PERRYSBURG — Perrysburg volleyball finished its regular season with a 25-23, 25-19, 14-25, 25-22 victory over visiting Clay Wednesday.
The match was not originally on either teams’ schedule, but when both teams got a bye in the opening round of the district tournament, the coaches did not want to see their players practicing for over a week while waiting for the tournament to begin.
“It was great — we were very happy with it, and obviously we wanted a challenging match going into tournament time, so this was definitely perfect for us at this time,” Perrysburg coach Laura Davidson said.
Perrysburg, which finished as runner-up in the Northern Lakes League Buckeye Division behind champion Anthony Wayne, had lost to Clay, the NLL Cardinal Division champion, 25-22, 22-25, 25-21, 25-20, at Harold Potter Field House in Oregon on October 3.
So, first and foremost, it was important for the Yellow Jackets to avenge that loss.
“It felt really good,” said Perrysburg senior outside hitter Sophie Burkey. “We did not get the turnout that we did the first time we played them, and it really hurt, so we came into tonight with a lot of fire and we just wanted revenge.
“We came in and we didn’t really feel any pressure because the pressure is on them, but tonight we just wanted to protect our home court for the last time playing here this season.”
Perrysburg finishes the regular season 16-6, while Clay falls to 18-4.
Burkey led the Yellow Jackets with 19 kills and seven aces, senior pin hitter Mackenzie Hurley had 10 kills and three blocks, and junior pin and setter Katie Pahl delivered 12 kills, four aces, and three blocks.
It was not just about practicing in preparation for the match — a lot more goes into it than that, says Davidson. There is homework, too, in the film room, on what went wrong the first time the Jackets played the Eagles.
“We have been preparing all week for it, watching lots of film on what we did last time, what we could change, watching their defense,” Davidson said. “I think that they played out the gameplan perfectly and did a great job.”
In the first set, Clay sophomore outside hitter Emelia Goetz’s kill tied the score at 23, but Pahl finished the set with two consecutive kills to give the Jackets an early one set advantage.
In the third set, a kill by Pahl gave Perrysburg a 19-11 lead and they cruised, with Pahl getting the set winner on a kill, too.
However, in the third set, Clay sophomore middle blocker Leah Hazuda was part of five blocks, teaming up with Goetz, junior setter Hayden Rodriguez, and senior setter Natalie Karrick as the Eagles opened a 20-9 lead and cruised to an 11-point win.
In the fourth set, Hurley scored the final two points for the Jackets on kills to close out the match.
For Perrysburg’s six seniors, Burkey, Hurley, defensive specialist Brooklynn Okoneski, outside hitter Riley Doria, middle blocker Reese Kaminski, and pin Kaylee Pierce, it was their last time playing on their home court. Burkey feels proud of what the group have accomplished.
“We’re all very close. I think everyone looks up to us,” Burkey said. “We’re all such great friends and we just wanted to come out here one last time for a bang.”
After the expansion from four divisions to seven divisions this year, there are only three teams in the Northwest District’s Division I, and Perrysburg is the top seed, so the Yellow Jackets only have to win one match to advance to the regional tournament.
In the only district semifinal, Toledo Whitmer and Findlay face off against each other next Tuesday at Lake High School, and the winner gets Perrysburg at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Lake.
“So, now we just need to breathe,” Davidson said. “We’re going into district finals next Thursday against Findlay or Whitmer, so we’re going to treat it as a tournament game and we’re not holding anything back.
“We want to get to the regionals, and take it from there, see new teams and good teams. We’ve played great teams in this area, so I’m excited.”
The regional tournament semifinals will be played October 31 at Central Crossing High School in Grove City, Ohio.
If they win the district, Perrysburg will get a team from the Central District at 6 p.m. and at 8 p.m. a champion from another Central District tournament will play a Southwest District winner. The semifinal winners play at 2 p.m. on November 2 for the right to advance to the state final four.
