The Elder Panthers faced a challenge Saturday in the Division I south regional finals. Although they swept the Sycamore Aviators, Elder's victory didn’t come as easily as their semifinal win over Fairfield.
“They’re competitors; they’re hungry. They’re a talented team,” Elder head coach Sean Tiernan said of Sycamore.
Sycamore grabbed the first two points of the match on a service error and an ace, but the Panthers responded to take an early 9-4 lead. The first set wasn’t easy for the top-ranked team in the state. Every time Elder looked to pull away, the Aviators would grab one point here or two points there to keep the set competitive.
More:Ohio boys volleyball: Top teams Badin and Elder lead charge for locals into tournaments
“I’m happy that our team was able to stay focused even when we went through some lulls,” Tiernan said.
The Panthers quickly regained composure, closing with a 14-5 run to take the first set 25-16.
Similar to the first set, Sycamore held the Panthers in check early in the second. The Aviators led early and trailed by one point when Elder took advantage of several Sycamore errors to open up a 17-7 lead. The Panthers ultimately took the set by a score of 25-16, matching their result from the first set.
The third set continued the trend set by the first two. Sycamore exhibited the most energy they had all night. Owen Walsh ignited his team and the crowd with a thunderous slam. The set was tied as late as 11-11, but Sycamore once again ran out of gas. Sensing their opponent’s fatigue, Elder rattled off five straight points to grab control of the set.
“When Sycamore came, giving us their best shot, we took a few punches and were able to bounce right back,” Tiernan said.
Facing yet another challenge, Sycamore wouldn’t be denied a competitive set. Although they never led, the Aviators turned a five-point deficit into three, then two. Their efforts ultimately fell short when a Walsh attacking error gave Elder a 25-21 set victory and a 3-0 win.
Elder, which has been ranked in the top three in the state rankings every week this season, rides a 23-game winning streak into their match with Dublin Jerome at 11:45 a.m., Saturday, June 4.
“There’s no gimmes. There’s no mulligans. This is it.” Tiernan said of the state tournament. “I think they are dialed in as to what we want to accomplish.”
Sycamore finishes their season with a record of 15-6.
Moeller returns to state tournament after thriller against St. Xavier
The Moeller Crusaders will look to defend their state title next weekend in Columbus.
In defeating the St. Xavier Bombers, the Crusaders are making their 18th trip to the state tournament since 1997. The berth didn’t come easy against a St. Xavier squad that had beaten Moeller twice during the regular season.
“You know there’s going to be memorable matches, and I think that’s the pride of our conference,” Crusaders head coach Lee Meyer said.
The Crusaders made their intentions known early as attacking and blocking efforts led to an 8-3 lead. Moeller had the Bombers scrambling in the first set with powerful swings that pinballed around the court. Hampered by less-than-ideal receptions, the Bombers never found an offensive rhythm as the Crusaders pulled away to win 25-14.
“Getting off to a quick start, a fast start, against a team like St. X doesn’t happen often,” Meyer said.
St. X was much more composed to begin the second set, holding a 9-7 lead. But the mistakes would return, leading to a 7-1 spurt that saw Moeller take the lead. Feeding off the energy of their fans and head coach Bill Ferris, the Bombers found their composure to tie the set at 18 and eventually take a slim lead.
The set concluded in true back-and-forth fashion, with ties at every point from 18 to 29. Neither team established a two-point margin until a Brandon Wong return evaded the St. X back line to give the Crusaders a 31-29 win. The victory was in part thanks to the Crusaders' "flush it and move forward mentality."
“In volleyball, you have to have a short-term memory. Play that point, celebrate the win, and then get back to that composure on the court,” Meyer said.
The Bombers' set-by-set improvement continued into the third set. A flurry of unforced errors by the Crusaders saw St. X take a 12-8 lead. But Moeller, as they are wont to do, came back to tie the set at 15. The Crusaders overcame multiple deficits of four points but couldn’t climb the final hill as St. X took the third set 25-21.
By the fourth set, the tides had fully turned. Multiple unforced Crusader errors and a vicious Bomber attack gave St. X a 14-6 lead and total control. The cheers from those in blue only grew louder as, in the blink of an eye, the lead expanded to 21-8. Once again, Moeller responded. In a valiant effort, the Crusaders put together an 8-3 run, if only to mask the dominant effort put forward by the Bombers en route to a 25-16 win.
“It’s tough when things get away from you, but you’ve got to find the right times as a coach to bring guys back in and reestablish that composure,” Meyer said.
If any of the previous sets provided a back-and-forth, the fifth was tug-of-war. Every point in the "race to 15" fifth set is crucial. St. X held multiple leads in the first half of the set. St. X’s Bentley Meyer dove onto the scorer’s table to rescue a wayward volley.
But Moeller recaptured their poise from the first two sets to take a 14-9 lead. With their backs against the wall, St. X refused to go quietly, closing to 14-13. Both sides bent, but neither broke until the Crusaders captured the regional title on a tipped ball that caromed over the end line.
While capturing their twenty-first 20-win season, Moeller advance to face Olentangy Liberty on Saturday, June 4 at 10 a.m. St. X ends their season with a record of 12-6.
Badin takes home regional title, looks to avenge last year’s state semifinal loss
One year after losing in the Division II state semifinal, the Badin Rams are headed back to Columbus. The top-ranked team in the state swept La Salle 25-20, 25-18, 25-21 on Saturday to capture the south regional title.
The Rams got out to a fast start, building leads of 6-1 and 14-5. Coming out firing, Badin looked the part of the top-ranked team in D-II
“We came out very strong in the beginning, and what we talked about at practice earlier today was staying in control of the net from beginning to end.” Badin head coach Anitra Brockman said.
La Salle shook off the early nerves, responding to close to within two points at 18-16. However, they couldn’t overcome the early deficit as Badin closed a 25-20 first set win.
La Salle kept the second set close but still trailed by a score of 13-8. With the deficit at a minimum, the Rams exhibited signs of fatigue from the late stages of the first set. But they regrouped to expand the lead to eight, sometimes nine points and were able to close out the set and take a 2-0 lead.
The start of the third set was a mix of the first two for Badin. They didn’t take a commanding lead at any point, instead opting to steadily build their cushion to a constant four to six-point margin. Looking to avoid the sweep, the Lancers used a 6-1 run to close the gap to one, forcing a Rams timeout. Aided by long rallies in which seemingly every ball bounced their way, the Rams emerged victorious with a 25-22 third set win, securing the sweep.
“It was tiring. We had a lot of shot rallies. All we had to do was stay focused at that point and make sure that we dud what we needed to do,” Badin player J.J. Egan said.
Perhaps the most telling stat for Badin was that they never trailed in the match.
“It gave us so much confidence. Of course, we’re always able to play from behind. If we keep rolling, we know that we’re getting kills all the time, it gives us so much confidence just to keep rolling.” Egan said.
After slowly ascending to the top of the state rankings, the Rams head to Columbus with a 24-2 record looking to finish last year’s unfinished business. They will face St. Francis DeSales at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday, June 4.
“Last season, we focused on the rankings. This season, coming in, we said we weren’t going to because we just didn’t want that pressure.” Brockman said.
La Salle ends its season with a record of 11-11.
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