Boys volleyball becomes OHSAA sanctioned sport
Monday, March 20, 2023
By Michael Rich
mrich@cbussports.com
Westerville North’s Jayden Henderson (20) sets a ball during the Warriors 25-14, 25-17, 25-23 loss at Olentangy Berlin on March 14. Photo: Michael Rich
Westerville North athletics director Wes Elifritz sat in the stands at Olentangy Berlin on March 14 like a proud papa. He was watching his boys volleyball team play its first match as a varsity sport.
The Warriors have existed as a program since 2004, but were considered a club team. That changed when the OHSAA announced boys volleyball and girls wrestling as emerging sports last January.
“What that means for our kids and our parents is that they no longer have to pay a club fee,” Elifritz said. “Some of these guys are playing for free because it’s their third sport. In Westerville, your third sport is free. So really, the biggest change was financial because we were already doing all we could to treat them like they were a school sport. Now, there’s that extra validation that goes with it because it’s official.”
The first season of boys volleyball began as the first year of girls wrestling was wrapping up with the inaugural state tournament on March 10 at the Ohio State’s Schottenstein Center.
The boys volleyball season will culminate with its first state tournament under the OHSAA umbrella on May 27 and 28 at Wittenberg University.
Olentangy Berlin coach Jim Cornett (center) gives instructions to his team during a timeout in the Bears’ 25-14, 25-17, 25-23 win in Delaware on March 14. Photo: Michael Rich
“The biggest impact is that it’s taken a lot of the burden off our parents,” said North coach Mark Posey. “Our parents had to pay for everything. So, there was a lot of fundraising. (Now we’re) able to have busses going both ways (before and after matches).
“We certainly have more kids this year, but I don’t know if we can attribute that to being a sanctioned sport. We had more kids last year than they had the year before. So, we’ve been seeing the program grow the last couple of years.”
The OHSAA anticipated as many as 53 programs in central Ohio, which had 37 last season. But not all of those came to fruition with 13 of the new programs listed not participating this season. But that doesn’t mean the sport isn’t growing.
“Our numbers have increased the last couple of years,” Berlin coach Jim Cornett said. “The teams that we’ve played so far have had really good numbers and I have noticed that we’ve scheduled more (junior varsity-B) matches. So, I think there are more programs adding a third team, which is good for the game.”
It’s been a long time coming for boys volleyball, which held state tournaments since 1988 under the Ohio High School Boys Volleyball Association, an organization that no longer exists after sanctioning. The slate has been wiped clean though. Past tournament champions and records aren’t recognized on the OHSAA website.
“At St. Charles, we’ve been a varsity sport since 1989,” said coach Ned Gruber, who also serves as president of the Ohio High School Boys Volleyball Coaches Association. “In 1990, we were state runner-up. It said in our school newspaper that boys volleyball hopes to be a sanctioned sport in the next two years. So, it’s been a long time coming.”
Some rule changes were enacted because all OHSAA sports are using directives provided by the National Foundation of State High School Associations (NFHS). The most noticeable is what happens on the bench.
Athletes used to be allowed to stand and cheer on their teammates. Now, they’re required to sit.
“That’s a little different,” Gruber said. “It changes the culture of the game a little bit. We’re actually petitioning the NFHS to see if they’ll change the rule. But it’s gotten voted down a couple of times in the last few years.”
There are still two divisions. It’s been that way since 2008. The Division I state tournament featured a quarterfinal round in the past, but will revert to just a semifinal and final to match the other OHSAA-sanctioned tournaments.
“We’re still going hard at it,” Berlin senior middle blocker Aditya Arora said. “We’re going to be competing D-I this year, so that changed for us. We get more (publicity after) sanctioning the sport. It’s a good step for men’s volleyball. We definitely don’t get as much notice as other sports do.”
Olentangy Berlin’s Josh Weida (4) hits a ball over the net during the Bears’ 25-14, 25-17, 25-23 win in Delaware on March 14. Photo: Michael Rich
There will be four regions in a qualifying tournament, similar to lacrosse. That means it’s possible only one central Ohio team could qualify for state, though the final regional breakdowns haven’t been released yet.
The OCC still has three divisions, though the alignment is different. The Cardinal features Dublin Jerome, Dublin Scioto, Hilliard Darby, Olentangy, Berlin and Thomas Worthington along with Big Walnut, the Central is Dublin Coffman, Hilliard Bradley, Hilliard Davidson, Olentangy Liberty, Olentangy Orange, Upper Arlington, Westerville Central and Westerville North and the Ohio is Delaware Hayes, Gahanna, New Albany, Newark, Pickerington Central, Pickerington North, Reynoldsburg and Westerville South.
The City League has nine programs with the addition of Centennial, Columbus South, Columbus West and Independence to go with Beechcroft, Briggs, Eastmoor Academy, Northland and Whetstone. But plans for a league schedule won’t begin until next season according to Briggs coach Herb Sharfenaker.
“We’re under (the OHSAA) – we have structure,” said Sharfenaker, who also coaches the Bruins girls volleyball program. “It’s all new and there are a lot more teams in the state. This game is growing big (and) it’s exciting to see more teams come in. When I started (as Briggs’ boys volleyball coach in 2018), I was lucky to have connections to get balls from other schools. Now, we treat it just like girls volleyball now.”