Perrysburg’s Mia Brandeberry goes for the kill in the Yellow Jackets’ three set regional semifinal loss to Toledo St. Ursula at Norwalk High School Thursday. (Lee Welch/Sentinel-Tribune)
By Yaneek Smith
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
NORWALK — Last season, Perrysburg was able to defeat Toledo St. Ursula on its way to a Division I regional championship.
This time around, the Yellow Jackets, who have won three straight district titles, were reminded just how good the Arrows are, falling, 3-0 (25-14, 25-17, 25-20) in a Division I regional semifinal matchup between two of Northwest Ohio’s finest at Norwalk High School.
In the first two sets, there were nine ties and three lead changes, and St. Ursula appeared to be on its way to an easy sweep in the third set.
But Perrysburg, which fell behind, 6-0 and 12-4, went on a 12-4 run itself, tying the score at 16-16 and prompting a timeout from St. Ursula coach Jason Reilly.
From there, St. Ursula turned the tide and took over, winning seven consecutive points and preventing the Jackets (18-8) from getting closer than four points the rest of the way. Erin Moloney had three kills during the spurt, and the Arrows won the set, 25-20, and took the match.
In the second set, the teams found themselves tied, 5-5, before the Arrows won eight straight points. The lead grew to 13 points at 23-10, though the Jackets did fight back, scoring seven of the next eight points before Olivia Batch ended the set, 25-17, with a kill to put St. Ursula, which was ranked 16th in the final AP Poll, ahead, 2-0.
The Arrows, who had gone a few years without beating Perrysburg, have a tendency to take teams out of their comfort zones. It was something of a war of attrition as St. Ursula slowly wore down the Jackets and got stronger as each set progressed.
“Coming into regionals, we knew we were going to have to play hard. I think our girls knew what it takes to get here,” said Perrysburg coach Laura Davidson. “We (just) weren’t able to pass as well as we wanted to. We didn’t win the passing game.
“We’re both good programs. We weren’t ranked, but we got to the Sweet 16.”
In the first set, the teams were tied five times in the first 20 points, the final coming at 10-10, and St. Ursula went on a 5-0 spurt and then won 10 of the next 14 points to win, 25-14, and go ahead, 1-0.
It was the final match for three Perrysburg seniors — Maddie Trautman, Lydia Steyer and Wrigley Takats. Steyer, who is considering playing volleyball in college, talked about what she’ll cherish most from her experience with the team.
“I’ve worked my way through the program,” she said. “One of the memories that I’ll take with me is making it to the final four last year. That was just incredible, it was nothing like I could’ve imagined.”
The camaraderie was very strong with the team, which advanced to regionals in each of the last three seasons.
“It’s a great group of girls. We’re all hardworking and supportive of each other,” Steyer said. “The last three years, the leadership has done nothing but improve. New people have stepped up every year. I think we improve after every game and learn from our mistakes.”
