DaytonDailyNews.com

KETTERING — They ousted the reigning state champions in convincing fashion and remained perfect at 26-0. Give it up to the potent Tippecanoe volleyball team.

Playing before a red-clad partisan crowd at Trent Arena, the Red Devils defeated Alter 25-11, 25-18, 22-25 and 25-14 to claim a Division II district title. They advance to the regional semifinals Thursday at Wilmington High School and will play Cincinnati McNicholas, which beat Indian Lake in the late game.

Rated No. 2 in the final state D-II coaches poll, Tippecanoe stated its case loud and clear against the tradition-rich Knights.

"We respected Alter a lot and knew we had to bring the pressure early, and we did that," said 6-foot outside hitter Cassie Berning. "We have a dynamic offense, and we were finding the holes."

A lot of Berning's game-high 15 kills were of the momentum-changing cross-court variety. She exhibited power and touch. She also had six blocks and 17 digs. Central Buckeye Conference and District 9 Player of the Year Hilary Andrews added 14 kills and 20 digs. Abby Dowd totaled six kills, while sparkplug Hallie Donathan produced 37 assists.

"Our sectional final match against Graham went five games and served as a wake-up call for us," said Tippecanoe coach Pat Carus. "We came out with a high-energy attack. We served tough and kept running our weapons at them. Being undefeated at this stage of the season is very rare, and our players are realizing that."

Alter (an awe-inspiring three state titles already this decade) finishes the season at 13-12.

"We didn't serve-receive, and that was the difference," said Alter coach Tina Jasinowski. "We could have done a better job responding to their pressure. They have some nice outside hitters, and they took advantage at times."

In the another D-II district title game, Bellbrook outlasted upstart Cincinnati Indian Hill 25-21, 21-25, 23-25, 25-14 and 15-7.

"We've been here four straight years, and now we finally won a district championship," said four-year mainstay Jana Gross. "We were more comfortable in the pressure-packed situation than Indian Hill. That's why we pulled through that fourth game and carried the momentum to close it out at 15-7."

Gross, a libero, accounted for 29 digs. Blair Spitler had her career-best game with five solo blocks, while the trio of Stephanie Bruggeman (10 kills), Brittany Powers (nine kills) and Amy Zollars (eight kills) provided the front-line power.