To the naysayer, Roger Bacon's 2021 season was just about wrapped up, thanks to the Bishop Hartley Hawks.
Bishop Hartley had forced a fifth set and had a 9-3 lead in the decider. Ten points later, the Spartans had taken a 13-9 lead and advanced to the Division II state finals, winning 25-19, 21-25, 25-17, 18-25, 15-12.
Just six points from their season finishing a day short of the final game, the Spartans started taking the breaks the Hawks gave them. After a Mariah Gaines kill cut the deficit to 9-4, Bishop Hartley had three attack errors and a block from Gaines and Ally Hughes to make the set 9-8. A kill by Hughes and another attack error put their eyes on server Kelsey Niesen.
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The sophomore served up three-straight service aces and the Spartans led 13-9, an advantage that wouldn't be squandered.
"I just had to remember to stay calm take a deep breath," Niesen said. "We've been there before. In all the drills we do at practice, we set the score to where we're losing. We work on staying calm and trusting each other."
Roger Bacon trusted each other right into the sixth state final in school history and first since the 2005 championship season. The last three times Roger Bacon reached the state final, the Spartans came home as champions.
The program's history is not lost on the athletes, even the ones not alive during the last run.
"Tradition. Tradition. Tradition," Roger Bacon head coach Alyssa Flading said. "All of these girls up here, their mothers went through the volleyball program at Roger Bacon High School. They know what it means. Their moms have been telling them at home. Their families have been telling them at home. They've been to my volleyball camps since they were in third grade. They've been around for a while. They know what this means.
"Roger Bacon High School is a family and this volleyball program is just that. They work hard. They trust each other and it goes back a long way. That's just bred in these girls. We're going to do it. We're going to get another one tomorrow."
Senior libero Cammy Niesen has been on Roger Bacon teams that fell short in each of her seasons on varsity. After a game-high 25 digs, she embraces her opportunity to play on the sport's last day.
"For the past three years, we made it to regional finals and lost every single year. Finally making it past that hump and making it to state in general is so exciting. Being able to come back from such a deficit like that and to win feels amazing."
The Spartans dropped two sets, but had reachable deficits the entire way. The Hawks won set two 25-21, winning by four points despite the Spartans having a negative attack percentage in the set. Roger Bacon trailed 22-14 in set four before cutting the lead to 22-18. Bishop Hartley then won the next three points from a timeout to force the deciding fifth set.
Hartley junior Ella Brandewie had 27 of the team's 52 kills. The Spartans ran a more balanced attack with four players reaching double digit kills.
"I have a lot of confidence in our hitters and that's what helps me do better when I can trust they will put the ball away at any time," Roger Bacon setter Sammi Hoffman, who had 46 assists, said. "It's always my hitters, it's never me."
The Division II state championship and opponent Gates Mills Gilmour Academy will be at the Wright State University Nutter Center for a 5 p.m. start.
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