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Shelby in control of own NOL destiny after win over Tiffin Columbian

September 19, 2008

By Jim Jicha

The last time Shelby won a Northern Ohio League crown was in 1994, a year after Head Coach Brandie Albert graduated. It’s been several years since the Whippets seriously challenged for the title, but last Thursday they handed visiting Tiffin Columbian its first league loss to join the Tornadoes atop the NOL at 7-1.

The 25-19, 25-23, 25-23 victory avenged an earlier 25-23, 16-25, 25-23, 18-25, 15-7 loss at Columbian, and now the Whippets control their own destiny. “We have to do our job from here on out. It’s on us now. If we do our job we can be NOL champs” was how Albert put it.

Of course, they might have to settle for co-champs if Columbian also does its job. And 6-2 defending perennial NOL champ Norwalk is still very much alive in the race, and they will get one more shot at both teams.

With a talented group returning, led by four seniors, Shelby figured to contend this year. But the addition of freshman outside hitter Devin Hummel, who leads in scoring, has accelerated their upswing. “She’s outstanding”, Albert said, adding “and she has never once played like a freshman”.

Columbian, which advanced to the Ontario Regional in 2006, has been on the rise too, literally, with six juniors, including 6’1” setter/middle hitters Jill Stein and Lexi Rohrbach.

Shelby led all the way in game one, starting off with junior setter/outside Kelsey Dudics scoring on a cross-court kill, and Hummel pounding a shot that was blocked over but out. And after sophomore Tornado right side Maya Brown spiked a too-hot-to-handle shot, 5’11” Shelby senior middle Mallory Nadolsky terminated a spike, sending Dudics to the line.

The Whippets then added four more points including an ace, a Nadolsky block on Stein and another kill from Hummel.

Stein broke the string with a tip and junior outside Kylie Simonds served an ace, but Hummel drove a kill from the middle through taller blockers and, after two aces by Nadolsky and a block from 6’0” junior Rachael Roth, Shelby was up 11-3.

Scoring went back and forth from there, with nobody getting more than two at a time until Columbian, with a block from Simonds and an ace by senior outside Katie Magers, scored three to narrow the lead to 22-17. But Whippet right side/setter Karli Hartings scored on a spike that was blocked over and just barely out, and the teams traded errors from there.

The second set started off better for Columbian, as Simonds blocked for a point and Shelby hit into the net. The Whippets tied it, but two blasts by Stein put Columbian back on top 5-3.

But Hummel hit past the blocker for a point, and then served four more including an ace, and Shelby went atop for good. A kill by Whippet senior outside/defensive specialist, after Columbian libero Rachel Reamer had saved a previous blast, gave Shelby an 11-6 lead.

Columbian started a possible comeback when senior right side Kayla Little demolished a spike into an empty left back, and Stein then placed a first-touch two hander from right middle into Shelby’s back left. And on the next volley a Columbian block looked like it landed just inside the line at the net, but the line judge ruled it out to loud protests from Tiffin fans. Columbian questioned the call to no avail, and Harding followed with a well-placed hit that was not returned as Shelby moved ahead 15-8.

One play later, Whippet libero Courtney Ebersole scored on a great save of a ball that was dug backwards twice. Racing almost to the right back wall she delivered a high arching dig that just avoided a ceiling beam and was misjudged by the defenders.

A serving error was then followed by another controversy. After Stein blocked a tip, the umpire stopped play and conversed with the referee who then called both coaches over, much to the consternation of the Tiffin crowd. It turned out that Shelby had called for a substitution, which the umpire had approved, and the play should not have started. Hence, no point was awarded.

Columbian scored on the next volley when Shelby hit into the net after Stein and Simonds rejected previous spikes. But Nadolsky stopped ideas of a rally with a heads up play at the net, and the score advanced from there to 20-13.

At that point, the Tornadoes ran off four, helped by two kills from Little. But Shelby retorted with three on a kill by Harding, a dump from junior right side/setter Katie Alt and a block by Roth, ending an intense volley that had been prolonged by a diving save at the net from Harding.

Columbian made another move when Magers tipped into a hole, and followed with strong serving that kept Shelby out of their system and into miscues. Simonds contributed with a kill.

Roth broke the run with a kill, and Simonds kept Columbian alive with a cross-court smash. But Harding ended the next highly contested volley, and the game, with a spike off the block into a hole.

Simonds and Hummel traded kills to begin game three, and an exchange of errors left Shelby on top 3-2. But after Stein tied with a tip, Reamer dug a Hummel spike over the net for a point, and Columbian stayed a pace in front until near the end.

Magers broke a 5-all deadlock with a smash that was dug under the net, and served three points. Shortly after, Rohrbach blocked a block and tipped to give Columbian its biggest lead at 12-7.

Hummel terminated a cross-court spike and Dudics served an ace for Shelby, but sophomore right side Maya Brown interrupted with a blast off the block. However, Shelby, led by Hummel and Roth, repeated the 2-1 mini-run scoring three more times, with a kill by Rohrbach keeping Columbian on top at 16-15.

The teams then traded points six straight times, as Brown pounded two clutch terminations to keep the Tornadoes a step ahead. And following a tip by Magers, Columbian still led 22-21.

But after Hummel spiked a well placed point from back court to force an eighth straight tie, Columbian hit into the net, and Harding spiked Shelby to match point with a left side kill off the block. Simonds kept her team alive with a shot into right corner, but a service error ended it.

The win, though big, had its downside as Whippet starting sophomore outside Alix Fidler went down with an injury at the start of the match.