Boys Volleyball: Olentangy Berlin Bears turn corner under first-year coach Jim Cornett
A change in attitude and a young nucleus have led to success for the Olentangy Berlin boys volleyball team.
The Bears were 10-6 overall and 4-6 in the OCC-Cardinal Division before playing Worthington Kilbourne on April 28. Those 10 wins are one more than in the previous two seasons combined.
Berlin was 6-18 overall and 2-10 in the league last season and 3-19 overall and 1-13 in the OCC-Cardinal during its inaugural campaign in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 season.
This season’s turnaround began with the arrival of first-year coach Jim Cornett.
“It was hard last year because people weren’t taking things too seriously,” said senior libero Mike Mannino, who led the team with 103 digs through 16 matches. “It’s been huge, honestly, in having coach and starting to get more wins. It’s brought a lot of respect to the program in the school’s eyes. It’s been awesome to be a part of that kind of change.”
Cornett brings experience both as a player and a coach, as the 1999 Worthington Kilbourne graduate was named first-team all-state as a senior and has served as an assistant with his alma mater and Olentangy. He is an industrial technology teacher at Berlin.
“I’ve been watching the program since I taught at the school, and I was interested in how they were developing,” Cornett said. “It seems everyone is on the same page and contributing together. There’s a great synergy among the coaches, parents and players and everyone’s doing their part.
“We have a young team with two freshmen and two sophomores starting, but they bring a lot of skill level. The seniors didn’t play club, but they bring a different set of skills. They bring energy and maturity. It’s all working well together.”
The sophomore starters are setter Parker Van Horne and middle blocker Mitch Zahner, while outside hitters Hayden Van Horne and Josh Weida are freshmen.
“Coach has brought a lot of hype and a lot of togetherness to the program,” said Parker Van Horne, who had a team-high 362 assists through 16 matches. “We think of ourselves as a family. We’re close with one another, even the j.v. We always support each other throughout the day and he makes sure the program is known well around the school.”
Zahner led the team in blocks (32) and aces (30), and he also had 65 kills.
“I think coach has brought more discipline and he gives us a lot of technical advice,” Zahner said. “He goes up to us individually and often gives us one-on-one advice. Some of us go talk to him during lunch about things we should do. It’s really nice.”
Hayden Van Horne led the team with 152 kills and had added 18 aces and 95 digs. Other key contributors have been Weida (104 kills, 15 aces) and senior outside hitter Mason Clark (73 kills, 22 blocks).
“The first half of the season there was a lot of excitement at just being able to compete with everyone,” Cornett said. “Right now we’ve competed and now they feel a pressure to perform.
“Now we have to keep it fun. We can’t have that expectation that if we don’t perform, then it means we’re a bad team. We had fun early, and we want to keep the focus on growing and learning.”
Parker Van Horne said it’s important to stay focused on the little things that come together for victories.
“We have to make sure we play up to the level of the good teams and not play down to the level of other teams,” he said. “We have to play consistently, no matter the skill level.”
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This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Boys Volleyball: Olentangy Berlin turns corner under new coach
