High Schools

FAIRBORN — It was more than a question. It was a challenge.

"I asked the girls if they wanted to be the kind of team that waits for things to happen or the kind of team that makes things happen," Alter High School volleyball coach Tina Jasinowski said.

The Knights chose the latter.

Alter earned its third state volleyball championship Saturday as the Knights edged out a talented Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit team, 25-21, 14-25, 28-26, 25-23, in the Division II finals of the 32nd girls volleyball state tournament at Wright State's Nutter Center.

"It was a lot of hard work in the making," Jasinowski said. "This is very gratifying for us."

There was plenty of hard work Saturday as Warriors standout Katie Dull stepped up. The 5-foot-10 outside hitter set the tone early as she drilled in the first four points for Walsh Jesuit (27-2).

Strong serving by Knights outside hitter Sarah Fisher helped swing the momentum Alter's way as the Knights translated a 3-6 deficit into an 8-6 lead with a trio of aces. The Knights capitalized on a string of Warriors errors and emerged from a 16-all deadlock with a 20-16 lead. They never trailed again in the opening game.

Game 2 was all Walsh Jesuit from the midpoint on as the Warriors closed out the game with a 13-3 scoring run.

Alter regrouped in Game 3 and outlasted Walsh Jesuit, fighting through 10 tie scores and four lead changes to go ahead 2-1 in the match.

"It was a very, very tight match," Walsh Jesuit coach Missy Christ said. "We made adjustments. They just made them faster, and we came up short two more times than they did."

Despite winning the marathon third game, Alter could not maintain its momentum early in the fourth game as the Warriors sped to a 5-1 lead. The Knights didn't regain the lead until late, 22-21, but they never let it slip away again.

Dull led all players with 34 points, but for the Knights (26-3) it didn't come down to a star player — it all came down to a team effort.

"We knew Katie would get some swings — she's a great player," Jasinowski said. "But we're a great team."

Three of the Knights played on the 2003 state championship team (seniors Emily Borchers, Kacie Hausfeld and Katie Laravie), but all of them agreed that this win meant more to them.

"That season, we only played if we were up by a lot," Hausfeld said with a smile. "This was our team all season."

Laravie agreed.

"It feels good to really be a part of it this time," Laravie said. "We earned this one."