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Cincinnati Ursuline dominates strong Northeast Ohio Power Volleyball tourney field

October 1, 2008

By Jim Jicha

If the results of last weekend’s Northeast Ohio Power Volleyball Tournament mean anything, it’s that the southwest still rules Division I. Cincinnati Ursuline finished 9-0 in games to win out over a field that included five ranked teams (six if you count Walsh Jesuit which debuted at 19^th in this week’s poll). 

The top ranked Lions’ closest call was a 25-22 decision over a youthful Lakota West squad that also hails from the Cincinnati area, and they yielded a miserly 39 total points in four games against Solon and Magnificat.
Ursuline’s dominance was apparent in its 25-14, 25-20, 25-14 championship win over Walsh Jesuit on Sunday. The 12-6 Warriors advanced with impressive wins over Bowling Green which had just handed Sylvania Southview its first loss, unbeaten and ninth ranked Mentor, and 18th ranked Toledo Notre Dame Academy. But they had no answer to a lineup that would be an all-Ohio team if its players were dispersed around the state. 

Junior setter Dani Reinert was named tourney MVP. But as good as she played, the MVP could have just as easily been senior middle blocker Katie Schings, sophomore middle blocker Christina Beer, junior outside Jade Henderson or sophomore outside Jamie Goldschmidt – or even libero Kori Moster whose passing was crisp to the point of being unnoticeable. 

Head Coach Jeni Case summed it up perfectly when she said “There’s probably somebody different every match that could be MVP. That’s why we’re so hard to beat”.
Ursuline opened up game one with a kill by Beer. Junior 6’1” hitting sensation Allison Foschia found a hole to tie it, and a Lion hitting error gave Walsh the lead. Foschia pounded two more kills to keep Walsh Jesuit on top 4-3.
The Lions tied for the fourth time on a slide smash by Schings, who then served up four points including an ace, while Beer pounded a line drive to back middle.
Foschia finally scored again, this time from backcourt, and senior outside Ariel Pund added a point, but three Warrior miscues put Ursuline up 11-6. And following a kill by Warrior senior outside Kalie Marshall, the Lions roared away on an eight point run served by defensive specialist Anna Prickel. Beer contributed a kill and block, Henderson and outside hitter Holly Gottschall added kills and Moster prevented Warrior spikes from inflicting damage.
The Lions coasted home from there, with Goldschmidt tipping an overpass to end an intense volley and the game. Both sides fought hard for the final point - Goldschmidt, Moster and Warrior senior outside Claire Lysaght made saving digs, while Lysaght and 6’1” Warrior junior outside Katie Meyer rejected Lion missives at the net. 

Henderson led off game two with a tip for Ursuline and Foschia tied it again, with Pund serving an ace to put Walsh Jesuit up 2-1. 

The Lions retied when Henderson and Beer teamed up on a block, and Henderson followed with another block and a termination for a 4-2 lead. Foschia and Henderson traded kills, and Meyer scored a kill and block to keep Walsh within a point. 

But Schings followed with a kill and ace to up the margin to three, and the Lions moved out 12-6 on a dump and ace by junior setter Reinert, a quick hit from Beer and a pop to the left line from Goldschmidt. 

After Ursuline opened its biggest margin at 16-9, Walsh, led by Meyer and Pund, narrowed the gap to 20-17 on a dump from setter Annie Djukic that ended a long volley. 

A quick hit by Beer and two aces from Reinert gave the Lions more breathing room. This proved fortuitous because, after a Lion net serve, Marshall served up an ace, and Foschia smashed a cross court point after a save from teammate defensive specialist Jackie Endre. This again cut the lead to three. 

But Reinert dispelled any notions of a comeback with a dump and a long Warrior hit ended the game. 

Walsh scored first in game three which was tied five times to 5-all, with Schings and Meyer spiking two points each. But after a Warrior net serve, Goldschmidt tipped an overpass from Reinert’s serve, and Reinert added an ace to pace a four-point run. 

Kills by Foschia and Pund narrowed the gap to 9-7, but Gottschall tipped from an empty net created by a fake from Beer, and Henderson blocked an attempted dump. The Warriors stayed close until, with the score 15-12, Goldschmidt kept a volley alive by racing out of bounds for a save and then ended it with a kill down the left. This sparked a big run kept alive by Schings who dug several Warrior smashes and also served, while Goldschmidt and Beer contributed three kills apiece. That made it 22-12, and a few volleys later Beer pounded a kill down the middle that was dug way back and the match was over. 

In a potential preview of the Norwalk regional, Magnificat nipped Toledo Notre Dame Academy for third 23-25, 25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 15-10. The match featured great defense, led by liberos Mary Lambert of Magnificat, and Paige Daney for the Eagles, that resulted in long and entertaining volleys. 

Senior Magnificat opposite Kara Stilphen ended game two, after Notre Dame had crept within two thanks to a save by defensive specialist Megan Garris, by spiking point 24 and then block killing on the outside. 

Notre Dame jumped to a 7-2 lead in game three, and a slide kill by senior middle blocker Elisa Duran left them atop 11-7. But Magnificat rallied, and was up 17-14 after a block from junior middle Michelle Chakirelis. From there the teams traded points, with the Eagles led by senior outside Jessica Batanian and Duran, and sophomore middle Brittney Balser pounding two points for the Blue Streaks. 

Duran, however, then blocked Balser and demolished an overpass of Batanian’s serve as the Eagles tied at 21-all. But Blue Streak junior outside Danielle McQuade came up with a clutch kill and after an Eagle error she blocked to put her team at match point. 

Notre Dame wasn’t through as junior outside Paige Roback spiked and tipped for two, before McQuade crushed the winning spike right at a defender who could not avoid double dig. 

The Eagles went up 8-2 in game four after a kill by Duran, and this time they kept their edge, leading 19-13 after a block from senior middle Mary Delaney and a kill by Batanian. Magnificat closed a bit but Duran kept pace with intervening kills. 

But after an Eagle net serve, Chakirelis ended an intense volley kept alive by digs from Garris and Magnificat setter Rachel Gulasey, and Gulasey followed with a block. That left the score 22-20. 

Roback nipped the rally with a cross-court shot and sophomore middle/right side Isolde Hannan came up with a big block. Gulasey kept Magnificat alive with a dump but a long serve sent the match into overtime. 

The Blue Streaks streaked out 4-0 on two aces by Gulasey and a well placed hit from Stilphen. Delaney got the Eagles on the board, and the score advanced to 6-3. 

Roback and Daney came up with some great digs on the next volley which finally ended when the ball hit a backboard resulting in a replay. Their efforts bore fruit as Magnificat followed with a net serve. The Eagles, unfortunately, repaid the favor with a hitting error and Blue Streak sophomore Brittany Flynn made it 8-4 with a blast into the back left. 

Roback countered with two kills as Notre Dame crept within 10-8, but Chakirelis terminated the next volley, and she and Stilphen teamed on a block following a one handed dig by Flynn. 

A block by Hannan ended another long volley extended by Garris’ defense, but Chakirelis tipped through blockers into a hole and Stilphen smoked a Gulasey back set to up the lead to 14-9. 

A spike by Batanian was blocked over but out for a reprieve. However, Chakirelis pounded a Gulasey short set into an empty back middle for the match winner. 

Mentor Lake Catholic downed host and cross-town rival Mentor in the match for fifth 25-20, 25-15, 27-25. The Cougars pulled ahead in game one 24-19 on two kills by senior outside hitter Julianne O’Donnell, and after a score by Mentor outside Rachael Ritt, sophomore setter Audry Lucha scored the game winner on a well placed hit that was dug into the net. 

Lake Catholic jumped out 7-0 in game two, led by the serving of defensive specialist Rachel Lyons and hitting of senior middle Amanda Sawicki. The Cougars increased their margin to 13-2 on a kill by junior middle Chelsea Regovich and two aces from setter Beth Dubois, and to 18-4 after a short set blast by sophomore outside Bridget Grdina. 

Mentor finally got untracked behind blocking by 6’0” senior middle Kristen Baker and got as close as 23-15 on a block from setter Jessica Herbert and a kill by senior outside Jenna Golic. But O’Donnell pounded a kill off the block and a Cardinal hitting error ended it. 

Game three was back and forth much of the way until the Cougars pulled ahead for good 20-16 on a 7-1 run. Mentor led 9-8 and Lake Catholic went on top 12-11. At that point, number 13 took over. First it was Mentor’s number 13,  6’3” middle blocker Alexa Rand, who pounded two Jessica Herbert short sets and blocked Sawicki. An ace by Samantha Muzic put the Cardinals in front 15-12. 

But then O’Donnell, who is also number 13, spiked two kills as Lake Catholic knotted the score. Rand tipped a short set into a hole in mid-court, but Lake defensive specialist Nicole Snyder dug Rand’s next attempt and a hitting error left the score even again. 

A couple of defensive gems by Cougar libero Ashley Herzberg led to two points as O’Donnell and junior outside Gina Catania spiked kills, putting Lake in front 20-16. Mentor promptly tied things again when Rand scored a tip and served an ace, Baker smoked a Herbert short set, and Herbert also contributed a diving dig and a block kill. 

But Lucha found pay dirt in the right corner and an exchange of errors left the Cougars in front 22-21. And when Regovich tipped a short set and Herzberg served an ace, the match seemed to be over. 

A Cougar lift, however, gave new life to Mentor as Baker blocked and tipped for another tie. Sawicki’s rally stopping termination was undone by a long Cougar serve. 

Now it was Grdina who pounded another go-ahead blast that was dug over the net but out of bounds, and when Mentor got into the net trying to defend against O’Donnell the match was over.

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Ursuline is currently 9-0 with a two game lead in the Greater Girls Cincinnati League. The Lions own three four-game wins over second ranked Mother of Mercy and number-three Mt. Notre Dame. They will host Mt. Notre Dame for their second match-up on October 7.

Only two other teams have won games from Ursuline this season. One was Kettering Fairmont, whom they beat 25-15, 17-25, 25-10 in a season opening tri-match. And just two days before the NEO Tourney, arch-rival 2-5 Cincinnati St. Ursula gave the Lions a 20-25, 21-25, 25-13, 25-10, 15-5 scare, proving once again that anything can happen in the Greater Girls Cincinnati League.

Walsh Jesuit has lost only once to an unranked opponent, Beaumont, with whom they split matches. Second ranked Division I Olmsted Falls (17-0) had to pull out all the stops to prevail 26-24, 23-25, 27-25 over the Warriors in a season opening tri-match. The Warriors’ other losses are to Toledo Central Catholic, Gilmour Academy, Toledo St. Ursula and Cincinnati Mt. Notre Dame.

Not too much was said about Lake Catholic when I was interviewing folks for the PrepVolleyball season preview, but they represent a huge threat in the northeast. After opening with a close loss to Holy Name, the Cougars nipped Padua Franciscan, and they later took Magnificat to five. They also beat Wooster and Bowling Green at the NEO.