Boys Volleyball: Dublin Jerome Celtics enjoy first trip to state tournament

To commemorate the program’s first berth in the Division I state tournament, Dublin Jerome boys volleyball coach Phil Cagnoli devised an idea to symbolize the moment.

Cagnoli and his coaching staff donned special gold and black shirts to recognize his team’s achievement.

The Celtics fell short of winning their first state title, however, falling to Cincinnati Elder 25-14, 27-25, 25-19 in a quarterfinal June 4 at Pickerington Central to finish 17-10 overall. Elder went on to reach the championship match, where it lost 25-21, 25-20, 23-25, 25-17 to Cincinnati Moeller on June 5.

“This is our first time here,” Cagnoli said. “The one thing that was going to happen is we were going to try to have more fun than anybody else. That was really important to me, that was the message I was trying to send to my players. We wanted them to remember the experience, we wanted them to enjoy the experience and we wanted to come here and compete. The shirts were just part of that.”

Jerome advanced to state by beating OCC-Cardinal Division rival Thomas Worthington 25-19, 25-23, 19-25, 13-25, 19-17 in an East Region final May 28 at Westerville Central. The Celtics went 7-5 in the league to tie Hilliard Darby and Worthington Kilbourne for second behind Thomas (11-1).

The future looks bright for Jerome as three underclassmen earned postseason awards.

Junior Kai Van Bourgondien (setter) was named first-team all-league and second-team all-region. He led the Celtics in assists (606) and added 119 digs and 50 blocks.

Junior Henry Guerrera (outside hitter) was second-team all-league and honorable mention all-region. He led in kills (277) and contributed 141 digs and 42 blocks.

Junior Cam Eckelberry (libero) was honorable mention all-league and led the Celtics in digs (276).

Senior Alex Loeffler (middle hitter) was special mention all-league. He led in blocks (82) and added 134 kills.

“Every year we make it to (the) regional final,” Loeffler said. “This is the first year we’ve won the regional final, the first time getting to the state tournament. It’s been quite an experience. It’s been very enlightening. It’s a lot more competitive. I’m glad to be the first senior class to get us here, but I’m also hoping that this is the first of many to come.”

Jerome was the only team in the Division I or Division II state tournaments without a player who received all-state recognition, according to Cagnoli.

“We didn’t get any all-state rewards,” Guerrera said. “We can’t focus on that. Once you’re on the court, it’s just two teams playing each other. You just have to remember that. We have to play our game.”

Another key player expected to return is junior Connor Kemp, who had 147 kills and 158 digs at outside hitter.

Junior Aiden Eberhardt (opposite hitter) had 132 kills and senior Dhruva Thimmenahalli (setter) had 86 assists.

“We believed in our talent and we believed in the goals that we had and how to get there,” Cagnoli said.

fdirenna@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekFrank

JEROME BOYS VOLLEYBALL 

•Record: 17-10 overall 

•OCC-Cardinal standings: Thomas Worthington (11-1), Jerome (7-5), Hilliard Darby (7-5), Worthington Kilbourne (7-5), Olentangy Berlin (6-6), Olentangy (4-8), Scioto (0-12) 

•Seniors lost: Will Helmreich, Alex Loeffler and Dhruva Thimmenahalli 

•Key returnees: Aiden Eberhardt, Cam Eckelberry, Henry Guerrera, Connor Kemp and Kai Van Bourgondien 

•Postseason: Def. Westerville North 25-20, 25-13, 25-16; def. Pickerington Central 20-25, 23-25, 25-19, 25-21, 15-7; def. Thomas 25-19, 25-23, 19-25, 13-25, 19-17; lost to Cincinnati Elder 25-14, 27-25, 25-19 in Division I state quarterfinal

This article originally appeared on ThisWeek: Boys Volleyball: Dublin Jerome enjoys first trip to state