Dublin Coffman: Girls soccer, volleyball squads to enter postseason with confidence
Its numerous championship banners are noticeable to anyone stepping foot inside the school gym, but Dublin Coffman girls volleyball coach Max Miller often reminds his players that what took place before they joined the program “is not our résumé.”
In similar fashion, the Shamrocks’ girls soccer program has a long tradition of postseason success that keeps it among the hunted even during what could be considered a transition season like this fall.
While it goes with the territory, neither team is shying away from the fact that it could be among the eight Division I programs still standing in its sport when the district finals are held.
“It’s hard because everyone gives us their best game and we don’t really duck many teams,” girls soccer coach Costa Kalorides said. “We want to play everyone. When you’ve been in district finals three straight years, being among the top eight teams (in the Central District) is kind of always the goal. If we can replicate that, it’s fantastic.”
The girls soccer team reached a state semifinal during Kalorides’ fourth season in 2019, then followed with a district runner-up finish in 2020 and a regional semifinal appearance last fall.
Before that, Coffman won state titles in 2001 and 2003 and was a state runner-up four other times between 2004 and 2014.
The Shamrocks — who lost nine players to graduation, including Miami University freshman Norah Roush — were 10-2-2 overall after beating Hartley 5-0 on Oct. 1 and Pickerington North 1-0 on Oct. 4.
In the OCC-Central Division, Coffman was 2-0-1 before facing Upper Arlington on Oct. 6 and closes league action Oct. 13 at Hilliard Bradley.
The biggest factor in the Shamrocks’ success this fall has been their defense, as they had posted nine consecutive shutouts heading into the game against UA.
Seniors Kacey Collier (forward/wing back) and Bella Paoletti (attacking midfielder) have stepped into leadership roles, but the emergence of sophomore midfielder Whitney Scott also has been crucial to Coffman not taking a step back.
The district tournament begins Oct. 17.
“We struggled with talking at the beginning of the season, but as we’ve been doing team bonding, our chemistry has gotten better and our talking has gotten better,” said Paoletti, whose team was fourth in the area rankings released Oct. 3.
According to Kalorides, junior center back Ellie Crenshaw has led the defense, which also features sophomores Lily Overberg and Grace Rizzo.
Junior Taylor Duff and sophomore Reese Cochran have served as holding midfielders, with sophomore Sarah Kelly joining Paoletti in an attacking midfielder role.
“We had a couple injuries that stalled that comfort level with everyone, but they’re still working hard and performing as well as we could expect,” Kalorides said.
The volleyball team won 12 consecutive district championships from 2007-18 but lost in the second round of the tournament in 2019 and in district semifinals each of the past two seasons.
With a five-member senior class that includes a trio of three-year starters in Ella Durham (outside hitter), Leah Shumate (setter) and Annabelle Straty (libero), the Shamrocks were ranked 15th in the Week 4 state poll.
Coffman was 12-6 overall and 4-3 in the OCC-Central before facing Hilliard Davidson on Oct. 6.
With a 25-20, 25-19, 25-17 win over Olentangy Orange on Sept. 8, the Shamrocks snapped a five-match losing streak in that series. The Pioneers were ranked 11th in the state.
“It definitely feels better than it has the past two years,” Shumate said. “We’ve been trying to get Coffman’s name back out there.”
Junior Grace Thomas (outside hitter/middle hitter) and sophomore Addie Reed (defensive specialist/outside hitter) also have been among the key contributors.
After Shumate grew up in Galion and Durham previously lived in Mount Gilead, the two began competing together as eighth-graders.
Durham has committed to San Diego, Shumate will play for Ohio University and Straty has committed to Samford.
To reach a district final for the first time in four years, Durham believes her team must continue to improve in serve-receive and grow from its losses.
“We all love each other and we hang out all the time,” Durham said. “We didn’t lose too much from last year, so it’s pretty much the same team and we’ve had two years to grow together.”
julrey@thisweeknews.com
@UlreyThisWeek
This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Coffman girls soccer, volleyball to enter tourneys with confidence
