and Miller and two kills by Groenke. But St. Ignatius tied at 11 on kills by Zakelj, and moved ahead 14-11 and 17-13. The Wildcats had indeed settled down and were minimizing errors, but Jackson stepped up their intensity and fans were treated to a frenetic finish of a game that tallied 17 ties and nine lead changes. The Polar Bears evened things up as Krieg and Pugh teamed for a block, Krieg smoked an overpass, Pugh served an ace and St. Ignatius contributed a too-long cross court. Three more ties ensued before Pugh put the Bears on top 21-20 with a kill. But Adler tied it up and Herceg crushed an overpass and, after a great dig by libero Michael Messina, Herceg demolished a shot down the left for a 23-21 Wildcat lead. But Jackson came right back with two as a smash by Pugh was touched out. Herceg put Ignatius back in front with a midair hesitation hit that found an open spot in the defense. Krieg tied it at 24 and again at 25. And when the Wildcats got into the net trying to block Krieg, thereby ending an intense volley, the Polar Bears were on a 26-25 verge of forcing a fifth game. At this juncture Marcelo called a timeout, during which he said absolutely nothing. And after a service error tied it, Wildcat defender Benjamin Woods dug a blast from Krieg. The save proved to be pivotal, because Robertson then scored to put St. Ignatius back in front, and Krieg followed with what would have been a game winning termination. After Robertson scored again to make it 28-27 St. Ignatius, Jackson was presented with a free ball opportunity, but chose a quick pop over on their first touch. That went for naught and Roth dumped match point into a hole. Marcelo said afterward he didn’t need to say anything in the timeout because “the boys have been in this situation before and I had the confidence they would make the right decision”. The Wildcats will head south for a state quarterfinal rematch with Hilliard Darby. St. Ignatius nipped Darby 25-14, 21-25, 35-33 in the Ignatius Invitational. Seventh ranked Lakewood St. Edward took big early leads in each game and won the other Division I final with a 25-11, 25-6, 25-9 decision over outgunned Hudson. It didn’t help that the Explorers were missing three players. The Eagles soared 9-0 in game two behind the serving of John Hutchinson and the hitting and blocking of outside Thomas Fayen and middle hitter Adrian Rutt. Those three teamed up for four straight points at the end, with Hutchinson serving the game winning ace. In game three Woody Jones blocked and Nick Thaxton scored a kill to keep Hudson in it early. But with an 8-4 lead, St. Edward blew the game wide open. Setter Chris Royer served a run to 15-4 as Rutt contributed a kill and three blocks. Rutt then served two aces as the score exploded to 22-5. Fayen smashed a short set to end the match. St. Edward will face eighth rated Worthington Kilbourne in a state semifinal. St. Edward finished second ahead of third place Kilbourne in the latter’s Wolf Invitational, but the two have not met. Top ranked Archbishop Hoban advanced to a state semifinal in Division II with a 25-18, 25-15, 25-12 win over number eight Walsh Jesuit. The match was closer than it might seem in that the Walsh’s defense prolonged a lot of volleys. But Hoban’s defense kept the Warriors from scoring and their Jojo Sokol powered offense won out. Walsh Jesuit couldn’t stop Sokol when it mattered, but it must be noted that Hoban tuned up for the state tournament with wins over St. Ignatius and Jackson, and those teams couldn’t stop the senior outside hitter either. Hoban never trailed in game one which was tied once at 1-1. But Walsh Jesuit stayed close. The Knights went up 5-2 on kills by Jeff Ondracek and Sokol, and moved further in front 9-4 on two blasts by 6’6” middle Curtis May of a short set and backset by Scott Weaver. The Warriors cut the lead two behind kills by Andy Shepard and sophomore Alex Coundourides, and a block by Kevin Eichenbaum, but May kept them at bay with two ripostes. Only down 17-15, Walsh was undone by four errors, two of them net serves, after which Knights’ 6’5” middle hitter Nick Crème cremated an overpass to end a volley kept alive by teammate Paul Blischak’s saving dig at the net. That made it 22-16 and the teams traded points and errors to the end. Walsh Jesuit rode Knight miscues to a 4-2 lead in game two, but kills by Sokol and a block from May put Hoban ahead 7-5, and those two kept it up as the Knights gradually increased the lead. With the score 22-15, Sokol drilled two line drive aces and May smoked an overpass to end put the Knights up 2-0. The Warriors scored first in game three, but Crème blocked and tipped for two. Walsh setter Matt Kula retied with a kill, but it was all Hoban from there. Junior opposite Mike Horth spiked a cross court shot that was dug way out, and Crème served up six scores, including an ace, as Sokol and May pounded away. And after Walsh narrowed the gap to 9-6, Sokol blocked for a point, then served two aces to spark a six point run that solid defense by Kula and Warrior libero Dave D’Altorio could not prevent. Horth and libero Andy Veverka contributed some nice passes for Hoban while Blischak ended two intense volleys with a kill and block. A long serve ended that run, but after a double block by Kula and Coundourides, May terminated a volley and Hoban went up 20-8 on a dump by Weaver, and a big block and knock down short set kill by Crème. From there it was just a matter of time. Hoban will move on to the state semifinal to face St. Charles, a team they defeated twice early in the season.
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