Top Teams in the State

Walnut vs Centerville tonight!!
Just heard from someone that was at tonight's Walnut Hills - Centerville match. Walnut beats the #4 team in the state in 5.
C - 25-18
W - 25-12
C - 25-23
W - 25-22
W - 16-14 Walnut was down 14-11 with Centerville serving. They came back to win 16-14.

Looks like Walnut is legit.
 
Can't say I'm too surprised. I actually expect Walnut to be the top public school team in the state this year, but they just haven't played much of their schedule yet. Other than St. X, not sure who else they lose to on their schedule.
 
very exciting match between probably the two best public school teams in the state. Too bad Walnut is in the region they are in, any other region and they would be the top dog for sure. Centerville struggled passing in the end and it eventually cost them the match
 
Here is what I can find for the remainder of the Walnut Hills schedule. I'm not sure if this is up to date.

4/27 Milford @ Walnut
4/29 @ Taylor
5/4 @ Loveland
5/6 West Clermont @ Walnut
5/8 Oak Hills @ Walnut
5/8 Pickerington North @ Walnut
5/11 St. Xavier @ Walnut
5/12 Roger Bacon @ Walnut
5/13 @ Lakota East
Tourney draw (edited)
5/18 Fairfield @ Walnut
5/21 LaSalle @ Walnut
 
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Here is what I can find for the remainder of the Walnut Hills schedule. I'm not sure if this is up to date.

4/27 Milford @ Walnut
4/29 @ Taylor
5/4 @ Loveland
5/6 West Clermont @ Walnut
5/8 Oak Hills @ Walnut
5/8 Pickerington North @ Walnut
5/11 St. Xavier @ Walnut
5/12 Roger Bacon @ Walnut
5/13 @ Lakota East
5/18 Fairfield @ Walnut
Tourney draw
5/21 LaSalle @ Walnut
Yeah, really not sure who they lose to there other than St. X, but even then, don't count them out. If they play their absolute best ball, they can compete with almost anyone.
 
You have to figure the more this young team plays together the better they are going to get.
 
Here is what I can find for the remainder of the Walnut Hills schedule. I'm not sure if this is up to date.

4/27 Milford @ Walnut
4/29 @ Taylor
5/4 @ Loveland
5/6 West Clermont @ Walnut
5/8 Oak Hills @ Walnut
5/8 Pickerington North @ Walnut
5/11 St. Xavier @ Walnut
5/12 Roger Bacon @ Walnut
5/13 @ Lakota East
5/18 Fairfield @ Walnut
Tourney draw
5/21 LaSalle @ Walnut
According to OHSBVA calendar, the seeding meeting is May 16th - so the Fairfield match is also afterward. Not that there's a big difference there as I'd expect Walnut to win either way. Just more of an FYI.

Walnut gets St. X at home, also, could be good for a point or two with St. X playing in a different gym. Of course, that didn't matter much for Elder.

Playing @ Loveland is probabaly the toughest match on the schedule outside of St X.
 
Here were full results from Centerville on Saturday:

Quarterfinals
#1 St Xavier def. #8 St Ignatius in 25-13, 25-20, 25-18
#4 Centerville def. #5 Jackson 25-18, 18-25, 25-15, 25-22
#3 Elder def. #6 Hilliard Darby 25-17, 25-20, 25-16
#2 Moeller def. Olentangy Orange in 25-10, 20-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-2

Semifinals
#1 St Xavier def. Centerville 25-21, 23-25, 25-19, 25-15
#3 Elder def. Moeller 25-20, 26-24, 26-24
Conso Semifinals
#6 Hilliard Darby def. #7 Olentangy Orange 26-24, 26-19, 19-25, 20-25, 15-8
#5 Jackson def. #8 St Ignatius 25-23, 25-20, 25-20

1st Place
#1 St Xavier def. #3 Elder 29-27, 25-19, 25-19

3rd Place
#2 Moeller def. #4 Centerville in 22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-21, 15-2

5th Place
#6 Hilliard Darby def. #5 Jackson 22-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-13

7th Place
#8 St Ignatius def. Olentangy Orange 25-21, 28-26, 25-16
 
Here were full results from Centerville on Saturday:

Quarterfinals
#1 St Xavier def. #8 St Ignatius in 25-13, 25-20, 25-18
#4 Centerville def. #5 Jackson 25-18, 18-25, 25-15, 25-22
#3 Elder def. #6 Hilliard Darby 25-17, 25-20, 25-16
#2 Moeller def. Olentangy Orange in 25-10, 20-25, 23-25, 25-22, 15-2

Semifinals
#1 St Xavier def. Centerville 25-21, 23-25, 25-19, 25-15
#3 Elder def. Moeller 25-20, 26-24, 26-24
Conso Semifinals
#6 Hilliard Darby def. #7 Olentangy Orange 26-24, 26-19, 19-25, 20-25, 15-8
#5 Jackson def. #8 St Ignatius 25-23, 25-20, 25-20

1st Place
#1 St Xavier def. #3 Elder 29-27, 25-19, 25-19

3rd Place
#2 Moeller def. #4 Centerville in 22-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-21, 15-2

5th Place
#6 Hilliard Darby def. #5 Jackson 22-25, 25-16, 25-17, 25-13

7th Place
#8 St Ignatius def. Olentangy Orange 25-21, 28-26, 25-16
It's a shame Walnut Hills wasn't at the Elite tournament.

After beating Centerville (@ Centerville), who finished 4th and is currently 4th in the polls in D1, I'm assuming Walnut will jump back into the top 10. Only losses are to the #2 team, and #3 team (in 4 sets). Would have been interesting to see them potentially play teams like Jackson, Darby, etc.
 
It's a shame Walnut Hills wasn't at the Elite tournament.

After beating Centerville (@ Centerville), who finished 4th and is currently 4th in the polls in D1, I'm assuming Walnut will jump back into the top 10. Only losses are to the #2 team, and #3 team (in 4 sets). Would have been interesting to see them potentially play teams like Jackson, Darby, etc.
Think Walnut almost deserves a spot in the top 5, IMO. Moe and Elder aside, they swept Loveland who's pretty strong this year and have done what's expected of them in their other matches. Think the Centerville win at Centerville solidifies them as top 5 for me. Been kinda tough to judge since they started so late compared to most teams, but they've mostly been impressive. Like someone else said, it's a shame the South is so, so top heavy.
 
It should be interesting to see which part of the D1 tourney bracket they choose. Assuming X, Elder and Moeller are 1-2-3 (in some order) Walnut #4 -- what part of the bracket do they pick ?
 
It should be interesting to see which part of the D1 tourney bracket they choose. Assuming X, Elder and Moeller are 1-2-3 (in some order) Walnut #4 -- what part of the bracket do they pick ?
Assuming it's:
1. X
2. Elder
3. Moeller
4. Walnut

X and Elder would choose opposite sides, of course, and then I think Moe chooses Elder's side. So I imagine Walnut would try and somehow end up on that same side as Elder and Moe; more a gauntlet, but most probably path to a regional final appearance...if that's even possible?
 
A gauntlet indeed! To think the top 4 teams in the state are in the same region is a shame. Has the committee had talks about changing the tournament format so this doesn't happen as often as it does, with Moe, X, and Elder all in the same region?
 
A gauntlet indeed! To think the top 4 teams in the state are in the same region is a shame. Has the committee had talks about changing the tournament format so this doesn't happen as often as it does, with Moe, X, and Elder all in the same region?

No, and they shouldn't. Having 2 representatives per region at "State" is good as it is. The big 3 from the GCL are playing for state titles, so you have to get through the other 2 at some point. What difference does it make if the 3rd team gets knocked out in the regional finals or in an expanded state field one or two rounds later?
 
I guess I think that it would be great for a school like Walnut, who isn't a perennial power to say they played in a state tournament, when they are possibly the 4th best team in the state. Nothing more, no need to get worked up.
 
My observations -
Luers (fen setter) created matchup problems by holding the sets a split second. He dictated play. This created lots of 1-1 matchups.
Will Richards was the best hitter on the court tonight. He out jumped the block and had a fast arm swing that allowed him to find openings.
Fenwick consistently got X out of system. X’s hitters had a lot of rolls and tips that Fenwick got up into offense.
X seemed nervous mid-second set on. It almost looked like they were trying to find a way to score rather than knowing they could score. Just looked that way to me.
X changed their lineup third set to Meyer OH and Tooman RS.
I would bet X had a huge advantage swinging RS. They weren’t stopped much.
Fenwick had pretty big leads in 1st and 4th that X closed to make close.
X jumped out in 3rd and led the whole way.
 
My observations -
Luers (fen setter) created matchup problems by holding the sets a split second. He dictated play. This created lots of 1-1 matchups.
Will Richards was the best hitter on the court tonight. He out jumped the block and had a fast arm swing that allowed him to find openings.
Fenwick consistently got X out of system. X’s hitters had a lot of rolls and tips that Fenwick got up into offense.
X seemed nervous mid-second set on. It almost looked like they were trying to find a way to score rather than knowing they could score. Just looked that way to me.
X changed their lineup third set to Meyer OH and Tooman RS.
I would bet X had a huge advantage swinging RS. They weren’t stopped much.
Fenwick had pretty big leads in 1st and 4th that X closed to make close.
X jumped out in 3rd and led the whole way.
Who played MB when they switched?

Luers is a great setter. His technical ability is good, but his IQ is even better.
 
X posts their stats on maxprep. https://www.maxpreps.com/m/games/4-...HT7faPv4UmGLi6xQ70AkA#tab=box-score&schoolid=

You can take a look at the season. I screen shot the Fenwick match stats.
991F42BC-997F-42E1-9CBA-B306866DA4BD.jpeg
 
To jump into the discussion from yesterday regarding the South Seeding, obviously first of all there's still a lot of volleyball to be played. Elder-X this week, Moeller-X next week, Elder-Moeller the Friday before the tournament draw.

To this point:
X has beat Elder in 3 twice, so safe to assume Elder will avoid X if they end up #3 or lower
X beat Moeller in 4
Elder has beat Moeller in 3 twice
Elder has also beat Walnut in 3
Moeller has beat Walnut in 4

Few ways to look at this from Walt's perspective:
-Jump in with X regardless of their result in the upcoming match against the Bombers, would almost certainly guarantee a spot in a Regional Final vs. X in a winner to state match. Anything can happen in one match.
-Flip side, they get blown out against X losing in 3 not so close games and decide their best path to state is Moeller-Elder - X at that point they jump to Moeller's side of South #2, and likely have to beat both Moeller, then Elder to make it to state.

Before X lost last night, I would have thought option 2 (Moe/Elder) route was more likely. Now it appears there may be some kinks in the armor for X and option 1 seems more plausible.

If you're Moeller where do you go though - lost twice to Elder in 3 albeit close, but you've already taken a set from X and those were closer than your Elder results. Will be an interesting couple of weeks for sure. Can't wait for the rematch Friday between E-X.
 
Where is the regional final this year? Sometimes makes a difference. And this court switching due to covid could improve home court advantage.
 
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