Alter captures D-II state championship

Top-ranked Knights drop defending champion Hoban to complete their quest.

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By Debbie Juniewicz, Contributing Writer 1:28 AM Monday, May 30, 2011

PICKERINGTON — Keaton Pieper and Luke McCrate would take serves and spikes and a state championship over caps and gowns and “Pomp and Circumstance” any day.

They did just that as the Alter senior setter and right-side hitter helped the Knights capture their first title at the Division II Ohio High School Boys Volleyball Association state championship at Pickerington North on Sunday. Alter defeated defending state champion Archbishop Hoban 25-16, 25-22, 25-16 in the final.

One day earlier, Pieper and McCrate were helping the Knights collect a state semifinal win while their classmates were collecting their high school diplomas.

“I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get to graduate with my class but I wanted state more,” McCrate said.

The quest for a state title was almost as long as their high school education.

“We worked for this for the past four years. There was nothing we wanted more,” Pieper said. “I’m on cloud nine right now.”

The Knights’ determination was evident from the opening serve as Alter took a quick 3-1 lead after back-to-back kills by junior outside hitter Chuck Eisenhauer. The Knights never trailed in the opening set.

But the tournament-tested Hoban players showed why they have captured two of the past three D-II state titles as they wrestled away the momentum. Hoban held a 21-18 lead late in the second set.

“I called my only timeout of the whole tournament in that set,” Alter coach Craig Erford said. “I just told them we needed to worry about our side of the court and focus on what we needed to do.”

The Knights responded and closed out the set on a 7-1 run. While Hoban kept it close early in the third set, the team was plagued by errors late in the match while Alter remained steady.

Eisenhauer led the Knights with 12 kills, while McCrate added eight. Pieper posted 26 assists and four blocks in the win.

It was a decisive tournament run for the No. 1 state-ranked Knights, as they didn’t drop a single set in the postseason.

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