(This story has been updated to include comments from Norton’s athletic director.)
The Norton High School girls volleyball season ended abruptly on Oct. 20 when the Panthers forfeited an OHSAA tournament match because they had played too many regular-season matches.
The OHSAA rules allow high school girls volleyball teams to play 22 regular-season matches. Norton played 23 regular-season matches, posting a 20-3 record.
Norton was the No. 2 seed in the Division IV Northeast District behind Marlington. The Dukes defeated the Panthers in five sets Oct. 11 in what turned out to be the 23rd regular-season match.
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Norton added victory No. 21 in three sets over Conneaut in a Division IV, Northeast 5 sectional final on Oct. 16 and was to meet Northwest in a district semifinal Oct. 20.
Norton Athletic Director Travis Dobbins spoke with the Akron Beacon Journal on Tuesday, Oct. 21. He said the OHSAA contacted him about Norton’s schedule on Oct. 20.
“What happened is we played a tri-match against GlenOak and Louisville [on Sept. 13],” Dobbins told the Beacon Journal. “Coach interpreted it under the old rules that it counted as one match, not two. Under the new rules, if you play an opposing school it counts as a match. On my schedule that I have here at the school, I had GlenOak, but I didn’t have Louisville on my schedule for that date. That is what tripped us up.
“… In the Ohio High School [Athletic Association] rules, it says 22 matches or on 22 play dates. She interpreted it that since we were playing Louisville and GlenOak on that same date that it only counted as one match. It is tough for the girls at the end of the day. The girls are the ones that are punished, which is horrible. It is horrible that the girls are being punished. It is tough for everybody. It is tough for the coaches. It is tough for the athletic office. It is tough for the girls. It is tough for the community. It is very unfortunate.”
Dobbins and Panthers volleyball coach Leslie Flohr shared the news with the Norton volleyball community by posting a letter on Facebook on Oct. 20.
“After a recent review of our season schedule, it was brought to our attention that our team exceeded the maximum number of games permitted by the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA),” Dobbins and Flohr wrote in the letter.
“According to OHSAA regulations, teams are allowed to participate in no more than twenty-two contests during the regular season. Unfortunately, our volleyball team participated in twenty-three games.
“This was an unintentional oversight. However, in accordance with OHSAA guidelines, we are required to forfeit this evening’s match against Northwest Local Schools and are therefore removed from the tournament moving forward.”
A year ago, Norton went 21-4 and reached the Division IV regional semifinals.
This season, Norton went 14-0 in the Metro Athletic Conference and 6-3 in nonconference play.
Norton’s lineup featured just one senior, setter Helena Garofalo.
The Panthers’ future looks bright with a regular rotation that included five juniors (setter Lily Flohr, middle hitters Alivia Goff and Jenna Ford, outside hitter Ava Bethel, libero Haley Sanderson) and five sophomores (outside hitters Natalie Martell, Khloe Kline and Hayden Ford, defensive specialist Brooklyn Bowman and setter Ashlyn Pfeiffer).
“We fully understand how disappointing this news is for our athletes, families, and supporters who have invested so much time, energy, and enthusiasm throughout the season,” Dobbins and Flohr wrote in the letter.
“Our student-athletes have consistently demonstrated exceptional commitment, sportsmanship, and teamwork, and we could not be more proud of their accomplishments and growth. As an Athletic Department and coaching staff, we take full responsibility for this scheduling error. We are working closely with OHSAA to review our scheduling processes and implement measures to ensure that such an issue does not occur again in the future.”
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Regular-season scheduling mistake forces Norton out of OHSAA girls volleyball tournament
Reporting by Michael Beaven, Akron Beacon Journal / Akron Beacon Journal
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