Severson pulls strings for Liberty semis win
Saturday, May 27, 2023
By Scott Hennen
shennen@cbussports.com
Olentangy Liberty’s Connor Severson sets a ball during the Patriots’ win over Dublin Jerome in a Division I state semifinal on May 27 at Wittenberg University. Photo: Michael Rich
The Olentangy Liberty boys volleyball program will be playing for its first state championship with Connor Severson pulling the strings.
The junior setter was perfect at least in the statistics page in helping the Patriots dispose of Dublin Jerome 25-13, 15-17, 25-16 in a Division I state semifinal May 27 at Wittenberg.
The Patriots (23-4) will battle two-time defending state champion Cincinnati Moeller in the championship at 12 p.m. May 28. The Crusaders (22-4) defeated Hudson 15-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-20 in their semifinal.
Liberty won its first match in state level competition, which includes the last two seasons when the postseason was organized by the state coaches association. This is the first season the sport is sanctioned by the OHSAA.
Severson had 30 assists and paved the way for an attack that had four Patriots with at least six kills
“Connor works really hard, and he makes us look really good,” said junior middle hitter Jack Torson, who had six kills and a team-leading two blocks. “We might not score on every play but he’s the puppet master behind every score and every ball.
“Connor does a good job of making sure the defense is on their toes. He makes sure everyone gets their turn to keep the defense guessing.”
Junior outside hitter Ryan Severson – Connor’s twin brother – led with 10 kills, and junior outside hitter Caden Whiteside had nine kills. Junior middle hitter Jake Koch had eight kills.
“I’m trying to open the match up,” said Connor Severson, who had two aces. “I’m looking at blockers and trying to get guys solo matches, which means there’s only one block-up. They can do whatever they want when they are trying to swing.
Olentangy Liberty’s Caden Whiteside (19) spikes the ball during the Patriots’ win over Dublin Jerome in a Division I state semifinal on May 27 at Wittenberg University. Photo: Michael Rich
“Caden (Whiteside) has been super-dominant all year so I want to try to find him as much as I can. Ryan is back and healthy, and he hit .467, which is a high percentage for an outside (hitter).”
Coach Dave Hale wasn’t surprised about the smooth floor play. The 19th-year coach said it’s always the Patriots’ game plan.
“That’s exactly the thing we want to try to do,” he said. “Connor does a great job spreading the ball around, and the guys are ready when the ball comes our way. We have a lot of guys that we can attack with instead of having just one guy who is our main go-to. That puts the other team in a defensive disadvantage if they don’t know where the ball is going.”
Senior libero Jack Sullenberger led Liberty with 13 digs. Whiteside also added two aces.
“In the first game, the middle was pretty much running the same every time, and we watched a lot of film so we knew what they were going to do,” Torson said. “We were ready for it and trained a lot.”
Senior opposite hitter Aidan Eberhardt led Jerome with six kills, and senior setter Connor Kemp had 22 assists. Junior middle hitter Brady Kilgren, junior outside hitter Zach Thomas and junior middle hitter Sam Utrup all added five kills, and senior outside hitter Henry Guerrera added four kills and two blocks.
Olentangy Liberty’s Ryan Severson (14) and Zac Jackman (22) celebrate after Patriots’ win over Dublin Jerome on May 27 at Wittenberg University. Photo: Michael Rich
“This didn’t define our season,” said ninth-year coach Phil Cagnoli, whose team finished 22-4. “It’s a season about overcoming a lot of adversity. All that matters is that we know what we’re capable of and we go out and do our best. We didn’t have it today.
“Nothing they did surprised us. They were better than us today.”
The Patriots will be going for a fourth state team title since opening in the 2003-04 school year. Previously, Liberty won a boys soccer title in 2012, a baseball title in 2018 and a hockey championship in March.
Moeller has won 10 state boys volleyball championships, including the last two seasons.
“Our guys were really pretty calm,” Hale said. “Our guys have been playing so much volleyball throughout the season, and they were in the elite eight in the last three years.
“We played Moeller at the Centerville tournament (April 1) and beat them in four (games 16-25, 25-22, 25-22, 25-22). It’s not like we haven’t seen them before and know how we stack up. We have played them before, and we know we can play some volleyball.”