Volleyball Tourney

TriangleMan said:
Impressive performance based solely on the points allowed by Tusky Valley in D3 thru the regional semifinal:

Sectionals
6, 8, 5
5, 6, 7

Districts
6, 8, 12
8, 17, 15

Regional
5, 9, 6

123 pts allowed (8.2 per set)
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But who have they played? I understand that they have steamrolled throughout the tournament. But I have a feeling that it may be to their detriment to play such a weak schedule and not really have any real test before getting to state. It's like what Auggie brought up about the Triway/Beaumont match...

Either that or they are by far the most dominating team in dvision III. I get the feeling that they will have wished they played some tougher teams before they get to Dayton.


Their state semifinal match will be against the winner of Miami East/Versailles, both teams that have very big very athletic players. Good luck to the Trojans!
 
I guess you miss my point...

If I'm heading to State Semi's, I'd want my team to have faced a little adversity to prepare them for that level...

Or as I've said before, maybe they are just that dominant....

Guess we will see on Friday as they play Versailles who upset the defending State champs in a barn burner. Versailles is very very good and have definitely been tested.

good luck to all the teams and congrats to all for making it this far. This weekend is going to be exciting.
 
Great Regional Final game in Norwalk.

Toledo St. Ursula was up 2-1, but St. Joe fought back to win in 5. SUA was very scrappy and played close to as well as they can play.

St. Joe is so strong at the net. Would love to know how many blocks SJA had in the match.

25-21, 26-28, 23-25, 25-18, 15-10.
 
In NEO>:

Div I: That Tupa injury finally caught up to Brecksville, while Jackson is strong I think Brecksville wins if they have more offensive options in that game. In Norwalk that match was closer than I thought, as called out St. Joseph Academy has a strong front line as it seems every girls is at least 5'11" and athletic. I will take SJA in the state semi final against Jackson.

Div II: No real surprise that Lake Catholic won the battle of NCL, if their young MBs play like they have so far this tourney they stand a fighters chance against Padua. But then again Padua toyed with their opponents at Lexington and the young talented Bruins are poised to continue to dominate Div II unless CB pushes them up to Div I in the near future.

Div III: Independence is Padua in Div III, young and talented that had little resistance in their Region. That all changes this week when they play Coldwater yet they have seen comparable teams already in St. Joseph Academy, Gilmour, and VASJ so a high level opponent will not be a new condition for this team.

Din IV: Aquinas has had a nice run and has played some good comp, could 2 out of 4 NCL teams take home the titles this year?

Also of note, I was reminded that Gilmour and St. Joseph Academy join the NCL next year, a very tough conference in volleyball just got that much better.
 
bozo the clown said:
I guess you miss my point...

If I'm heading to State Semi's, I'd want my team to have faced a little adversity to prepare them for that level...

Or as I've said before, maybe they are just that dominant....
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I understand your point. Maybe this year's team hasn't faced as much adversity as you'd prefer a team to see, but I'm sure the players have throughout their careers. Tusky Valley has four girls that played in last year's D3 championship 5-set loss to Miami East and two (Gilland, Gillson) that played for Tusky Central Catholic in their 2015 & 2016 D4 championship losses to Jackson Center. Experience should help.
 
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Mr. General said:
Serious question. Do any public schools have a realistic shot at winning the Title in any division?
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I would say no in II and maybe in I & IV. As called out Div III will have a pub.

Spoke to some volleyball parents about which schools dominate in this sport and why it really boils down to $s. If a family has the resources to fund not only club fees but the related travel costs and PT that is needed to develop a girl to be a solid contributor to her HS team. So those families that can afford private school education tend to be able to afford the club aspect as well as affluent 'burs that you see still alive. Pubs like Brecksville, Jackson, and Mason have traditionally solid programs too and no surprise these are districts with families that are not struggling to make ends meet. One aspect that the Catholics do seem to have an advantage though is with the CYO leagues. They now start in 3rd grade using those light balls and serving just beyond the 10 feet line. They are learning the fundamentals of the game and getting the feel for competition at an early age. Some think this is a bad thing but it probably is better than sitting around at home on some electronic device.
 
TriangleMan said:
I understand your point. Maybe this year's team hasn't faced as much adversity as you'd prefer a team to see, but I'm sure the players have throughout their careers. Tusky Valley has four girls that played in last year's D3 championship 5-set loss to Miami East and two (Gilland, Gillson) that played for Tusky Central Catholic in their 2015 & 2016 D4 championship losses to Jackson Center. Experience should help.
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Totally agree! They definitely have state caliber experience which will help. I am looking forward to the d3 matches over the others as I feel they are the most closely matched. the Versailles/Tusky match and the Coldwater/independence match will be a battle. I love it that I don't think there is a clear standout... Should be fun!!
 
Brecksville certainly missed Emma Tupa, but to be honest, having watched that match, Jackson was just at a different level than Brecksville after the first 3/4 of the first set. They couldn't have played better as a team. Brecksville's attack was very one-dimensional, but it didn't hurt them in the first set. However, Jackson's coaches made the perfect adjustments and their players followed direction as well as any high school team could. The one disappointing aspect of the match was the officiating. It was beyond horrible and both teams were equally frustrated with it. While it did affect the match in a very negative way, at least it was not a deciding factor.
 
JERP said:
Brecksville certainly missed Emma Tupa, but to be honest, having watched that match, Jackson was just at a different level than Brecksville after the first 3/4 of the first set. They couldn't have played better as a team. Brecksville's attack was very one-dimensional, but it didn't hurt them in the first set. However, Jackson's coaches made the perfect adjustments and their players followed direction as well as any high school team could. The one disappointing aspect of the match was the officiating. It was beyond horrible and both teams were equally frustrated with it. While it did affect the match in a very negative way, at least it was not a deciding factor.
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Please elaborate.

Incorrect calls on the lines, net contact? Not enough/too many calls on ball handling, carries?
 
Incorrect/Missed back row attacks/blocks, signaling incorrectly/misapplying the rule on which it was, ballhandling was at times mind-boggling, just several things that one should never have to tolerate as a coach or player at the Regional, or any for that matter, level. When both teams and coaches are beyond frustrated with the officiating, it's obvious that it's not of very high quality.
 
Unfortunately I have seen a lot of the same ref problems, especially at the HS Regionals level. There is an ask the ref section on the more popular boards here and they have discussed assignment questions for the OHSAA post season. I assume it is similar to other sports so seniority and the old boy/girl network comes into play. This is especially troubling in a sport like volleyball where the play in some areas is not as advanced as others and it presents a lot of rules/situations that the crew might not be familiar with and missed calls can be common.

Probably at the top of the list of inconsistent reffing is setter double contact. Maybe at a mid week league game between teams with non-club setters the ref can swallow a whistle or two to help speed up play but if there is double contact please call it. There is one setter at a high level team in particular that has a rep for getting away with double contact because the rest of her team is so good; when she finally gets called she let's a well know temper take over and complains to the ref. If the other setter has clean hands it just isn't fair for the ref to swallow the whistle. Bottom line is either it is or it isn't double and at this level it should be called. Another call that gets botched is the over the net. I saw twice this weekend a middle go over the net to block a set that was tight but not over the net and then the up ref call a lift on the setter because she was fighting through the block. On the flip side I have seen refs call over the net when an over pass is pounded down and the Middle was clearly not over.

I will say outside of the basketball charge volleyball has some of the toughest calls to make. Sometimes in a fast moving match a slight touch on block is so hard to see, it is probably best to follow the ball to see what the rotation is as it heads down to the floor. Also the line call when it is on your side in the far court with coaches and players in the way is a very tough call. Finally the pancake dig is a very hard call, in a loud environment you just cannot hear the ball hit the floor so you hope you see it right but it seems 9 times out of 10 if the girl is close they usually give it to them for effort and probably it is not the right call.
 
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Auggie is correct on all points. It is very obvious which officials have played/coached/officiated the sport at the highest levels and which ones decided to "pick up volleyball". Auggie's comment about setters' double contacts is quite possibly the most aggravating aspect of officiating that needs corrected. Also, in the Jackson match there were three pancakes that the R-1 called incorrectly--both calling the ball down and letting play continue, even giving non-volleyball signals looking like a baseball umpire or soccer official. Perhaps, the most ridiculous decision happened before the match. Having a respected OVR Natiional Official/NCAA Division I Official doing lines and placing an official that her "area coaches" voted for assume the R-1 position was a clear sign that it was going to be a match filled with inconsistencies from start to finish.
 
Anyone want to take a stab at predictions for this weekends tournament? I very rarely get to see D1 and D2 competition play so a lot of big guesses looking at previous results.

Div. I
SJA over Jackson
Ursuline over Coffman (Barnburner)
Finals: Ursuline over SJA

Div. II
Padua over Lake Catholic
Alter over Big Walnut
Finals: Padua over Alter

Div. III (hardest to predict imo)
Coldwater over Independence
Versailles over Tusky Valley
Finals: Coldwater over Versailles
(Coldwater is the complete package, I think this is the year they finally breakthrough; Versailles can be such a streaky team at times, will be interesting to see what team shows up as Tusky Valley definitely has the experience advantage)

Div. IV
New Bremen over Buckeye Central
Aquinas over FCA
Finals: New Bremen over Aquinas (I just don't think anyone is going to shut down Paige Jones at this level, certainly hasn't happened yet this year and NB has played a very competitive schedule)
 
VBallU said:
Anyone want to take a stab at predictions for this weekends tournament? I very rarely get to see D1 and D2 competition play so a lot of big guesses looking at previous results.

Div. I
SJA over Jackson
Ursuline over Coffman (Barnburner)
Finals: Ursuline over SJA

Div. II
Padua over Lake Catholic
Alter over Big Walnut
Finals: Padua over Alter

Div. III (hardest to predict imo)
Coldwater over Independence
Versailles over Tusky Valley
Finals: Coldwater over Versailles
(Coldwater is the complete package, I think this is the year they finally breakthrough; Versailles can be such a streaky team at times, will be interesting to see what team shows up as Tusky Valley definitely has the experience advantage)

Div. IV
New Bremen over Buckeye Central
Aquinas over FCA
Finals: New Bremen over Aquinas (I just don't think anyone is going to shut down Paige Jones at this level, certainly hasn't happened yet this year and NB has played a very competitive schedule)
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Agree with most of the above.

Div I:
SJA over Jackson
Ursuline over Coffman
Finals: Ursuline over SJA
Really rooting for St Joseph in this one. Respectable program that is killing it on the west side of CLE.

Div. II
Padua over Lake Catholic
Alter over Big Walnut
Finals: Padua over Alter
Maybe Lake can pull one out here but Padua is looking more and more like the Hoban of volleyball. Expect to see a lot of the Bruins at Wright State for years to come, even if they get pushed up to Div I due to CB.

Div. III
Independence over Coldwater
Versailles over Tusky Valley
Finals: Independence over Versailles
I will change things up here, Independence's only L was to SJA and they could possibly be playing in the Div I State Title.

Div. IV
New Bremen over Buckeye Central
Aquinas over FCA
Finals: New Bremen over Aquinas
Biggest guess on my part
 
Lake Catholic's best shot against Padua was last year in the semis. But they couldn't finish them off. Lake defeated Padua once this season....let's see if they can pull another one off. It's too bad they have to meet each year in the semis. But I guess OHSAA doesn't want two teams from the same league in the finals.
 
Cougar Nation said:
Lake Catholic's best shot against Padua was last year in the semis. But they couldn't finish them off. Lake defeated Padua once this season....let's see if they can pull another one off. It's too bad they have to meet each year in the semis. But I guess OHSAA doesn't want two teams from the same league in the finals.
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Road trip to Columbus and Dayton this weekend!

Go Cougars!
 
Cougar Nation said:
What a fun 3 days it could be. Hoping for victories all 3. GO LAKE, GO STATE
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Well unfortunately there will not be a strong showing of fan support at the volleyball game due to the OHSAA and their ignorant way of thinking. Lake got screwed.

All they had to do was flip flop the the division II and division III soccer games and nobody would’ve of been effected.

Instead, there will be 0 students in Dayton on Friday. Let’s just hope that everyone can head from Columbus to Dayton after an LC win against the Bruins.
 
My bad...I thought VB played Thursday. Glad you pointed that out. News-Herald reporter said they schedule soccer finals dependent on whether or not school has a football game that night. So that meant Kirtland would have the noon game. They don't care whether or not a school has a VB team in the final 4 the same day. Football rules. (And, as if Kirtland hasn't been in enough football playoff games already and Friday won't be their last this season.)
 
Cougar Nation said:
My bad...I thought VB played Thursday. Glad you pointed that out. News-Herald reporter said they schedule soccer finals dependent on whether or not school has a football game that night. So that meant Kirtland would have the noon game. They don't care whether or not a school has a VB team in the final 4 the same day. Football rules. (And, as if Kirtland hasn't been in enough football playoff games already and Friday won't be their last this season.)
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OHSAA tweeted this out....#OHSAA FOOTBALL: Due to the Cin. Indian Hill girls soccer Div. II state championship game at 3:30pm on Friday, the Indian Hill-Wyoming Div. IV, Region 16 semifinal football game has been pushed back to 8pm start time at Cin. Withrow Angus King Stadium. https://t.co/iisAPTZizl

So I do hear what your saying. Again, what bothers me is that it’s only the 2nd round of the football playoffs. It’s the final 4 in volleyball. They didn’t factor the volleyball games at all when this decision was made. And I feel bad for the girls. The only LC fans in Dayton on Friday will be parents.
 
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lchsman said:
OHSAA tweeted this out....#OHSAA FOOTBALL: Due to the Cin. Indian Hill girls soccer Div. II state championship game at 3:30pm on Friday, the Indian Hill-Wyoming Div. IV, Region 16 semifinal football game has been pushed back to 8pm start time at Cin. Withrow Angus King Stadium. https://t.co/iisAPTZizl

So I do hear what your saying. Again, what bothers me is that it’s only the 2nd round of the football playoffs. It’s the final 4 in volleyball. They didn’t factor the volleyball games at all when this decision was made. And I feel bad for the girls. The only LC fans in Dayton on Friday will be parents.
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Too bad OHSAA didn't give Lake the same consideration seeing it is the final 4. I just hope we win Friday in the semis so we can all get there Sat for the finals.
 
OHSAA doesn't pick who plays who at State. My understanding is its drawn every year from a hat. Not sure I like that. Rotating basis would be better.
 
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