That is “Dots,” VolleyballMag.com’s weekly take a look at 10 issues in highschool volleyball, previous or current, that curiosity me and hopefully will curiosity you. Search for Dots each week till the final highschool state championship in November:
• On Thursday, as they do earlier than the normal two-day Asics Problem in Chicago, Mom McAuley and Marist every hosted a Kentucky powerhouse in a “pleasant” match. Assumption gained an additional time Recreation 1, 28-26, on its approach to a 3 set win over the Mighty Macs. Marist rallied from a set all the way down to get the very best of defending champion Notre Dame Academy in three units.
Two days later, maybe fueled by these Thursday losses, Mom McAuley (21-4) and Notre Dame (24-3) each made the ultimate on the 24-team Asics Problem, one of many absolute best occasions within the Midwest yr in and yr out, with groups from Illinois, Michigan, Kentucky, Iowa, New York and Nebraska. McAuley gained, 25-20, 25-18, to repeat as champion. Senior Ellie White had 14 kills and three aces and libero Sam Falk was credited with 29 digs within the sweep. Middles Ellery Rees and Kiera Ohse, OH Sydney Buchanan and RS Mary Claire Deacy additionally stepped up large on the weekend.
“I felt like each match we acquired higher as a staff,” mentioned Mom McAuley coach Jen DeJarld. “We’ve been struggling to maintain a excessive degree from begin to end and that was considered one of our objectives for the weekend.”
DeJarld mentioned that it wasn’t the loss to Assumption that motivated her staff, however a loss the Thursday previous to Marist. The Mighty Macs acquired their revenge within the quarterfinals earlier than taking out Omaha Skutt Catholic within the semifinals.
“We positively have been blissful for the chance to redeem ourselves,” DeJarld added.
Notre Dame reached the championship remaining by knocking off Michigan’s North Department in a quarterfinal and edged Assumption, 29-27 within the third, within the semifinals, squaring the season sequence with the Rockets at a win apiece. The 2 groups are slated to play yet one more time within the common season, on Oct. 12, earlier than the District playoffs begin.
• Saint Francis of Mountain View, California, positioned thirteenth out of 64 groups on the Durango Fall Basic two Saturdays in the past. The Lancers fell sufferer to an Assumption rally in the course of the Championship Qualifying Spherical, then misplaced to Xavier Faculty Prep of Phoenix within the first spherical of the Silver Bracket earlier than successful out.
One of many wins got here in opposition to West Catholic Athletic League rival Archbishop Mitty, a staff Saint Francis misplaced to the primary time they performed. Saint Francis (23-3) doubled up on the Monarchs 5 days later by registering a four-set league win at house. That gave me a sense that the Lancers may do one thing particular on the Nike Match of Champions-Southwest in Phoenix. Certainly, within the Friday Pocket book I write for the California Interscholastic Federation, I mentioned this:
Saint Francis additionally may determine after downing league rival Archbishop Mitty for the second time in 5 days on Wednesday.
Seven wins later, together with the final 4 that each one went to a 3rd and deciding set, the Lancers are the 2023 Nationwide Division champions. Lake Merchen’s staff downed defending champion Cornerstone Christian of San Antonio, a staff that completed seven spots forward of it at Durango, within the championship match.
“Beating Cornerstone Christian was largely partially to our reception and defensive efforts,” Merchen defined. “ [Libero] Whitney Wallace was unbelievable and as an entire we have been passing the ball at an excellent excessive degree all the best way all through the match, which let our setter (Hannah Maguire) run a extremely nice offense and keep forward of the large block and nice protection of CC. We’ve put a ton of labor in defensively over the previous week and it positively confirmed in that match as nicely. CC is a loopy bodily staff that I feel is used to only being larger/higher than the groups they go up in opposition to, however their offense is a little bit slower than what we’re used to seeing, so we have been in a position to reap the benefits of that and persistently get nice touches on the block and our defenders have been working their butts off to provide us second likelihood and transition alternatives. General (and I’m certain that is probably the most cliche response you will get however for us it couldn’t be extra correct) this event win was a whole staff effort. Every participant we had stepped up when their quantity was referred to as and helped to take stress off of their teammates.”
“I feel our mindset going into Durango was to get the chance to match up in opposition to the highest groups within the nation, be challenged, and see the place we stood in comparison with them,” Merchen mentioned. “The loss in opposition to Assumption confirmed us that we have been simply pretty much as good, if not higher, than a whole lot of these groups, however we would have liked to be extra fearless in tight moments and particularly on the finish of matches. Our motto for the week and for this event was merely to be fearless when the second was large. Large wins require large issues, large swings, and massive performs…and we stayed true to that all through the event.”
• Merchen mentioned he wasn’t certain his staff would make the ultimate after dropping Recreation 1 of the semifinal versus Liberty of Peoria, 25-11.
“They have been an awesome staff and it seemed just like the loopy quantity of aggressive matches we’d performed previously three weeks had caught as much as us and we’d hit a wall,” Merchen defined.
The staff, which was error-prone in that first set, then went down 10-3 to start out the second.
“The comeback cost was led by Erin Curtis, particularly along with her offense popping out of the backrow; and Ella Fulton (Soph. MB) who had 4 blocks and a handful of kills…Undoubtedly a second the place the fearless mindset got here to play and acquired us out of a troublesome spot.”
• Curtis and fellow exterior Taylor Williams, Wallace and Maguire made the All-Match Group for Saint Francis, with Merchen anointing Maguire because the MVP. That’s big reward on condition that changing stud setter Havanna Hoeft from final yr’s 34-1 staff was the largest query mark for the staff heading into the season.
Fulton and center Sacha Touma additionally excelled, teaming for 64 kills and 24 blocks on the internet.
“They have been each in a position to carry the offensive load in matches the place our pins seemed like that they had hit the wall and there’s no manner we may have made the run we did with out the 2 of them,” Merchen mentioned.
• As an alternative of the normal October “Dig Pink,” Mahtomedi volleyball, in Minnesota, is doing an “Orange Out” on Wednesday versus North St. Paul HS as a result of senior defender Morgan Marx is battling leukemia. Plans for the night embrace raffle tickets to win considered one of a number of themed baskets, together with a Volleyball Basket that features tickets to a College of Minnesota Golden Gopher match. The staff additionally plans a reward of a ponytail to Kids with Hair Loss, courtesy of Marx. Between the primary and second units, she’s going to snip the hair of JV coach Kelly Olson Misiura!
• Final Tuesday in Missouri, two of the very best groups within the Present Me State, Liberty and Liberty North, clashed of their annual Dig for a Remedy sport. It was highschool volleyball at its most interesting, with Liberty North prevailing within the fifth set by a 16-14 rating.
Carlie Cisneros, one of many prime senior attackers within the nation, had 28 kills and 12 digs within the win. Abigail Mullen, a prime 5 nationwide junior hitter, had 29 kills and 23 digs within the loss.
Funds have been raised for a number of space coaches within the throes of their very own most cancers battles, together with Saree Morley, Ken Peek and Ryun Middleton. Coach Rob James was honored posthumously.
• Senior Regan Harp is the lone returning starter for Fayetteville, the 2022 Arkansas 6A champions. Harp moved from the center this yr to grow to be a six-rotation exterior hitter and is averaging six kills per set this fall. She recorded her profession one thousandth kill in final weekend’s event at Saint Thomas Aquinas in Kansas. Harp is dedicated to the College of Central Arkansas.
• Final Tuesday, Highland, of Marengo, Ohio, misplaced at house to Shelby, 3-1. The loss snapped an 11-year, 76-match, 216-set house convention streak courting to 2012.
Two days later, the Preventing Scots (15-3) swept Galion to start out a brand new streak and avenge a highway loss from 4 weeks in the past. Highland and Galion are the one two colleges within the eight-team convention to win the convention over the previous decade.
• Some milestones…
Oconee County (GA) senior OH Brinley Bartlett eclipsed 1,000 profession kills.
Ridgeview (FL) senior S Mariah Bostic-Jones topped 500 assists for the season and 1,500 for her profession.
Portsmouth Christian Academy (NH) senior Kailey Holt now has 150 profession aces and is closing in on the college’s single-season and profession ace document.
Highland (OH) junior RS Kameron Stover went over 1,000 profession kills.
Sunny Hills (CA) OH Kayla Taylor, a current Dennison recruit, hit 1,000 profession kills on Sept. 28.
At Legion Collegiate Academy (SC), senior setter Mia Scott surpassed 500 assists in a season and junior OH Addison Burke went over the 800 profession kill mark.
St. Michael’s Academy (TX) hitter Mora Mooney now has 1,300 profession kills.
• Because the calendar turns to October, it’s time to begin fascinated about the volleyball playoffs. Oklahoma would be the first state to crown state champions, when the smaller classifications maintain their state championships Oct. 12-14.
Right here now could be a state-by-state rundown of the championship dates for 2023:
Alabama – Oct. 31-Nov. 2
Alaska – Nov. 11th of September
Arizona – Nov. 10-11
Arkansas – Oct. 23-26
California – Nov. 17-18
Colorado – Nov. 11th of September
Connecticut – Nov. 17-18
Delaware – Nov. 13
District of Columbia – Nov. 11?
Florida – Nov. 6-11
Georgia – Nov. 3-4
Hawaii – Oct. 30- Nov. 5
Idaho – Oct. 27-28
Illinois – Nov. 10-11
Indiana – Nov. 4
Iowa – Oct. 30-Nov. 2
Kansas – Oct. 27-28
Kentucky – Nov. 3-5
Louisiana – Nov. 11th of September
Maine – Oct. 25
Maryland – Nov. 18
Massachusetts – Nov. 17-18
Michigan – Nov. 18
Minnesota – Nov. 8-11
Mississippi – Oct. 19
Missouri – Nov. 2-4
Montana – Nov. 11th of September
Nebraska – Nov. 1-4
Nevada – Nov. 11th of September
New Jersey – Nov. 12
New Mexico – Nov. 16-18
New York – Nov. 18-19
North Carolina – Nov. 4
North Dakota – Nov. 16-18
New Hampshire – Nov. 4
Ohio – Nov. 11th of September
Oklahoma – Oct. 12-14 and Oct. 19-21
Oregon – Nov. 3-4
Pennsylvania – Nov. 18
Rhode Island – Nov. 11
South Carolina – Nov. 3-4
South Dakota – Nov. 16-18
Tennessee – Oct. 17
Texas – Nov. 15-18
Utah – Oct. 28-29 and Nov. 3-5
Virginia – Nov. 16-18
Vermont – Nov. 4
Washington – Nov. 8-11 and Nov. 17-18
West Virginia – Nov. 8-9
Wisconsin – Nov. 2-4
Wyoming – Nov. 2-4
Till subsequent time …