When the OHSAA volleyball playoffs began, 10 local teams entered the tournament. By last Thursday's Regional Semifinal matchups, only two local teams were left standing, and both remaining schools – Cardington-Lincoln and Highland – saw their seasons and tournament dreams come to an end in tough contests.
Prior to these last two matches, the OHSAA tournaments saw the following results for local schools:
Division Sectionals
Division 1
Licking Heights 3, Mount Vernon 1
Division 2
Highland 3, Marion Franklin 0
Division 3
Fredericktown 3, Utica 1
Northmor 3, Liberty Benton 1
Centerburg 3, Columbus Tree of Life 0
Fredericktown 3, Columbus School for Girls 0
Division 4
Fairfield Christian 3, East Knox 0
Ridgedale 3, Mount Gilead 0
Liberty Christian 3, Danville 1
Districts Semifinals
Division 2
Highland 3, Columbus Beechcroft 0
Division 3
Fairbanks 3, Fredericktown 0
Worthington Christian 3, Centerburg 2
Marion Pleasant 3, Northmor 2
Cardington-Lincoln 3, Bishop Ready 0
Division Finals
Division 2
Highland 3, London 0
Division 4
Cardington-Lincoln 3, Marion Pleasant 1
In the Regional Semifinals, Cardington-Lincoln met Versailles and Highland faced Hamilton Badin
Versailles 3, Cardington-Lincoln 0
The Division III Regional Semifinals took place Nov. 3 between the top two teams in the bracket, top-seeded Versailles (21-6, 6-3) and No. 2 seed Cardington-Lincoln (22-4, 12-0), and despite the marquis matchup it was a convincing three-set win for Versailles.
The Tigers won the first two sets in blowout fashion by scores of 25-13 and 25-16. While the Lady Pirates made it interesting in set three, the Tigers were able to take the set 25-21 and secure the sweep to move on to the Regional Finals.
The Pirates were led by their group of seniors, starting with Audrey Brininger, who was the top performer for the Pirates, putting up 11 kills in her last game in a Pirate uniform. She also had a block and seven digs. Setter Jadine Mills had 26 assists and five digs. Izzy Wickline had five kills, three blocks and six digs. Cadie Long had a strong night on defense with 14 digs. Payton Goodman also played well defensively with nine digs to go with her six kills and an ace. Madison Linkous had six kills and four digs, and Alexis Crone added three kills and a block.
It was a big season for Brininger, who was named the KMAC Player of the Year and first team KMAC. Her coach, Ryan Treese, was named Coach of the Year.
Long and Mills both made first team KMAC, and second teamers were Wickline and Linkous.
Versailles moved on to the finals and swept Summit Country Day (19-6), Nov. 5, by a score of three sets to zero.
Hamilton Badin 3, Highland 1
The No. 10-ranked Highland Lady Scots (23-4, 13-1) and the No. 2-ranked Hamilton Badin Rams (26-1, 9-1) went head-to-head in the Division II Regional Semifinals on Nov. 3 in a battle to reach the finals. While the Highland squad started off hot with a first-set victory, Hamilton Badin took the next three sets to win 3-1.
“What a fight it was,” Highland coach Rob Terrill said. “The girls gave everything they had.”
Highland found themselves down 3-1 in the first set but then tied things up at 3, and again at 16 and 17 before taking a 25-21 win. The Lady Scots had 12 kills by six different players in the set, as well as four aces and a block.
Set two was a see-saw battle between the two teams, and with the Rams taking a 7-5 lead, Highland was forced to take a timeout. The Rams led 16-13 and then had ties at 16, 17 and 21 before taking a timeout. The game tied up again at 23, but Hamilton Badin scored the last two points to seal the win, 25-23. Brooke Schott and Zoya Winkelfoos had four kills each for the Lady Scots.
The third set was a game of big runs. Highland held a 14-6 lead, but Hamilton Badin rallied back to tie the set at 17. The Rams took a 20-18 lead, but then the Lady Scots battled to lead 21-20. The game was tied at 21, 22 and 24, but the Rams scored two points on kills to take the set 26-24.
In the fourth set, the Lady Scots came out hungry with a 6-3 lead, but the Rams tied the game at 6 and held a three- to four-point lead most of the rest of the way. They also had commanding leads at 22-15 and 24-17, but the Lady Scots wouldn’t go down without a fight. With a 24-21 score, the Rams were forced to call a timeout before Hamilton Badin scored its final point for the win. Larsen Terrill and Winkelfoos each had four kills and the Lady Scot defense was solid all around with three blocks.
Leading the charge in the match was Winkelfoos with 14 kills, three aces and three blocks. Schott had 10 kills, four aces and five blocks. Terrill had 32 assists and seven kills. Kameron Stover posted five kills and three blocks. Alexis Eusey added four kills.
Terrill set the school record for assists, needing only six to hit the mark heading into the game, and she finished the season with 803 assists. She was also named First Team MOAC, along with Stover, and Terrill earned Co-Player of the Year honors in the Central District D2.
Highland's Schott and Winkelfoos were named to the second team and Eusey was an honorable mention.
The team thanked its five seniors, Eusey, Schott, Winkelfoos, Anya Taylor and Allison McCafferty, and looks to build on this success in 2023.
Hamilton Badin moved on to the finals and beat Roger Bacon (21-6), Nov. 6 by a 3-1 score.
