The Archbishop Hoban girls volleyball team is headed to the OHSAA state tournament for a 10th time.
Hoban (22-5) punched its ticked to a state semifinal by defeating Toledo St. Ursula Academy in three sets in the Division III, Region 10 final at Norwalk High School on Nov. 1.
Hoban won by scores of 26-24, 25-20 and 25-12 to eliminate St. Ursula (12-13), and advance to meet Tipp City Tippecanoe (27-0) in a state semifinal at 11 a.m. Nov. 7 at Wittenberg University’s Pam Evans Smith Arena.
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“The girls played well,” Hoban coach Jim Maloof said. “They started off a little bit slow, and once they started picking up momentum, they just kept getting stronger and stronger. You can see it in the scores as well. Every set we got a little bit stronger, and once we hit rhythm we were playing well and basically took control of the match.”
Senior Samantha Dehrmann had 11 kills and three service aces for Hoban, the No. 1-ranked team in the final Division III state coaches poll.
Senior twins Madison and Macie Mintz delivered again for Hoban, with Madison recording 31 assists and Macie contributing 17 digs. Sophomore Hope Sherman had four blocks.
“Everybody played well,” Maloof said. “On the outside, I had Sam Dehrmann and Kathleen Jones. In the middle, I had Elle [Ellesyn Ketcham] and Hope. On the right side, I had Daniella Coffman. Our libero is Macie and the setter is Madison. I had Tess Reeves going back row for Jones, Kalie Watson going back row for Coffman and Madeline Olack came into serve.”
No. 8 Tippecanoe beat No. 3 Cincinnati Ursuline Academy (19-8) 25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 25-15 on Nov. 1.
Hoban’s last three trips to the state tournament ended with Division II state championship trophies coming back to Akron in 1990, 1991 and 1992. The Knights were also Class AA state champions in 1980, Class AA state runners-up in 1987 and 1988 and Class AA state semifinalists in 1979, 1982 and 1984.
Wadsworth (24-2) finished as the Division II, Region 6 runner-up, falling to Avon (25-1) in five sets in a matchup of state-ranked teams at Streetsboro High School.
No. 3 Avon won the first set 25-14, the third set 25-22 and the fifth set 15-11. No. 4 Wadsworth won the second set 25-22 and the fourth set 25-23.
Each teams was a state semifinalist last year.
Senior Rowan Kelly, an Ohio University recruit, paced Wadsworth with 42 assists, 11 digs, eight kills and three blocks.
“I am definitely proud of everything we accomplished,” Kelly said. “I think we grew as a team throughout the season for sure. It sucks that it had to end like that, but also we can’t be mad about it.”
Wadsworth senior Lauren Decker, a Robert Morris recruit, finished with 31 kills and 11 digs.
“I am grateful for everyone on our team,” Decker said. “It is hard. It is a tough loss. It was a good game. I am just overall grateful for everybody. … I am proud of how everybody played.”
Wadsworth senior Lilly McComas totaled four kills, four blocks and two aces, sophomore Eliana Wolf contributed 16 digs and senior Emily Snyder added 15 digs.
“Rowan and Lauren are two of my best friends,” McComas said. “We have been playing since we were 14 years old together, club through school. Rowan coming to Wadsworth [as a sophomore after transferring from St. Vincent-St. Mary] is definitely my favorite memory. It made volleyball more fun. I am not continuing to play volleyball in college, but I am really excited to see what they do.”
Senior Lily Hamilton, an Ashland University recruit, led Avon with 30 assists, 20 kills, 16 digs and three service aces. Senior Londyn Stone, a Duquesne recruit, totaled with 21 kills, 16 digs, four assists and an ace.
Senior Bethany Sherwood, a Johns Hopkins recruit, contributed 17 kills and four blocks. Senior Kaitlyn Pojman had 25 assists and six assists. Sophomore Ally Brediger had 34 digs and four assists. Senior Caroline Busold added four aces.
“I was really excited to play this team,” Avon coach Kara Coffman said. “I knew this was going to be a good matchup. I was excited to scout them, prepare for them and execute our gameplan.”
Wadsworth gave points away in the final set as several serves crashed into the net.
“We played our hearts out,” McComas said. “We fell short with a little bit of errors that caught up to us a little bit.
“They were not working for the points. We were giving them points. … Avon is a great team and I think they are going to do well in the Final Four.”
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hoban advances to OHSAA volleyball state semifinal; Wadsworth is a regional runner-up
Reporting by Michael Beaven, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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