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Youthful Toledo St. Ursula overpowers Best of Ohio field September 11, 2009 By Jim Jicha Toledo St. Ursula won its own Best of Ohio Tournament for the first time since 2005 with a convincing 25-16, 25-18 victory over defending champion Olmsted Falls last weekend. The winning Arrows dominated a strong and otherwise balanced field, defeating Anthony Wayne 25-12, 25-19 and Elyria 25-11, 25-23 en route to the final. The runner-up Bulldogs nipped Cincinnati St. Ursula and Toledo Central Catholic in their first two matches. The two teams met twice in 2008, and senior-laden Olmsted Falls prevailed both times over their freshman and sophomore studded rivals. Their first win came in a three game Best of Ohio semifinal. Two months later they nipped the Arrows 18-25, 21-25, 25-14, 25-20, 15-11 in the regional semifinal. The following weekend Olmsted Falls bushwhacked Cincinnati Ursuline 39-37, 16-25, 25-21, 25-12 in the state final and finished as Ohio’s only undefeated team. Ironically, the Arrows and Bulldogs have 39-37 in common. In a 2004 state semifinal St. Ursula rallied in game three from 19-23 to defeat Cincinnati Seton 16-25, 16-25, 39-37, 26-24, 15-7. And like the 2008 Bulldogs, those Arrows finished as undefeated state champs. Based on the number of returnees, the Arrows were favored this year, but the Bulldogs had one super ace in the hole in junior setter Dayna Roberts. She paced last year’s win over Ursuline with 63 assists and 23 digs. This summer she set for the Cleveland Volleyball Company 17 Black that won a national title with wins over three California powers in the 2009 USA Junior Olympic Girls' Volleyball Championships held in Miami. Roberts was a force on Saturday, giving Bulldog attackers great sets and favorable match-ups at the net. She also scored at will on dumps that were delivered with pin point precision to hard to reach places in the back court. But in the end, the Arrows’ swarming defense was too much, as it kept alive rallies that enabled St. Ursula to pull away in both games. Olmsted Falls went head-to-head with the Arrows for over half of game one, staying a step ahead much of the way through eight ties to 14-13. Bulldogs senior middle Corinne Manley scored first, pounding a shoot off the block. St. Ursula 6’3” junior middle answered with a pop to left corner. St. Ursula added two more as 6’0” senior Marissa Tashenberg terminated a short set from 5’10” junior Veronica Zimmerman down the middle, and encored with another kill. But the Bulldogs came back with three as Roberts dumped into an empty right corner and junior outside Maggie Leonard aced. After another kill by Tashenberg, Manley put Falls up by two with a short set blast and an ace. Tashenberg retied with a block, and following two Arrow miscues, 5’10” sophomore outside Kelsey Reiner retied with cross-court demolitions. However, 5’10” Bulldog sophomore Kelsey Snider drilled a hit down the right that was dug into the wall, and senior outside Shannon Deleur and sophomore middle Kelsey Scheerer double block killed the Bulldogs in front 10-8. The teams traded points and St. Ursula knotted it back up at twelve. Manley and Roberts double blocked and Tashenberg retied with a quick hit to the corner. Two service errors left things even at 14. That brought Arrows senior defensive specialist Libby Dachenhaus to the line. And with the Arrows’ defense letting nothing reach the floor she served up five points as Tashenberg and Reiner, who ended one intense volley with a second effort kill through blockers, paced the offense. Roberts ended the run with another dump, but Tashenberg answered with a smash off a slide. Roberts attempted another dump, but this was dug by Zimmerman, and 6’0” middle Cassidy Croci sky hooked a point to her left. Reiner added a block to put St. Ursula up 22-15. Snider interrupted with a tip, but Reiner retorted with a kill. Burnham then terminated a cross-court shot and teamed with Riener for the game-winning block. Olmsted Falls drew first blood again in game two, but Arrows’ 5’10” outside sophomore Erin Williams spiked a kill that started a five point run. Zimmerman served an ace and senior defensive specialist Molly Pfohl contributed a saving dig. The Bulldogs, however, roared back to tie at six, as Roberts nailed a dump on the edge of the back line, Manley scored two kills and Leonard served an ace. Tashenberg scored two kills but Olmsted Falls stayed within a point to 9-8. That turned out to be the end. On the next volley, a great defensive effort by the Arrows led to a Bulldog error that they compounded with two more. Two aces by Pfohl put the Arrows on top 14-8, and the margin grew to 18-10. Olmsted Falls closed to 20-15 on a short set blast by Manley and a pop by Snider, but Reiner and Croci combined for three kills, while sophomore defensive specialist Madison Haupricht kept two attempted dumps by Roberts off the floor. Aces by Roberts closed the gap to 23-18. But Croci found an empty left corner, and an ace by Pfohl ended the match. Arrows’ Coach John Buck called the win “a step for us”, adding “we still have a lot of room to improve…we need to stop runs sooner”. But he acknowledged that “we’re getting runs too”. Smiling, he concluded with “I’m happy. We’re still young”. With a lineup that includes two juniors, five sophomores and a freshman to watch, the Arrows should fly for at least two more years. ****************************************************************** Toledo Central Catholic took third with a 25-23, 25-20 win over Elyria. Game one was back and forth to the end, and Elyria trailed 23-22 after a kill by 5’10” senior middle Brigette Jones. Sophomore outside Jennifer Kowalski scored the winning kill with a smash that was dug over but out. Elyria took a 5-4 lead in game two and stayed a step ahead to 13-12 behind hitting of Jones, junior outside Kristen Boros and sophomore outside Shelby Obitts. Central retook the lead 14-13 on three kills by junior Alexxis Knannlein and sophomore Abby Wietrzykowski. The Pioneers moved back atop 16-15, but Central rattled off six straight, including an ace from senior mainstay middle hitter Julia Haupricht and another kill by Wietrzykowski. Kowalski eventually spiked the match winner off a set from sophomore Val Espinoza. 2008 Best of Ohio runner-up Bishop Watterson broke away from a 20-20 game one tie and downed Walsh Jesuit 25-21, 25-17 for fifth place. Walsh Jesuit had knotted the score helped by spiking and blocking of Duquesne bound 6’1” outside Allison Foschia. But kills by junior Watterson hitters Toni Frustaglio and Michelle Sunderman, along with two Warrior miscues, put the Eagles at game point, and soon after, the two teamed up for a game-winning block. The Eagles were in control most of game two. Senior outside Taylor Ely blocked them to match point, and a service error ended the match. Cincinnati St. Ursula, which won this tournament in 2006 and 2007, escaped last place with a 24-26, 25-17, 25-22 win over Anthony Wayne. The Generals prevailed in game one, scoring the last two points on a dump by 5’11” junior setter Molly Hilfinger and a kill from junior outside Hayley Hutchinson. St. Ursula, which was paced by senior outside Catherine Janszen, came alive in game two, which senior outside Nicole Hall ended with two kills. The Bulldogs led most of game three but could never completely shake the Generals. Bulldog outside hitter Katherine Massa ended the match with a cross-court termination. Elyria gave St. Ursula its only scare in game two of their match. The Pioneers were up 21-20 after a kill by senior opposite Jazmyn Corlew, an ace from Boros and a double block by Obitts and Jones. Burnham gave the Arrows 23-21 breathing room with two aces, and Croci terminated a Zimmerman short set to make it 24-22. Sophomore setter Shelby Regiec kept Elyria alive with a heads up kill that ended a battle at the net, but Pioneer hopes for a tiebreaker were dashed by a lift.
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