Aidan Kolb doesn’t have to look very far to find the standard that has been set for the Hilliard Darby boys volleyball team. The banners in the gym tell the story.

The Panthers, who own 21 league championships, 16 regional titles and state crowns in 2013 and 2015 have gone through lean times over the last couple of years.

Brighter days may be ahead for the Panthers, who were 18-5 overall after a 25-19, 25-16, 25-20 win over 16^th-seeded Hilliard Bradley in the second round of the Division I, Region 3 tournament.

Darby, seeded second in the region, tied Dublin Jerome and Olentangy Berlin for the OCC-Cardinal Division championship at 12-2, its first league title since 2019, which was the last of 20 consecutive.

“We’re expected to win and succeed,” said Kolb, a junior libero, who has been a staple in the Panthers’ lineup along with junior setter Mason Heit since they were freshmen. “It puts a lot of pressure on us to keep the tradition going.”

The Panthers host 12^th-seeded Kettering Fairmont on May 13.

“After (the COVID-19 pandemic), we were in rebuild (mode) for a couple of years,” coach Evan Bell said. “Now, we’re starting to prosper. (Kolb and Heit) have witnessed some of the worst parts of Darby boys volleyball and thankfully, they’re still here to help us have some success.”

But a stretch of four losses in five matches midway through the season made it seem like the Panthers were still in dark days. Darby lost the last two of three matches at the Centerville Elite showcase on April 1 to Cincinnati St. Xavier (25-16, 25-23, 19-25, 21-25, 15-11) and Cincinnati Moeller (22-25, 16-25, 25-18, 25-17, 15-10). They defeated Big Walnut (25-15, 25-14, 25-17) in league play on April 4, but followed with losses to Berlin (19-25, 27-25, 25-23, 17-25, 15-9) in league play on April 6 and Beavercreek (19-25, 25-21, 26-24, 25-16) on April 7.

Beavercreek is the top seed Region 3 and Berlin is seeded fourth in Division I, Region 1, while St. Xavier is the top seed and Moeller is seeded second in Division I, Region 4.

“After the Beavercreek loss, I think I got a little bit of PTSD from the first two years,” said Heit, who led the team with 692 assists and 29 aces and also has 101 digs, 29 kills and 29 blocks through 22 matches. “That was our fourth loss in five (matches). I was like, ‘It’s all happening again. What am I going to do?’ I think our backs were against the wall. Knowing that we’d have to win out to win the OCC, (after that) we really just jelled.”

Darby won its next nine matches and ran off a streak of 25 consecutive sets.

The Panthers ended the regular season with a 28-26, 17-25, 15-10 win over Olentangy Liberty in the OCC Challenge on May 1. The Patriots are the top seeded team in Division I, Region 1 and if the two meet again, it’ll be in the state semifinal on May 27 at Wittenberg University. The state championship match is May 28.

“I think the sweep at Jerome (25-14, 25-21, 25-19 on April 20) was absolutely massive, Heit said. “That was a huge momentum shift for us. If we play the way we know how to play, we can beat anyone in the state.”