Monday, November 7th, 2016

Cardinals swept by Tigers

Division IV Volleyball Regional Championship

By Gary R. Rasberry
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

New Bremen's Paige Jones spikes the ball against Jackson Center during Saturday's Division IV regional volleyball final. Jones had 18 kills, but the defending state champion Tigers beat the Cardinals in three sets to advance to the state semifinals.

TROY - All season New Bremen has shown the reason why they are one of the best teams in the state.
On Saturday, Jackson Center showed the reason why they were the defending state champions.
The Tigers gained momentum at the of the first set and carried it through a 25-22, 25-18, 25-18 victory over the Cardinals in the Division IV regional championship match at Troy High School on Saturday afternoon.
Jackson Center (27-0), the top-ranked team in the final coaches' poll, heads back to the Nutter Center on Friday to face Dalton at noon. The Bulldogs beat Louisville Aquinas to claim the Uniontown regional title.
"Jackson Center proved why they are the defending state champions," Cardinals coach Diana Kramer said. "They haven't lost a match all year. Their coach is tough. Just a fabulous, well-coached team that was used to this. They've been here before and you can tell. The moment caught up with us."
The Cardinals, making their first trip to regionals since the late 1990s, end a fine season at 23-4.
The two teams played earlier in the season, with the Tigers taking a five-set battle.
Jackson Center coach Kim Metz was not expecting a three-set sweep.
"Absolutely not," the veteran Tigers coach said. "Knowing Diana, knowing what she prepares for and what she brings to the plate ... To walk out of here, we feel very blessed."
Jackson Center jumped out early 5-2 and looked ready to make the first set a quick one, raising the lead to 9-4 before the Cardinals began to chip away with short service runs and the heavy hitting of Paige Jones and Rachel Kremer. Down the stretch, a Jones ace got the Cardinals to within one at 22-21, but Cassie Meyer, the two-time Shelby County League Player of the Year, got the kill to make it 23-21. A New Bremen double-hit made it set point, but Jones drilled her seventh kill of the set to keep hope alive until Alicia Kessler ended the set with a kill.
"First sets are amazing," Metz said. "Quite crucial."
The second set was very competitive with seven ties and four lead changes. The Cardinals were up 8-6 and then 10-8, but were unable to push the lead further. That allowed the Tigers to seize control. Christian Ware served up two points to put Jackson Center in the lead at 12-11. Later Vanessa Winner had an ace to help make it 14-12. Kessler came up with the big service run, rattling off four straight points to make it 19-13. New Bremen was unable to get any closer than five points the rest of the way.
Kessler came up big again at the service line in the third set, helping Jackson Center take an 8-2 lead early. Another run by Camryn Hannie made the score 11-5 and forced Kramer to call her second and final timeout.
Every chance the Cardinals had to scratch their way back into the match, the Tigers found ways to cut off the runs. With Meyer, Alicia Kessler, Raquel Kessler and Hannie all threats on the attack, the Cardinal defense was on the move.
"We just try and create different possibilities and options," Metz said.
"They're just solid," Kramer said. "A well-conditioned team that don't make mistakes. They put the pressure on you."
A quick-set by Raquel Kessler gave the Tigers championship point, with an out-of-bounds Cardinal spike ending the match in just over an hour.
Although disappointed in the final outcome, Kramer had praise, especially for seniors Logan Wells, Kennedy Hoying, Taylor Power for being leaders on and off the court with a young group.
"Two of the three hardly got in, but those three are the heartbeat of this team," Kramer said. "They kept the team going, were unselfish and knew their role. I hope every little kid watching can grow up and accept their role the way (the seniors) did, because they are fabulous people. The underclassmen are only going to get better. This will make them hungry."
Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

New Bremen's Blake Snider keeps her eye on the ball as she prepares to bump it to a teammate during Saturday's match with Jackson Center.

Photo by Mark Pummell/The Daily Standard

New Bremen's Macy Puthoff, 8, tries to put the ball between a couple of Jackson Center blockers during Satuday's Division IV regional final match in Troy.

Additional online story on this date
2016 State Cross Country Championships
HEBRON - Three straight times - twice at the state track and field meet, once at the state cross country meet - the Minster girls stood on the podium in frustration after finishing runner-up behind St. Thomas Aquinas. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
CELINA -Longtime Celina resident Ed Jeffries on Saturday morning was honored for his efforts to make Grand Lake and the surrounding area a better place.
CELINA - Some local residents are seeking help for Native American protesters and others involved in a dispute over construction of an oil pipeline in the Dakotas.
CELINA - Celina police have arrested a second individual believed to be involved in the Sept. 23 robbery of Second National Bank on North Main Street
FORT RECOVERY - A group of historians, history buffs and interested locals gathered Saturday for the chance to examine closely the events of 225 years ago, which led to the establishment of Fort Recovery.
CELINA - Shinn Brothers Inc. may begin drainage work yet this year as part of the Mud Pike improvement project, Mercer County Engineer Jim Wiechart said.
Division II Boys Soccer Regional Championship
FINDLAY - Defense carried the Celina boys soccer team through its post-season run, but it was a first-half offensive outburst that propelled the Bulldogs to its first-ever trip to the state final four.
MINSTER - Saturday night in Minster started with the arrival of the state championship Minster girls cross country team to town and ended with the football team taking the first step towards trying to earn a trophy of its own.
COLDWATER - In the first half of Saturday's game with Brookville, Coldwater had possession of the ball for four minutes and 32 seconds out of a possible 24 minutes.
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
Will Homan had a career night and a record breaking night in helping Fort Recovery pull away for a 58-21 win over Ada in the Division VII Region 28 quarterfinal at War Memorial Stadium on Saturday.