Jerome and Liberty win regional titles
Saturday, May 20, 2023
By Scott Hennen
shennen@cbussports.com
Olentangy Liberty libero Jack Sullenberger sets the ball for his teammates during the Patriots’ 3-1 regional title win against Mount Vernon May 20 at Upper Arlington. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Dublin Jerome and Olentangy Liberty are making return engagements to the Division I state boys volleyball tournament through different avenues.
Jerome outlasted OCC-Cardinal Division nemesis Hilliard Darby 25-15, 32-30, 25-16 in the Region 3 final in Centerville, while Liberty needed a wake-up call during a 23-25, 25-22, 25-14, 25-15 victory over Mount Vernon in the Region 1 championship at Upper Arlington.
The two Central Ohio powers will meet in a state semifinal at 1 p.m. May 27 at Wittenberg in the first OHSAA-sanctioned tournament for the sport. The state championship will be at 12 p.m. May 28 at the same site against Cincinnati Moeller or Hudson.
Third-seeded Jerome improved to 22-3 after winning its rubber game against the second-seeded Panthers (20-6). The teams split during the regular season and tied Olentangy Berlin at 12-2 for the OCC-Cardinal title. The Celtics won 25-18, 16-25, 22-25, 25-19, 15-12 at Darby on March 30 but lost 25-14, 25-21, 25-19 at home April 20 on Senior Night.
“Darby has been the dragon that we have had to slay in our conference and with their history,” Jerome coach Phil Cagnoli said. “We beat them in five the first time when they were in a bit of a rut, but then they kicked our teeth in on Senior Night. We didn’t play well.
“We knew if we had any shot of beating them (in the regional final), we had to play a lot better. One thing is we get into the postseason and we’re a completely different animal. No one seems to notice that we have upset a better-seeded team in eight of my nine seasons coaching here. We have been playing good volleyball for a while.”
Olentangy Liberty outside hitter Caden Whiteside attacks at the net during the Patriots’ 3-1 regional title win against Mount Vernon May 20 at Upper Arlington. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Cagnoli said his senior leadership made the difference in a decisive 32-30 win the second game. He called that marathon a “match-swinger.”
“I think it’s a testament to my seniors to go point for point with a really good Darby team,” said Cagnoli, whose team lost to Cincinnati Elder 25-14, 27-25, 25-19 in a state quarterfinal last season when the state had eight squads. “We were down and we were up and could have gone either way. Our kids knew what to do and I’m really proud of them.
“That was definitely an emotional swing. I told boys after the first set that maybe we caught (the Panthers) a little off-guard. I told them the match starts now (with the second game), and they came in and give us their best shot. We expected that.”
Cagnoli praised the hitting of senior outside hitters Aidan Eberhardt and Henry Guerrera, the floor management of senior setter Connor Kemp, the passing of senior liberos Cam Eckleberry and Thomas Terrell and the blocking of senior middle hitter Brady Kilgren.
However, junior Sam Utrup played the same unsung role he has all season.
“Sam Utrup is playing a completely different position than we expected and we wouldn’t be going back without his play,” said Cagnoli, whose team has not played Liberty this season. “We had some injuries and moved him from outside to middle hitter to fill our need.”
Patriots overcome scoreboard woes
Technical difficulties proved troublesome for Liberty, which trailed 8-3 before the scoreboard began functioning after the Patriots called timeout in the first game. They lost the opener but regained control to advance to their third consecutive state tournament.
“Yeah, we were all out of sorts at the start and really once the scoreboard came on we were able to settle down and play,” said Liberty coach Dave Hale, whose team improved to 22-4. “They got their minds back on what they were supposed to do.
The score really doesn’t matter. I tell them that all the time. When the ball is in play, we want to win that point. It doesn’t matter if the scoreboard is off or on. You just play volleyball and we (the coaching staff) will worry about the other stuff.”
Mount Vernon libero Dash Lepley digs the ball after an Olentangy Liberty hit during the Patriots’ 3-1 regional title win at Upper Arlington May 20. Photo: Kevin Rouch
Jack Sullenberger will be making his third trip as starting libero for the Patriots. He’s one of only two seniors on the team’s roster.
“Coach Hale said (during the early timeout) we weren’t playing as a team but as a lot of individuals,” said Sullenberger, who led the squad with 23 digs and three aces. “We were wanting to get the kill and wanting to be the all-star on the court. I feel like after that we played more as a team but it was still hard to come back.”
Hale said his attack was aided by strong serving, which helped turn the tide against the third-seeded Yellow Jackets (15-7).
“We definitely focussed on trying to serve to the spots,” said Hale, whose team lost to Moeller 25-17, 25-18, 19-25, 9-25, 19-17 in a state quarterfinal last season. “We were not trying to ace people on any of our serves but we’re trying to make it so they have a tough first ball so their setter gets pulled out of position and we can set up our defense.”
Junior outside hitter Caden Whiteside led the attack with 15 kills, 13 digs and three aces, and junior middle hitter Jake Koch added eight kills and three blocks. Junior outside hitter Ryan Severson and junior middle hitter Jack Torson both logged seven kills and two blocks. Junior setter Connor Severson totaled 38 assists and nine digs and senior defensive specialist Wes Davis also had nine digs.
“We had some momentum but that is a difficult thing to maintain,” Mount Vernon coach Chad Sivewright said. “We wanted fast momentum and a fast start and hold it. We expected it to go five sets, even after (winning) that first one. We knew it was going to be a grind.
“(Junior outside hitter) Parker Gantt has been a go-to guy all year and our middle (junior) Zack Karns was doing some stuff early. Hunter Thompson, a sophomore, had some swings on the outside. Ethan Klein is a senior and had good wings on the right side, and Cooper (Carpenter), our senior center, played well and has kept it together for us all year.”