CJ, Alter sweep their way to district crowns

Eagles top state-ranked McNicholas despite youth, size deficits.

Alter High School senior Kristen Kaiser prepares for a spike Saturday against Shawnee in a Division II district final at Trent Arena in Kettering. Alter earned a matchup with the top-ranked team in the state Thursday in the regional semifinals.

Contributed photo by Peter Wine Alter High School senior Kristen Kaiser prepares for a spike Saturday against Shawnee in a Division II district final at Trent Arena in Kettering. Alter earned a matchup with the top-ranked team in the state Thursday in the regional semifinals.

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By Debbie Juniewicz, Contributing Writer 2:21 AM Sunday, October 30, 2011

KETTERING — The Chaminade Julienne Eagles weren’t supposed to win.

“They beat us this year once, they were ranked ninth in the state and we weren’t ranked at all,” Eagles coach Dennis Hale said. “I told the girls before the match if we lose, it’s not the end of the world because we were supposed to lose. But of course we wanted to win.”

That’s just what CJ did. The Eagles (18-7) handed state-ranked Cincinnati McNicholas (19-5) a straight-set loss, 25-20, 25-23, 25-22, in the Division II Southwest District volleyball finals at Trent Arena Saturday. CJ advanced to the regional semifinals for the second time in the past three seasons.

“This team has truly done something special,” Hale said. “Given our lack of size and experience, if you would have told me at the beginning of the season that this is where we would be, I would have been very surprised.”

Hale described the win as a “total team effort,” and it did take the whole team as every player on the Eagles bench saw action.

“We may not have the 12 best individual volleyball players in the area but we finally have everyone in a position where they can utilize their talents,” Hale said.

The young Eagles, with a combined five freshmen and sophomores in the lineup, started strong and led 21-11 in the opening set but CJ stalled and the Rockets closed the gap to 21-15. The Eagles got a spark from junior Grace Kauth, who led the team with 15 kills on the day, and freshman Haleigh Shaw, who added 10 kills, to close out the first set.

The Rockets rallied early in the second set, jumping out to a 6-1 lead but the Eagles fought back. Five lead changes and 10 ties later, CJ took a two-set lead. Hale stressed the importance of taking the match in three sets to the Eagles.

“I felt like if we went more than three, the odds would be against us because of our youth,” he said. “And I’m also a firm believer that when you’ve got a team down, you don’t let them up.”

Four-peat: Alter coach Tina Jasinowski preaches “start strong, stay strong, finish strong.”

The Knights handled the first two with ease in topping Shawnee 25-13, 25-10, 25-23 in other D-II district final action Saturday. It marked the fourth consecutive and 10th overall district championship title in Jasinowski’s 16-year tenure.

Alter set the tone early and maintained the momentum in the second set but the Braves were not about to back down. Shawnee mustered a 22-21 lead late in the third set but couldn’t push the match to a fourth. Alter senior Megan Courtney clinched the win with her team-leading 15th kill.

“We handled them pretty easily in the first and second sets and maybe we backed our foot off the pedal a little bit in the third,” Jasinowski said. “We’ve had situations this season where we’ve either started slow or not been able to finish strong. We need to learn how to put both of those pieces together.”

The Knights (No. 12) will face Wyoming, the top-ranked D-II team in the state, in the regional semifinals Thursday. Wyoming extended its perfect record to 23-0 with a 25-20, 25-22, 25-14 win over Urbana in the district finals Saturday.

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