The Beavers were fired up from the opening serve as they jumped to a 5-1 lead over St. Edward in the Division I quarterfinal match. While only one Beavercreek player had competed at the state tournament, nerves were not a problem as the Beavers swept the Eagles 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-15).
“That’s the way we’ve played the last month,” Beavercreek coach Carol Bysak said. “They are very confident and very comfortable. They really want this.”
Beavercreek qualified to the state tournament in 2011 and 2013, bowing out in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively. But this is a different team with a different philosophy.
Bysak has been using a Rudyard Kipling quote all season: “For the strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.” The Beavers have bought in, even letting out an occasional howl on the court.
That team philosophy was evident in the postgame stats as libero Parker Mikesch and outside hitter Nate Hale tallied a team-high 11 digs, outside hitter Alec Otto led with 13 kills, middle blocker Dan Lohner led the Beavers with six blocks and setter Noah Boos, the only player with state experience, posted 21 assists.
Beavercreek will face 2012 state champion Moeller in the D-I semifinals this morning. They faced off in the first week of the season with the Crusaders getting the win.
“We plan on turning the tables on them,” Bysak said.
Centerville also advanced to the D-I state semifinals with a 3-1 win (25-23, 25-27, 25-21, 25-23) over St. Ignatius. Centerville battled from behind to take the first set but the Wildcats didn’t back down, evening the match after a marathon second set.
“We battle in spurts, that’s kind of our m.o.,” Centerville coach Monte Moser said.
But the veteran Elks, with eight seniors, don’t get rattled easily.
“They’ve got a good maturity level,” Moser said. “They just need to stop making the little mistakes.”
Error-free volleyball will be a must if the Elks hope to top Hilliard Darby in the semifinals today. Darby, the 2013 D-I state champion, beat St. Xavier in the quarterfinals 3-2 Saturday.
Division II: Defending state champion Alter will battle for a fourth state championship in the past five years today.
Alter beat Walsh in straight sets, 32-30, 25-20, 25-19, in the semifinals Saturday.
The Knights trailed 18-23 late in the opening set before battling back to knot it at 23. Five set points later, senior outside hitter Matt Vandenbrock powered in the game winner. Alter maintained its momentum the rest of the way.
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