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St. Henry volleyball wins intense battle

Redskins go the distance with Mohawk, now look for seventh state title.

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By Debbie Juniewicz, Contributing Writer Updated 12:48 AM Saturday, November 12, 2011

FAIRBORN — St. Henry battled to a 25-9, 23-25, 25-19, 12-25, 15-11 win over Sycamore Mohawk in the Division IV state volleyball semifinals at the Nutter Center on Friday.

“We were pushed to the limit by a great team,” St. Henry coach Diana Kramer said. “They (Warriors) had some great hitters but we were able to pull it together.”

Mohawk had an early edge but it was short lived. St. Henry went on a 9-1 run to take an 11-5 lead and force the Warriors to call timeout. Mohawk could not regain the momentum or the lead as the balanced Redskins closed out the first set with ease.

But the Warriors fought back in the second set with some big hits while the Redskins struggled.

“Our serve-receive broke down completely,” St. Henry outside hitter Katie Hoyng said.

After more than an hour on the court, it was knotted at two sets apiece. The first team to 15 would move on to the finals.

“On the season, we are 2-0 in fifth games,” Kramer said. “And I saw it in their eyes — there was no way we were going to lose.”

Hoying and junior middle hitter Taylor Clune combined for the final five Redskins kills. Hoying led St. Henry with 17 kills and five Redskins put down eight or more shots. “That’s been the story of our season,” Kramer said of the balance. “One of our keys to success is that they (opponents) don’t know where the ball is going.”

Already in elite company as one of only four teams to win six or more state titles, the Redskins could push that to seven with one more win. Only Cincinnati St. Ursula Academy and Newark Catholic have more championships at eight apiece.

St. Henry faces New Philadelphia Tuscarawas Central Catholic in the title match today at 5 p.m. The Saints beat Reedsville Eastern in four sets.

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