Tawa’s HS Dots: Macs are Mighty; Francis is Fearless

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 standard two-day Asics Problem in Chicago, Mom McAuley and Marist every hosted a Kentucky powerhouse in a “pleasant” match. Assumption gained an extra time Recreation 1, 28-26, on its technique to a 3 set win over the Mighty Macs. Marist rallied from a set right 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 best possible 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 huge on the weekend.

“I felt like each match we obtained higher as a crew,” stated 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 stated that it wasn’t the loss to Assumption that motivated her crew, however a loss the Thursday previous to Marist. The Mighty Macs obtained their revenge within the quarterfinals earlier than taking out Omaha Skutt Catholic within the semifinals.

“We positively have been joyful for the chance to redeem ourselves,” DeJarld added.

Notre Dame reached the championship ultimate by knocking off Michigan’s North Department in a quarterfinal and edged Assumption, 29-27 within the third, within the semifinals, squaring the season collection with the Rockets at a win apiece. The 2 groups are slated to play another time within the common season, on Oct. 12, earlier than the District playoffs start.

• 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 crew 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 dwelling. That gave me a sense that the Lancers may do one thing particular on the Nike Event of Champions-Southwest in Phoenix. Certainly, within the Friday Pocket book I write for the California Interscholastic Federation, I stated 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 every one went to a 3rd and deciding set, the Lancers are the 2023 Nationwide Division champions. Lake Merchen’s crew downed defending champion Cornerstone Christian of San Antonio, a crew 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 unimaginable and as a complete we have been passing the ball at a brilliant excessive degree all the best way all through the match, which let our setter (Hannah Maguire) run a very 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 crew that I feel is used to simply 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 capable of benefit from that and persistently get nice touches on the block and our defenders have been working their butts off to present us second likelihood and transition alternatives. Total (and I’m certain that is probably the most cliche response you may get however for us it couldn’t be extra correct) this match win was a whole crew effort. Each participant we had stepped up when their quantity was known as and helped to take strain 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 stated. “The loss in opposition to Assumption confirmed us that we have been simply nearly as good, if not higher, than quite a lot of these groups, however we wanted to be extra fearless in tight moments and particularly on the finish of matches. Our motto for the week and for this match was merely to be fearless when the second was huge. Massive wins require huge issues, huge swings, and large performs…and we stayed true to that all through the match.”

• Merchen stated he wasn’t certain his crew would make the ultimate after dropping Recreation 1 of the semifinal versus Liberty of Peoria, 25-11.

“They have been an ideal crew and it seemed just like the loopy quantity of aggressive matches we’d performed up to now three weeks had caught as much as us and we’d hit a wall,” Merchen defined.

The crew, which was error-prone in that first set, then went down 10-3 to begin the second.

“The comeback cost was led by Erin Curtis, particularly together with her offense popping out of the backrow; and Ella Fulton (Soph. MB) who had 4 blocks and a handful of kills…Positively a second the place the fearless mindset got here to play and obtained us out of a tricky spot.”

• Curtis and fellow outdoors Taylor Williams, Wallace and Maguire made the All-Event Staff for Saint Francis, with Merchen anointing Maguire because the MVP. That’s enormous reward on condition that changing stud setter Havanna Hoeft from final yr’s 34-1 crew was the largest query mark for the crew 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 capable of 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 stated.

• As a substitute of the standard 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 embody 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 crew additionally plans a present of a ponytail to Youngsters 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 recreation. 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.

Reagan Harp is averaging six kills per set for the Fayetteville Bulldogs

• Senior Regan Harp is the lone returning starter for Fayetteville, the 2022 Arkansas 6A champions. Harp moved from the center this yr to turn into a six-rotation outdoors hitter and is averaging six kills per set this fall. She recorded her profession a thousandth kill in final weekend’s match at Saint Thomas Aquinas in Kansas. Harp is dedicated to the College of Central Arkansas.

• Final Tuesday, Highland, of Marengo, Ohio, misplaced at dwelling to Shelby, 3-1. The loss snapped an 11-year, 76-match, 216-set dwelling convention streak courting to 2012.

Two days later, the Preventing Scots (15-3) swept Galion to begin a brand new streak and avenge a street loss from 4 weeks in the past. Highland and Galion are the one two faculties 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.

Mariah Bostic-Jones: 1,500 profession assists

Portsmouth Christian Academy (NH) senior Kailey Holt now has 150 profession aces and is closing in on the varsity’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 desirous 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’s a state-by-state rundown of the championship dates for 2023: