Wildcats head to district

MINSTER - Marion Local's reign atop Division IV volleyball in the state of Ohio officially came to an end Saturday night in Minster.

Just nine days after beating Minster 3-1 to finish off the regular season, the Wildcats turned the tables on the two-time defending state champion Flyers with a 3-1 (25-18, 25-20, 20-25, 25-15) victory in the Division IV Sectional Finals.

"The difference tonight was we played with a lot more consistency," Minster coach Cami Garman said. "In the last match, they (Marion Local) pushed us at the beginning and we were unable to consistently execute. Tonight we were able to stay ahead once we had the lead. ... We stayed calm and focused on what we need to do to win."

Minster never trailed in the first and fourth sets and failed to surrender any big Flyers runs in the middle two sets.

"We knew coming in it was going to be a tough match and we just couldn't get anything going," Marion Local coach Megan Campbell said. "We did not play up to our potential tonight, but Minster is a great team so give them credit."

Minster jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the first set and almost maintained a five-point lead throughout. Sophomore Jordan Heitbrink paced the Wildcats with four kills in the opening set, while senior Lauren Roetgerman finished off the Flyers in the opening round with her third block.

Minster's Regan Hahn opened up the second set with back-to-back aces as the Cats again got out to a 4-1 start. But the Flyers answered with kills by Emily Mescher and Andrea Wynk gave Marion Local an 8-7 lead.

Neither team was able to create much separation in the second set until the Wildcats went on an 8-3 run at the end to turn a 17-17 set into a 25-20 win.

The third set was also very close throughout, but it was the Flyers' turn to make a run at the end. Leading 21-19, Marion called a timeout and finished the set with four of the last five points for the 25-20 win. Flyer senior Meg Schwieterman closed out the set with a kill.

The fourth and deciding set was dominated by Minster. Hahn again got the Cats out to a big start with two aces in her first three serves.

Marion used timeouts twice during the set while Minster was building seven-point leads, but the Wildcats would not crack, finishing with six of the last seven points to close out the match with the 25-15 margin.

The match featured numerous long volleys as both teams had some highlight-reel defensive saves.

The Wildcats were especially strong on defense, giving up just one service ace on the night.

"I knew we were going to have to play good defense to be successful tonight and that's is something we focused on this week in practice," Garman said. "I thought my back row did a great job of not letting the ball drop tonight."

Heitbrink and Erica Oldiges paced the Wildcats with eight kills each. Roetgerman had five blocks and an ace to go along with her seven kills. Bridget McGowan and Hannah Schmitmeyer each notched seven kills, while Hahn finished the match with five aces.

Schwieterman and Wynk were the big hitters for Marion Local with 10 kills each. Makenzie Albers added six.

The Flyers finish the season with a 12-11 overall record.

"We lose two great seniors (Schwieterman and Allie Thobe), but we've got a lot to build on," Campbell said. "We also have a lot of work to do."

Now 15-8, Minster advances to what will be an all-Midwest Athletic Conference district tournament Tuesday evening at Van Wert High School.

Top-seeded St. Henry will take on New Bremen in the first semifinal match at 6 p.m. Minster and New Knoxville will follow in the nightcap. The finals are slated for 6 p.m. Thursday at Van Wert.