FINDLAY — Otsego’s volleyball team finally ran out of answers Wednesday night.
The Knights — who have played consistently well all season — couldn’t overcome Archbold’s power, depth
and experience. CLICK
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But they sure tried. And it nearly paid off.
Otsego lost the first game, but rallied to win the second game and even held a 23-20 win in the third
game.
But the Knights couldn’t hold on and the second-ranked Blue Streaks came back for a 25-17, 18-25, 26-24,
25-16 win in the semifinals of the Division III regional tournament at Liberty-Benton High School.
Otsego — playing in the regional for the first time since 1992 when it won the state championship —
finished 22-4.
The loss was the Knights’ first in eight matches since a 25-23, 26-24 defeat at Archbold Oct. 3 in the
Blue Streaks’ tournament.
Archbold is 27-0, including a 66-5 record in individual games.
The match was played in a terrific basketball-type environment as the teams combined to bring a
near-capacity crowd.
“Everyone played their hardest, but it’s a tough loss,” said Otsego senior Baley Bernthisel, who had 21
kills.
Archbold dominated Game 1 before Otsego quickly rebounded to win Game 2 and even the match.
In Game 2, the Knights scored five straight points, including a kill by Hannah Greulich, for a 20-15
lead. The Blue Streaks closed to within 22-18, but Bernthisel’s three straight kills ended the game.
“It was just a lot of little things we had to fix and we did. We came out with determination,” Otsego
coach Cheryl Jones said.
Game 3 was the best of the match as both teams played well.
Otsego, after holding a 17-11 lead, later held the edge at 23-20 with its best rotation on the floor.
But Archbold answered with four straight points, the first three on Emily Snyder kills, and the fourth on
Devin Newman’s ace.
The Knights tied the game on a serving error, but Snyder’s kill and Otsego’s attack error gave Archbold
the game.
“We backed off a little bit and it cost us, but Archbold’s a good team and you have to give them credit,”
Bernthisel said.
“We knew that as good as they are and as experienced as they are, they can get on a roll,” Jones said.
“You can’t leave the door open for them. We needed to persevere right there and get it done, but we
couldn’t finish it off.”
In Game 4, Archbold scored seven straight points for a 10-1 lead. Otsego answered with a block by
Bernthisel, but the Blue Streaks scored five of the next six points to go comfortably ahead at 15-3.
“The pendulum really swung against us,” Jones said. “It quickly went down hill.”
The Knights — who had serving errors in the match — tired in Game 4 as most of their players play all six
rotations,
On a couple of Blue Streaks remained on the court full-time as Archbold always had fresh players on the
court.
“We ran out of gas,” Jones said.
Archbold’s quick and powerful hitters were too much for the Knights, whose blocking and digging had been
good all season.
The Blue Streaks attacked from everywhere and often put the ball away just inside a line. Experience also
made a big difference as Archbold had nine seniors and three juniors on its 15-player roster.
Although Otsego had five seniors on the court most of the time, it still had younger players in key
spots.
“Their hitting got us. We weren’t used to playing a team with such big hitters,” Bernthisel said.
“They have a lot of hitters who pack a punch,” Jones said.
In addition to finishing 22-4, Otsego shared the Suburban Lakes League title with an 11-1 record and won
sectional and district championships.
“What an awesome season,” Jones said.
The match finished the careers of Otsego’s five great seniors — Bernthisel, Autumn Berry and Ashley
Holzwart, who were in the fourth season; Katelyn Downing, who was in her third season; and Chelsea
Bollenbacher, who was in her second season.
“They’ve obviously touched my heart,” Jones said. “They were willing to work hard and they were
committed, willing to put in the time it takes to be successful. And they’re just good kids. They’re
going to be missed.”