'It's good to be back,' Sheridan volleyball in first regional since '22
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FALLS TOWNSHIP — Muskingum Valley League-Big School Division rivals Sheridan and Tri-Valley took similar paths to their Division III district finals, shaking off slow starts to the season before finding their grooves down the stretch.
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That made for a competitive match for long stretches on Oct. 31 at West Muskingum's Gary Ankrum Gymnasium, with both teams trading haymakers in a tie after two sets.
Eventually though, Mauri O'Brien and the Generals took control for good in a 25-18, 25-23, 25-15, 25-16 win that secured their first regional bid since 2022.
Sheridan (21-5) now faces Carroll Bloom-Carroll (20-4) at 6 p.m. on Nov. 5 at Westerville South. Granville (15-8), which bested Columbus DeSales in five sets to win the district, and Toledo Notre Dame Academy (12-12) play in the other semifinal.
Sheridan didn't panic
Momentum took a turn midway through the third set when Tri-Valley erased an 8-2 deficit to tie the match at 12, only to watch Sheridan finish on a 13-3 run. The Scotties had five errors between hitting and serving in that span
The fourth saw a similar path, as a 13-all tie was followed by a 12-2 Generals outburst to finish it off. Each time, the deciding runs came after coach Emma Taylor called timeout.
Taylor said she never lost confidence, even as the Scotties clawed to stay in the match for long stretches.
"I knew what my team could do," Taylor said. "During that run, I was thinking, 'do I really need to call a timeout?' Because they knew what they needed to do. Once we called it, it was really about getting out of that serve-receive rotation. After that we kind of took off."
Almost inevitably, it was O'Brien and Samantha Emmert on the outside who got the call when those run-stopping kills were needed. O'Brien finished with 22 kills and six blocks, continuing her trend as one of the Southeast District's most imposing net-front presences.
"And I think that was huge," Taylor said. "She had a slower first and second set than normal, but in the third set she really came alive with her blocking and hitting. I think that third set was what set us apart. She made some really big plays at the net."
It was that net defense that Taylor felt was the deciding factor as the match progressed. Prior to that, it was scrappy back row play from the likes of Grace Stoltz, Sidney Shonk and Anderson Foltz, who combined for 35 digs.
"We finally started blocking them, which gave our defense some time to breathe," Taylor said. "That was a big factor, too."
It was a memorable day for reasons more than just the team snapping a four-year district title drought.
In O'Brien's case, her 22 kills set the school's single-season school record, originally held by Jamisyn Stinson. In addition, Grace Conrad's single-season assist record was broken by senior Drew Fox.
Taylor was glad it was accomplished in victory, her first in the district finals as head coach.
"We've been looking up at that board and saying 2022 is pretty lonely up there, so it's good to be back and headed to regionals again," Taylor said. "We're happy, but we're not satisfied. I still don't think this team has hit its ceiling yet, so I'm excited to see what we can do in the next round."
Lamonica laments struggles
Tri-Valley coach Dani Lamonica, whose team took Sheridan to five sets in the regular season, said they impressed upon the players the importance of minimizing mistakes.
She was pleased the ball movement — Raegan Durfee broke Ingrid Dittmar's single-season school assists record in the match — but said her team became predictable when in scramble mode.
"Then we hit into their high hands," Lamonica said. "We just had some errant attacks. Really, that's about it. Our serve receive was much better."
Part of the inconsistency, she said, could have been attributed to eagerness when faced against a single blocker, instead of two or even three. In a match of such importance, they're hardly to be blamed.
"We'd try to attack it and be too early, or sometimes be afraid of the block and try to tip around it, and we'd tip it out of bounds," Lamonica said. "I think they adjusted a little bit, and then I think we didn't trust ourselves enough. We're athletic, we're bouncy. We just didn't attack. Our word has been 'relentless,' and I don't think we were relentless 100 percent of that match."
Lamonica was proud of the way her team closed the season, particularly with the way her team settled into new roles as the season progressed. She cited mental training and team bonding that helped developed trust in each other as players.
Durfee fell comfortably into Eva Dittmar's vacated setter role, while juniors Karley Bollinger, Emma Smith, Reese Lamonica and Reagan Lamonica and sophomore Emberlynn Lee enjoyed more maturation as hitters.
The back row production of seniors Gracie Olinger and Alivia Reffitt leave big holes.
"Defense wins championships and those two will be hard to replace," Lamonica said.
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This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: 'It's good to be back,' Sheridan volleyball in first regional since '22