Redskins roll to title

ST. HENRY - St. Henry methodically dispatched Delphos St. John's 3-0 Thursday night at the Redskin gymnasium to claim the school's 28th Midwest Athletic Conference volleyball championship.

The top ranked Redskins never trailed in rolling up set wins of 25-15, 26-16 and 25-5.

"We came in and we were focused on our end goal, and that was winning the match," St. Henry coach Tricia Rosenbeck said. "I thought we played consistently, and even more so, we played as a team. Everybody contributed and everybody played well tonight."

A pair of aces from Hannah Bruns helped St. Henry jump out to a 6-1 lead in the first set. Bruns also led the way at the net with five first-set kills.

The serving of Carleigh Deitsch set the tone in the second set. The first two points were Deitsch aces, as the Redskins jumped out to an early seven point lead and never looked back. The Blues Jays were unable to sustain anything more than a two-point run in the second set.

St. Henry dominated the final set, finishing with a 13-1 run. Redskin senior Ashley Siefring closed things out with eight straight service points including an ace to seal the game.

St. Henry finished with 15 service aces from five different players, led by Bruns with five. Bruns also topped the winners with 13 kills. Nora Vaughn and Addy Vaughn added five each and Danielle Lange four.

With an 8-1 MAC record (16-2 overall), St. Henry claims its 22nd outright championship - nine more than the rest of the conference combined.

"Coming into the season our goal is to win the MAC and then win state, and I think it's been like that every year since I played here," Rosenbeck said. "It doesn't change much year-to-year. No matter what the team is, you know people at St. Henry have their expectations set high, and it's the same for this team."

Rosenbeck credits the Redskin dynasty, which includes seven state championships, to a solid foundation in coaching.

"It started with DeDe (Stoner), and then it went to Lori Schwieterman, then to Diana (Kramer)," she said. "Those coaches set the foundation and now the girls expect it of themselves, the community expects it and it's a really fun thing. And it's the girls. They work hard year round for this."

Seeded No. 1 in the Division IV district at Van Wert, St. Henry drew an opening round bye and will host the winner of Crestview and Delphos Jefferson next Thursday beginning at 7 p.m.

Four other MAC teams ranked in the top 12 - New Bremen, Fort Recovery, Marion Local, and New Knoxville - will also be lurking in the Van Wert district.

"For us to advance we have to continue to improve and continue to play at a top level," Rosenbeck added. "We have to keep playing with confidence and believe that we can push our way through."