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Olmsted Falls tops Bishop Watterson in Best of Ohio

September 5, 2008

By Jim Jicha

“What can I say? How about wow?” That was the reaction of Olmsted Falls Coach Dawn Moses' after her team convincingly beat Bishop Watterson 25-17, 25-12 to win the Best of Ohio Volleyball Tournament last Saturday.

The 7-0 Bulldogs advanced to the final with a hard fought 25-20, 19-25, 25-21 win over tourney host Toledo St. Ursula. By the time that semifinal began, Watterson had already taken down two-time defending tourney champion Cincinnati St. Ursula 25-14, 25-22.

With one court running slow all day due to long matches, fans were afforded the opportunity to see both semifinals in their entirety, and for the first time the tourney champ was someone other than Toledo or Cincinnati St. Ursula. 

Moses said her team “put together a great defensive effort…they were awesome”.

She cited the seniors for “deciding to step up and play” when game three of the semifinal was slipping away - the Arrows were up 20-17, having led all the way save for an 8-8 tie. 

Brittany Snider took charge at that juncture with a block, three kills and a cross-court termination that won the match. The 6'0" outside hitter also came up with two defensive gems in the final game with Watterson, diving out of bounds to her right to save a partial block, and later making a pancake save at midcourt. These plays contributed to two points.

Watterson scored the first two points of the match on kills by 5'11" senior setter/outside Izzy Custodio. Olmsted Falls edged ahead 5-4 on a well placed hit to middle by George Washington University bound middle Lauren Whyte, a block from junior outside Shannon Deleur and a cross-court shot by Snider.

A kill by junior outside Taylor Ely and a heads up save from senior outside Maria Harmon helped the Eagles go back in front 9-7. 

But the Bulldogs exploded with seven points following a 10-10 tie. 6'0" junior outside hitter Corinne Manley started the onslaught with a kill, sophomore setter Dana Roberts added three aces, and Manley capped the run with a volley ending cross-court blast off a set from Roberts.

Custodio stopped the streak with a tip, but soon after Whyte triggered a five-point run to 23-12 with two kills. Following three Watterson scores, Whyte terminated a volley to put Falls on the verge, and after a kill by 6'0" Eagle opposite Sunny Finnegan and a Bulldog hitting error, Roberts ended the game with a pop to back row from her own back court. 

Game two began in similar fashion with Watterson jumping in front 3-0 on kills by Ely, Custodio and Harmon. With the score 4-1, Snider and Whyte scored kills. Snider served an ace and came up with the first of her two diving saves, which Manley followed with a block to put the Bulldogs ahead.

Senior Watterson middle Maddie Shirk retied it at 5, but Olmsted Falls followed with a 7-1 romp, led by two kills from Whyte and two blocks by senior middle/outside Christine Peffer. The lead grew to 21-10 on a block by Peffer, who added three more points including a match winning spike that landed in the right corner.

Cincinnati St. Ursula defeated Toledo St. Ursula for third 25-18, 25-17. 

Bishop Watterson advanced to the final with an emotionally charged 25-14, 25-22 win over Cincinnati St. Ursula. The Eagles jumped out to a 6-0 lead and controlled game one all the way, with some great setting by Custodio and senior Kaitlin Lewis. 

Watterson jumped out fast again in game two 4-0 and 7-2 in game two, but St. Ursula closed to 8-7 on two kills by senior outside Megan Butler and a termination by 6'2" senior middle Liz Williams off a short set from junior Maria Rodenberg. After a Watterson point, Williams blasted another shortest, this one from sophomore Nicole Hall, and she also blocked for two points while junior Blair Harrington scored on a spike from backcourt. That put St. Ursula on top 11-9. 

But Watterson scored three and after St. Ursula retied it at 12, Custodio got a break when her set drifted over the net and was mishandled by the Bulldogs. That moved Custodio to front row and setter Kaitlin Lewis served the Eagles to an 18-12 lead as Shirk scored on a tip, Custodio hammered a cross-court point into St. Ursula’s back middle, and Shirk added a block and a well placed kill. 

Janszen stopped the run and Butler scored two blocks and a kill as St. Ursula cut the lead to 20-19. On the next volley, however, great digging by St. Ursula was undone by a net infraction, and Watterson scored the first of three straight points. The Bulldogs threatened again with two points, but Custodio kept them at bay with a smash off the block, and following a net serve, Harmon found a hole in the middle for match point. 

In the other semifinal, Olmsted Falls toppled Toledo St. Ursula in a possible prelude to this fall’s Norwalk Regional. 

The Arrows grabbed a quick 2-0 lead thanks to Bulldog miscues, and moved up 4-1 on kills by 5'10" junior opposite Marissa Tashenberg and 5-9 junior Molly Pfohl. But Olmsted Falls tied at four, and after St. Ursula went back on top 7-5, the Bulldogs ran off four more to take the lead for good, and when Manley terminated a short set and served four points the lead ballooned to 18-11. 

St. Ursula closed to 18-15 with frosh outside Kelsey Reiner blocking Whyte, but Peffer led another run to 22-15. The Arrows rallied behind 6'2" senior Findlay University recruit Maggie Naayers and Reiner to 23-20. But Snider ended that with a kill that began as a great pass by Whyte, and pounded a cross court set from Roberts for the game winner. 

St. Ursula scored first in game two on a block by Naayers, and never trailed, taking leads of 4-2, 7-4 and 10-6. After a kill by Snider, Naayers and 5'10" Frosh outside Erin Williams led a run to 14-7. The Bulldogs closed to 15-11 but 6'2" Arrows sophomore middle Maggie Burnham scored a block and 5'10" frosh middle Cassidy Croci a kill for a 20-13 lead.

Olmsted Falls crept to within 21-18 but an untimely net infraction and a block by Williams after a great dig from frosh defensive specialist Madison Haupricht gave the Arrows more breathing room. After Snider and Williams traded kills, Naayers served a game-winning ace. 

The Arrows jumped in front in the tiebreaker 8-3 behind hitting and blocking of Williams, but Whyte and Peffer led a five-point Bulldog rally for a tie. Tashenberg broke the run, and an ace by Haupricht made it 10-8. The teams traded errors, points and double points up to 14-13. At that point Burnham ended a volley kept alive by Bulldog blocks, and Williams smoked an overpass. That put the Arrows atop 16-13, and they kept pace to 20-17.  

But Snider came up big with a block and kill to fuel a four-point run and the lead. Burnham and Naayers blocked Snider to retie at 21, but Snider reposted with a blast that was blocked over but out. The Arrows followed with a hitting error and were unable to return a line drive serve by Roberts, and Snider hammered a cross-court point to end the game.

Toledo Central Catholic nipped Walsh Jesuit for fifth 20-25, 25-20, 27-25. Walsh was on the verge at 24-23 after 6'0" middle Allison Foschia buried her third spike attempt - Central rejected the first two - but the teams traded errors and Central retied at 25 on a kill by outside hitter Ashley Sujkowski. 

Senior opposite Alex Gbur came up with a big block in the middle, and she and 5'11" junior middle Sierra Calhoun teamed for a match-winning block. Setter Anne McCarthy, 5'11" junior middle Julia Haupricht and 5'11" middle Hannah Hendricks helped pace Central’s attack. 

Besides Foschia, Walsh Jesuit was paced offensively by outside hitters Kalie Marshall and Ariel Pond, along with middle Claire Lysaght, and defensively by Jacqui Endre. The Warriors were missing the services of ace senior setter Annie Djukic.

Elyria topped Anthony Wayne for seventh 25-20, 20-25, 25-17. As of this Wednesday neither team has lost outside the Best of Ohio tourney. Pacing Elyria were senior outside Amanda Medvetz and sophomore middle Brigette Jones, helped by outsides Jazmyn Corlew and Kristen Boros.  

Anthony Wayne was led by 6'1" Bowling Green State University basketball recruit Allison Papenfuss, helped by 5'10" sophomore setter Molly Hilfinger and 5'10" senior middle/opposite Dana Hilfinger. 

*************************************************************************

Tourney Notes: 

Olmsted Falls outside hitter Lauren Whyte surpassed the 1,000 career kill mark during the tournament. 

Watterson’s win over Cincinnati St. Ursula was especially exciting, albeit bittersweet, for Izzy Custodio’s mother Judy, who played high school ball for St. Ursula. From 1968-73 she was a CYO-ball teammate of Bulldog Coach Julie Perry at St. Margaret of Cortona in Cincinnati, in what was their version of club ball. 

Toledo St. Ursula has a lot of freshmen, and six of them played in the consolation match with Cincinnati St. Ursula, including 5-10 setter Katie Felix who was subbing for sophomore Veronica Zimmerman.

Olmsted Falls encored their Best of Ohio performance with big win on the road this Tuesday when they staved off a comeback by Southwestern Conference rival Amherst Steele 25-15, 25-20, 23-25, 20-25, 15-9.