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Mother of Mercy, Mt. Notre Dame solidify one-two rankings; unranked Toledo Central Catholic makes strong statement September 25, 2007 By Jim Jicha Cincinnati Mother of Mercy and Cincinnati Mt. Notre Dame solidified their one-two rankings in Division I impressive showings against powers from outside the southwest. These teams will, by the way, meet at Mercy on Thursday. Mercy won their first meeting in four on the road. Mt. Notre Dame traveled north to Walsh Jesuit on September 15 for a tri-match with Magnificat. In last year’s tri held at Magnificat, passing was a problem as the Cougars struggled with the Blue Streaks and, unable to contain Katie Dull, lost to the Warriors. But Dull is gone to Ohio State, and the Cougars’ passing this time was definitely not dull. Mt. Notre Dame’s top stars are Rachael Adams, a 6’2” middle with a 10’6” touch, and libero Abbie Rees. Both are off the Team Z squad that won the 17 National Open title in Minneapolis last July. Adams can terminate volleys with flair, and sometimes hits straight down inside the 10-foot line. She is third on PrepVolleyball.com’s just released list of Senior Aces. Rees passes with pinpoint precision while throwing her body hard to the floor at whatever angle necessary for a dig. With 17 other club seasoned varsity players, the Cougars would be quite formidable without those two. Mother of Mercy, meanwhile, repeated as champions of their Fall Classic last weekend, after allowing a stingy 55 points in four games against fourth ranked Solon and eighth ranked McAuley. The rugged field also included number twelve Magnificat, Toledo Central Catholic and Vandalia-Butler, as well as some northern Kentucky powers. Mercy is led by University of Cincinnati recruit Missy Harpenau. The 6’0” outside hitter was also a member of the Team Z national champion squad, and was named tournament MVP. With everyone except setting sensation Samantha Viox back from last year’s team that finished state runner-up to Mt. Notre Dame, the Bobcats are also deep in talent and experience. Even at setter! When Viox received her diploma and headed for Western Michigan, Coach Denise Harvey had a big problem – whom to replace her with from three outstanding candidates. Harvey settled on Michelle James, and if you didn’t know better you’d never guess Viox was gone. James was the Bobcat’s libero last season, and will set for Niagara next fall. Based on the scores - Mercy beat Solon 25-14, 25-14 in the semifinal, and McAuley 25-14, 25-13 in the final - it may look as if the Bobcats had an easy time of it. But looks are deceiving, and both matches saw long intense volleys with hard hitting and stellar defense on by all parties. The big margins reflect Mercy’s extreme depth. They are very difficult to score on, their attack is unrelenting, and they overwhelm you by winning most volleys. Toledo Central Catholic, which moved to Division II this year, has to be the strongest unranked team in the state, if not the nation. The senior laden Irish are led by 6’2” terminator Ashley Frazier and libero Amanda Gray, with loads of other talent to boot. On September 15 they captured their own Irish Invitational, and last week they took a five game barnburner on the road over Toledo City League power Notre Dame Academy. Central finished third at Mercy, battling McAuley even at times and knocking off Solon. The Irish are on my short list of teams to beat come state tourney time. Mercy repeats as Fall Classic champs Host Mother of Mercy won the Fall Classic for the second straight year with wins over Solon and McAuley. In so doing they avenged a loss to McAuley in the 2005 Fall Classic final. Mercy was off to the races with leads of 4-0 and 13-5 in game one of their semifinal with Solon. Harpenau terminated three volleys, and outsides Steph Vorherr, Kelly O’Conner and Emily Cosker contributed. Rallying against Mercy is tough. After senior Colleen Meyers put the Bobcats up 21-10, Solon middle Kayla Jeter, a University of Tennessee recruit, scored three kills that against most teams might have started something. But Cosker parried with three of her own, one off a great backset from James, and Mercy forced a sideout every time. Solon stayed with Mercy briefly in game two. Comet junior setter/outside Jessica Mueller scored a kill to put the Comets within a point at 4-3. But the Bobcats soon went up 7-4, 14-6 and 21-10, with James serving one run. McAuley had a little more success with Mercy, at least for a while in game one. Their first point came on a dig by Hannah Vanarsdall, and kills by 6’2” middle Rachel Krabacher tied the score at 2 and 4. McAuley actually moved on top 7-5 after a tip by Krabacher. But two kills by Vorherr tied it at seven, and after Meyers spiked an overpass to retie at eight, McAuley followed with two errors. The Mohawks closed to 13-12 on a kill by junior Kathryn Roedig and a termination from Krabacher. A kill by Harpenau and an ace from Kayla McWilliams made it 15-12 and was followed by another point from Krabacher. At that point the Bobcats slammed the door shut. Harpenau spiked a point down the right, and teamed with Meyers to block Krabacher. James served up two aces, and added another, following a Mohawk substitution. Harpenau scored two more kills and a block. Cosker drilled a point to make it 24-13. And after a spike by Krabacher was dug into the ceiling, Meyers delivered the game winner. Mercy charged out 12-3 in game two, making it a 22-4 run overall. Many points did not come easy as the Mohawks’ defense forced some long volleys. Setter Michelle Clifford made a one handed reflex dig off the ceiling, and Vanarsdall dug several balls to keep plays alive. McAuley went on a 5-1 run on points by Krabacher, Krista Garbon, Clifford and an ace from Vanarsdall. But Mercy scored four straight, and after two more kills by Krabacher, finished it with an 8-3 run. Toledo Central Catholic rallies to beat Solon for third Toledo Central Catholic fought off a Solon rally in game one, almost rallied in game two and overcame a 16-10 Comet tiebreaker lead with a 15-2 run to capture third place with a hard fought 25-22, 26-28, 25-18 victory. Central took a big early lead in game one and was still ahead 22-14, when the Comets staged a 7-1 rally started by 5’11” University of Tennessee bound middle Kayla Jeter. When she rotated to backcourt, 6’1” junior Kelsey Kuehner and 6’2” Miami University basketball recruit Erin Wisner continued the barrage. Irish outside Amanda Arnold spiked a kill that put Central up 24-21. But Wisner then blocked 6’2” outside Ashley Frazier, thus ending an intense volley on which Toledo setter Kelsey Gerken and libero Amanda Gray had made big saves, and thus creating considerable tension what with the momentum in Solon's favor. But Arnold ended the threat with a cross court blast that was dug out of bounds. Game two was tied several times up to 13, when Jeter started another rally with a nicely placed tip. She then served up five points that included two aces and a cross court termination by junior outside Kaitlynn Zoller. Central rallied to even it at 21 behind spiking and blocking by Arnold and Kirsti Helldobler. The Comets scored two on a pop hit by 6’1” junior Kelsey Kuehner and a block from Wisner and junior Jessica Mueller. The teams traded points and Central retied it on cross court cruncher by Frazier followed by a Comet hitting error. Jeter and Frazier traded kills and blocks up to 26. But a serving error gave the edge back to Solon and Zoller put the game away with a spike that was dug over the net but out. In game three, Solon built a 12-8 margin, as Jeter and Wisner combined for six points. The Comets increased it to 16-10 behind two nicely placed hits by Jeter, one an off set that she recovered perfectly into an empty spot. But things quickly unraveled for the Comets, as Frazier blocked Jeter and then served up an ace. On the next volley, a spike by Solon outside Amanda Turk appeared to land just in front of Gray’s outstretched arm, but the referee ruled Gray had pancaked it and play continued with Irish junior outside Ashley Sujkowski finally scoring on a cross court shot. (Gray said afterward she did pancake the ball, and demonstrated where it hit her hand.) Solon’s next hit was long and when a Helldobler spike was blocked out, the Comets called time out. But that didn’t help. Frazier’s next serve skipped over the net on a line drive and was touched out, Sujkowski tipped an overpass from a serve for a point, and another serve was dug out. Jeter finally stanched the run with a tip, and the teams exchanged points. A kill by Arnold put Central up 20-18 and sent Gray on the line. Her first two serves were dug into the ceiling and out of bounds, respectively. On the next volley, Gray dug a blast by Jeter and Arnold landed a blast of her own. Gray served up two more aces to end it. In the semifinal, Central gave McAuley all they wanted until finally running out of steam in the tiebreaker. And but for a rash of mistakes late in game one they might have beaten the Mohawks, who prevailed 25-19, 22-25, 25-19. Toledo was up 14-11 in game one after blocks by Amber Wiczynski, Helldobler and Frazier. McAuley moved on top 16-14, but Helldobler, Gerken and Arnold teamed up on some more blocks for an 18-17 lead. Krabacher scored a blast from back court and then Central’s troubles began. The Irish made a hitting error and Roedig scored a kill. A Central player touched the net, and serve receive problems resulted in two aces by Clifford. A highly contested volley on which Vanarsdall made a spectacular one handed dig at the net ended with an Irish hit into the net. That put McCauley on the cusp 24-18. Arnold finally stopped the run with a kill, but Vanarsdall ended the game with a kill of her own. Frazier scored three towering spikes, one a blast off Krabacher, to lead the Irish to a 5-2 edge in game two, and they stayed in front for half the game. With the score tied at 16 Helldobler and Arnold blocked for two Irish scores, but McAuley rallied 6-1 to go up 22-19. A net serve ended that and Central seized the opportunity. Arnold placed a two handed shot into an empty right back court, sophomore Julia Haupricht killed a short set from Gerken and Chrissy Ankenbrandt served an ace. The Mohawks called time, but to no avail as Haupricht and Arnold teamed up on a block. With Central up 24-22, Krabacher cremated a spike from back court, but was called for back row attack. Game three was close early, with two kills by Sujkowski tying the score at six. Then Mohawk sophomore Lindsay Criswell started a 9-3 McAuley run led by Krabacher who scored three kills and a block. After two points by Central, the Mohawks moved up 22-13. The Irish mounted a furious rally, with Sujkowski scoring a kill, Helldobler a block, those two teaming on a block, and Frazier burying a kill from back court after a great save by Gray. But errors doomed the rally. First a Central player was in the net, and after Helldobler scored a kill, an over the net reach ended an intense volley and put McAuley at match point 24-18. Central scored once more on a dig, and Vanarsdall pounded a spike that was tipped out for matchpoint. Mt. Notre Dame downs host Walsh Jesuit, Magnificat in tri-match (Sep. 15) Mt. Notre Dame downed Walsh Jesuit in the first match 25-17, 25-12. Warrior hitters Anne Dorff and Allison Foschia scored two of the first three points. But Mt. Notre Dame quickly took the lead for good as Adams and Marisa Otto spiked two points and defensive specialist Jackie Schnicke served an ace. The Warriors stayed close for a good while. Mt. Motre Dame went up by five on a kill down the line by Laura Eling and two more aces by Schnicke. Walsh cut the lead to 15-13 on kills by Foschia and Kalie Marshall. Then the Warriors were undone by seven errors, three at the service line, and the Cougars pulled away. Taking no prisoners in game two, Mt. Notre Dame ran off five points on two terminations by Adams and three aces from Kylee Tarantino. A spike by outside Sharon Strizak upped the margin to 12-3. Later sophomore Lauren Deutch demolished a Rachel Rohlfs to make it 21-10 and Otto, also a sophomore, followed with two more kills. Rohlfs ended the match with a split second dump into an empty spot. Mt. Notre Dame carried their rampage over into the next match, they won 25-11, 25-21. It began with Adams scoring on a line drive cross court shot and blocking for a point in the middle. Eling followed with a kill as the Cougars went up 4-1. Magnificat outside Kristen Kidd scored a kill, but Adams came up with another block and, after an ace by Schnicke, another termination. A kill by Otto made it 11-3 and an ace by Rees upped it to 17-7. Otto scored point 24 and Strizak spiked game point off a set by junior Kelly Morrissey. Magnificat came back strong in game two and took a 5-4 lead on two kills by middle hitter Michelle Matia. The Cougars moved ahead on a kill by Deutch and a block from Leah Pelzel. The teams traded a couple and Rohlfs scored another dump for 10-8 lead. Magnificat tied at 11 on a kill by junior opposite Kara Stilphen. Mt. Notre Dame went up for good on the next volley when Tarantino pancaked a Blue Streak smash, and Adams scored on a kill off the block. Rohlfs stuff blocked for a point in the middle. Matia blocked junior Jen Meyer on the next volley, but Meyer came right back with a kill down the left, and after a kill by Deutch and a block by Eling the Cougars were on top 17-13. The Blue Streaks stayed close, but Adams held them at bay with four missiles, and Meyer ended an intense volley with a match point kill. Magnificat won a hard fought 25-23, 20-25, 25-17 battle over Walsh Jesuit in the day’s final match. The Blue Streaks scored four straight and broke from a 4-4 game one tie on a kill by Matia, a dump by Kristen Dubroy and an ace from Matia. But Marshall closed the gap to 9-8 with a kill and an ace. Magnificat scored four more as Meghan Curran served up an ace, DuBroy dug a dump attempt by Djukic and sophomore outside Michelle Chakirelis followed by creaming an overpass. Kidd added a kill. Trailing 14-9, Walsh setter Annie Djukic scored on a dump, thereby igniting a rally. Dorff blocked Matia, Djukic served up two aces and Foschia blocked to tie it up. The teams traded points to 17-all. At that point Chakirelis put Magnificat up for good with a cross court kill, and after a Walsh hitting error, she and Stilphen blocked Marshall. After more point trading left Magnificat up 22-20, Kidd mashed a spike that was blocked way out and Matia blocked for point 24. Not finished, Walsh rallied for three with Foschia drilling a Djukic short set and Zawalski serving two aces. An unfortunate long hit ended the game. Magnificat took a 4-1 lead in game two, thanks to three errors by the home team, but after that it was all Walsh Jesuit. The Warriors scored 13 of the next 14 with Zawalski serving six and Dorff four, respectively, and Foschia, Dorff and Marshall blocking for points. The Blue Streaks rallied to 14-10 as DuBroy contributed dump an ace, but the closest they got was 23-20. Zawalski smoked a spike to deep back down the left, and an errant hit by the Blue Streaks ended their hopes for a rally. Magnificat served tough and took Walsh out of their game in the tiebreaker and led all the way. Stilphen led with four kills and three blocks, Matia added three blocks, and Cichocki added four kills, the last for match point.
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