Volleyball scouter: D-III Millbury regional features four state-ranked teams
MILLBURY — We're down to just 16 teams remaining in the Division III volleyball tournament and Galion is the last one standing among Crawford County schools.
The Tigers will make the trip to Lake High School in Millbury looking to add another trophy to this season's haul that already includes a Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference title along with sectional and district championships.
Two semifinals Thursday will decide who meets Saturday for a coveted spot at the state tournament. All four schools playing in the Millbury Regional are state-ranked, which should make for a thrilling two days at Lake High School. The first is scheduled to be played at 6 p.m. with the second following around 7:30 p.m., and the championship match set for 2 p.m. Saturday.
Let's break down the Millbury Regional!
The semifinals
No. 17 Galion (22-2) vs. No. 20 Milford Center Fairbanks (23-2), 6 p.m.
Galion won its second district championship in four seasons by knocking off No. 2 in the state Huron in a five-set thriller last week while Fairbanks has cruised in the postseason so far having not dropped a single set in three wins. The Panthers beat Worthington Christian 25-18, 25-16, 25-16 over the weekend to get here.
Faribanks' only two losses this season have been to Division II Benjamin Logan, which was upset in the district championship, and West Liberty-Salem in the penultimate regular-season match after the teams split in conference play (3-2 Fairbanks and 3-0 West Liberty-Salem).
The Tigers lost twice in the first two weeks of the season but haven't dropped a match since and are on an 18-match win streak that includes wins over state-ranked Monroeville, Highland and Huron. And over that stretch Galion has dropped just nine sets, only going five sets three times, against River Valley, Highland, Huron.
No. 4 Coldwater (22-4) vs. No. 10 Sherwood Fairview (24-2), 7:30 p.m.
A traditional powerhouse, Coldwater has been one of the best teams in Division III this season as expected and knocked off No. 6 St. Henry for the district title. Fairview has reeled off four wins in tournament play, the most of any team at the regional, sweeping all in the Apaches' way, including a 3-1 district semifinal win over Swanton and then sweeping Eastwood to get here.
The Cavaliers lost back-to-back three-set matches to Memorial and Ottawa-Glandorf in a tournament to open the year, then lost to No. 1 in Division IV New Bremen in league play and D-II Celina, which was upset by Memorial in the district final last weekend. Signature wins over New Knoxville, two over St. Henry, Parkway and Marion Local mean Coldwater has had quite the regular-season test just to get to this point.
Fairview's only losses have been to No. 11 in D-II Liberty-Benton and the same Memorial team that knocked off Coldwater, both in a midseason tournament. The Apaches also come in with an 18-match win streak, tied for the longest at Millbury with Galion.
The players to watch
Galion's Hailey Young and Ashley Dyer
These two may be juniors, but they come in with as much — if not more — varsity experience than anyone else in the regional having seen a ton of time on the court since match one of their freshman year. Young (215 kills, 75 blocks) is a towering 6-foot presence who has improved each season in a Tigers uniform and Dyer (206 kills, 283 digs, 301 receptions) has done the same as one of the most versatile players around. This dynamic duo has been instrumental to the team's success this season, but really stepped up when called upon in the district tournament — especially against Huron. In order for Galion to get past Fairbanks, and then whoever wins the second semifinal, Young will need to assert her dominance at the net and Dyer will need another all-around performance.
Fairbanks' Sophie Little and Caydee Breneman
A pair of bigs for the Panthers, Little and Breneman both stand 5-foot-11 and make their presence felt at the net one way or another. Little leads the team with 327 kills and 57 aces while ranking third in digs (222) and receptions (274), and Breneman is third on the team attacking with 168 kills and leads in blocks with 50. If these two can control the net and give Galion's hitters trouble with clean hits, it could be just the edge Fairbanks needs.
Coldwater's Cerberus (Jenna Leugers, Spencer Etzler, Madison Wendel)
The most balanced attack in the regional belongs to Coldwater. Leuger, Etzler and Wendel all have 200-plus kills and also either lead, or are up near the top, of other team statistics. Leugers, a 5-foot-8 senior, has 268 kills, 36 aces, 194 digs and 316 assists as the lead attacker. Etzler, a 5-8 sophomore, is right behind with 260 kills while leading the team serving with 71 aces, digs (349) and receptions (423). And rounding out the three-headed behemoth is 5-11 junior Wendel, who has 206 kills, 50 aces, 52 blocks, 166 digs and 116 receptions. Stopping one of them has been difficult for most teams to do this season, but stopping all three? Good luck.
Fairview's Kelly Crites and Paige Ricica
The Apaches have a pair of 5-foot-10 hitters in Crites and Ricica who can really make opponents pay if they're left uncontested at the net. Crites, a junior, has 440 kills — the most of anyone in the Millbury Regional — with a 50.3% kill rate and a hitting percentage of 37.2%. Ricica, a senior, is right behind with 360 kills, leads the team serving with 72 aces and receptions with 395, and is second in blocks (40) and digs (225). Chances are if one isn't open the other one will be.
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Twitter: @Zachary_Holden
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Regional Volleyball Scouter: D-III tournament in Millbury
