Top Teams in the State

 
Break it down by D1 and D2. Been a weird year, so not sure who's expected to be on top outside of the usual suspects.
I think it's incredibly hard to predict without having a HS season last year. I'd expect a lot of movement in the early polls as we find out who the real contenders are.

In the South Region, my (uneducated) guess would be:
1. St X
2. Elder
3. Moeller
4. Badin
5. LaSalle
6. Walnut Hills

After that, I'm really not sure. Teams like Fairfield, Loveland, Milford and Mason have some good players but hard to say where they fall.
 
Will be interesting to see how a year off affects these seniors and juniors. I would think with the majority playing club they shouldn't miss a beat. Should be a fun year, just happy they are back on the court.
 
I think it's incredibly hard to predict without having a HS season last year. I'd expect a lot of movement in the early polls as we find out who the real contenders are.

In the South Region, my (uneducated) guess would be:
1. St X
2. Elder
3. Moeller
4. Badin
5. LaSalle
6. Walnut Hills

After that, I'm really not sure. Teams like Fairfield, Loveland, Milford and Mason have some good players but hard to say where they fall.
Yeah, definitely tough to gauge after a lost year. I'm sure some teams that could've made a run last year will end up being down this year; it's a shame.
 
Well here's what coaches were thinking. Will be fun to see how it plays out given the long layoff:
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Attended the quad match at Mt Vernon. Paid closer attention to St X and Jackson in matchup of regional 1s.

jackson-
In system was able to hit over the top of setter/RSs/middles.
Was in system very low percentage of time off serve receive. Really struggled in passing. X won in 3. Stayed tight until around mid-teens then gave up points late.

st x-
Will go as far as Kastner takes them. He was consistently jumping over the block.
Rest of offense struggled. Played at net height.
Tried to run the slide that they liked to run with mauch. Still early so timing may be off. I didn’t see the arm or foot speed to run the play.

was trying to think of teams that would pose matchup problems for Kastner. Maybe Moeller with Beckelhimer or O. Orange.

random notes -
My Vernon- really small team. I was hoping to see someone like S. Stanley who was a undersized but could jump and hang. Didn’t see it. Dominated by x.

Mt Vernon field house-
Just opened. Loved the idea of 4 Cts inside running track. Lots of room to serve and play. Court was some rubberized material same as track. I was interested to see if there would be pancakes or impact on hitting/passing. Not a lot of diving defense. Heard one bench give a teammate a shout out when he put his chest on the floor. Talked with a hitter who said there was a lot of grip and hard stopping. Threw him off of timing.

It probably also impacted sliding on passing. Just a thought.
 
Attended the quad match at Mt Vernon. Paid closer attention to St X and Jackson in matchup of regional 1s.

jackson-
In system was able to hit over the top of setter/RSs/middles.
Was in system very low percentage of time off serve receive. Really struggled in passing. X won in 3. Stayed tight until around mid-teens then gave up points late.

st x-
Will go as far as Kastner takes them. He was consistently jumping over the block.
Rest of offense struggled. Played at net height.
Tried to run the slide that they liked to run with mauch. Still early so timing may be off. I didn’t see the arm or foot speed to run the play.

was trying to think of teams that would pose matchup problems for Kastner. Maybe Moeller with Beckelhimer or O. Orange.

random notes -
My Vernon- really small team. I was hoping to see someone like S. Stanley who was a undersized but could jump and hang. Didn’t see it. Dominated by x.

Mt Vernon field house-
Just opened. Loved the idea of 4 Cts inside running track. Lots of room to serve and play. Court was some rubberized material same as track. I was interested to see if there would be pancakes or impact on hitting/passing. Not a lot of diving defense. Heard one bench give a teammate a shout out when he put his chest on the floor. Talked with a hitter who said there was a lot of grip and hard stopping. Threw him off of timing.

It probably also impacted sliding on passing. Just a thought.
What did X's lineup look like yesterday? RS and M2 was a little bit of a question mark for them.
 
Any early thoughts on the Cincinnati area teams? Looks like St. X is as good as advertised. Elder seems pretty solid. Fenwick looks to be a contender in D2. Not sure about Moeller but saw they beat Badin fairly easily. Any individual standouts so far?
 
Any early thoughts on the Cincinnati area teams? Looks like St. X is as good as advertised. Elder seems pretty solid. Fenwick looks to be a contender in D2. Not sure about Moeller but saw they beat Badin fairly easily. Any individual standouts so far?
Badin will be a contender in D2 as well. They're good to begin with and they scheduled very tough (first weekend quad match aside) so I can only imagine that'll help going forward.

I know there were questions here about St. X's depth at some positions; I wonder how that'll affect them throughout the season. Elder seems to have good depth and options at almost every position, which is always a good problem to have. Bianco seems to have started the season pretty strong for them as well. Tbh, don't know as much about Moeller. Saw they dropped one to Badin, but, based on the scores of the other sets, I have to imagine that was the result of some lineup tinkering. Just an assumption, though. Seems like almost all Cincinnati area public schools are down this year compared to 2 years ago when Lakota East, Mason and Loveland were pretty solid. It'll be interesting to see how Walnut is. I know Ober is juggling that and coaching at Thomas More; wish him the best in what'll be a stressful spring I'm sure haha
 
Any early thoughts on the Cincinnati area teams? Looks like St. X is as good as advertised. Elder seems pretty solid. Fenwick looks to be a contender in D2. Not sure about Moeller but saw they beat Badin fairly easily. Any individual standouts so far?
Fenwick isn't very big, but they're super scrappy and have pins who can put the ball away and a very good pair in their libero and setter. Definitely an early favorite for a state run. Fenwick vs Alter will be worth watching - they don't play for a few weeks, though.

I'll be interested to see where Moeller gets their offense from when they play vs X or Elder. I don't see a guy with the takeover mentality there. X has Kastner, Elder has Albers and Maune... Moe has Carroll? Nahrup?
 
Moeller's best offense will likely come from the middles. IF, they have the ball control to let the middles be an option
 
Badin will be a contender in D2 as well. They're good to begin with and they scheduled very tough (first weekend quad match aside) so I can only imagine that'll help going forward.

I know there were questions here about St. X's depth at some positions; I wonder how that'll affect them throughout the season. Elder seems to have good depth and options at almost every position, which is always a good problem to have. Bianco seems to have started the season pretty strong for them as well. Tbh, don't know as much about Moeller. Saw they dropped one to Badin, but, based on the scores of the other sets, I have to imagine that was the result of some lineup tinkering. Just an assumption, though. Seems like almost all Cincinnati area public schools are down this year compared to 2 years ago when Lakota East, Mason and Loveland were pretty solid. It'll be interesting to see how Walnut is. I know Ober is juggling that and coaching at Thomas More; wish him the best in what'll be a stressful spring I'm sure haha
First game for Walnut is tomorrow @ Moeller. Tough opponent for first game of the year!
But yeah, the publics aren't as strong this year it seems... Who is the favorite to win the GMC?
 
First game for Walnut is tomorrow @ Moeller. Tough opponent for first game of the year!
But yeah, the publics aren't as strong this year it seems... Who is the favorite to win the GMC?
Boy, that's a good question. I'd imagine Lakota East or Fairfield should be the favorites. Both have played some good statewide competition to start the year and that's reflected in their records so far and both have some talented players. Overall, I expect the conference to be down more than usual. Wouldn't be surprised to see Mason struggle. A few of the teams I expect will have decent records as a result of softer than usual scheduling, but won't be true reflections of their talent levels.
 
Boy, that's a good question. I'd imagine Lakota East or Fairfield should be the favorites. Both have played some good statewide competition to start the year and that's reflected in their records so far and both have some talented players. Overall, I expect the conference to be down more than usual. Wouldn't be surprised to see Mason struggle. A few of the teams I expect will have decent records as a result of softer than usual scheduling, but won't be true reflections of their talent levels.
I'd throw Sycamore into the mix as well...
 
Seems this year we won't see a handful of dominant teams in each region, and the playing field a bit more level with losing the 2020 season, and development of players.

D1 South dominated by GCL big three. Nice to see Walnut Hills take a set from Moeller, as well as Badin in D2. Badin should have a very good season and make a deep run in the tourney. LaSalle probably only D2 team to challenge them.

D1 East up for grabs. Hear Darby is down, but they are still ranked #1 in East by their coaches. Perhaps #1 until someone knocks them off that pedestal. Olentangy Liberty and Orange looking to do just that, and Gahanna right in that mix. The top D2 team (St. Charles) lost in straight sets to #1 Alter--not sure about rest in their region. All four of St. Charles losses to top D1 or D2 teams.

D1 West - Centerville knocked out Beavercreek in 5 last night. Northmont quietly undefeated right now and could push either. D2 is stacked with Alter, Fenwick, and Carroll. Definitely the deepest region for D2.

D1 North - Appears Jackson the dominant team up there, not sure who will get that 2nd spot to State. D2 looks like Walsh, and not another challenger.

Will be nice when teams are able to play more matches after this spring break time.
 
I'd throw Sycamore into the mix as well...
Possibly. Good on them beating LE last night. The conference as a whole is definitely way down this year compared to 2019 and what it possibly could've been last year. Oak Hills in particular lost a lot that would've been good last year.
 
Possibly. Good on them beating LE last night. The conference as a whole is definitely way down this year compared to 2019 and what it possibly could've been last year. Oak Hills in particular lost a lot that would've been good last year.
Agreed- OH was solid and senior heavy last year.
 
I heard from someone that was at the Walnut Hills match last night -- scores were as follows:
M 25-20
M 25-12
W 25-20
M 25-23 (I believe the score was tied 22-22 with W serving)

Not a bad start for Walnut Hills. at least 2 sophomore starters in their first high school match.
After a few matches under their belts they will be a contender for one of the spots to go to the state tourney
 
I heard from someone that was at the Walnut Hills match last night -- scores were as follows:
M 25-20
M 25-12
W 25-20
M 25-23 (I believe the score was tied 22-22 with W serving)

Not a bad start for Walnut Hills. at least 2 sophomore starters in their first high school match.
After a few matches under their belts they will be a contender for one of the spots to go to the state tourney
It sure would be nice to have a mix up one of these years and have a team or two other than the big three make it out of the South region.
 
Last year would have been WH best team ever. Dom Hagerty was probably the best player in the south region to go along with a lot of the pieces they have on the team this year.

This year they have a lot of the stronger players in their age groups (Wheatley, Tombragel as sophs and Vogelpohl, Lipscomb as srs) All 4 on the top Attack teams this past year. Playing right with Moeller was certainly no fluke
 
Last year would have been WH best team ever. Dom Hagerty was probably the best player in the south region to go along with a lot of the pieces they have on the team this year.

This year they have a lot of the stronger players in their age groups (Wheatley, Tombragel as sophs and Vogelpohl, Lipscomb as srs) All 4 on the top Attack teams this past year. Playing right with Moeller was certainly no fluke
To be the best Walnut team ever isn’t a high bar as there’s only been a team for a few years, haha.

However, I agree, and think Walnut would have been very tough for the GCL last year, especially Elder. Hagerty likely would have been in the running for POY in the south with Haas.
 
To be the best Walnut team ever isn’t a high bar as there’s only been a team for a few years, haha.

However, I agree, and think Walnut would have been very tough for the GCL last year, especially Elder. Hagerty likely would have been in the running for POY in the south with Haas.
Whether their bar was high or not is irrelevant, they are definitely trending in the right direction. The WH Freshman squad recently took 1st at Elders 4 team tourney, so it appears they are stockpiling talent for years to come. Big match coming up tomorrow night at Elder, any chance Elder pulls the upset?
 
I agree walnut is only going to get better and better throughout the season. I expect them to push all the GCL teams and possible beat one or two. As for the walnut frosh/jv team it was a nice showing against the Frosh/ JVB teams.
 
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Whether their bar was high or not is irrelevant, they are definitely trending in the right direction. The WH Freshman squad recently took 1st at Elders 4 team tourney, so it appears they are stockpiling talent for years to come. Big match coming up tomorrow night at Elder, any chance Elder pulls the upset?
Have to hope this is a continuing theme and not something that levels or dies off after a 4-5 year stretch. Would really like to see more public schools offer boys' volleyball for younger ages.
 
One big key with most AD’s is having boys volleyball becoming a sanctioned Ohio High sports. The number of teams in OhIo has been simalar since the mid 90’s.
 
The people running Ohio Boy's vball along with all of the people in charge of vball at the schools that are already playing, need to convince the other schools that they don't need OHSAA.
 
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