Dispatch All-Metro girls volleyball coach Katie Duy helps Olentangy Orange make history
A banner season for Olentangy Orange girls volleyball was highlighted by the team’s first appearance in a state final.
The Pioneers fell short of winning the championship, losing to Kings Mills Kings 25-16, 25-10, 25-21 on Nov. 11 at Wright State.
Orange’s run to the title match, which included the program’s first regional championship, helped Katie Duy earn The Dispatch’s All-Metro Girls Volleyball Coach of the Year award. She also was named OCC-Central Coach of the Year, and she shared the district Coach of the Year honor with Dublin Scioto’s Jackie Wilson.
“We had our banquet (Nov. 14) and after taking some time and slowing down, it’s an amazing accomplishment,” Duy said of reaching the state final. “They represented the school (and) the (school) district really well, and central Ohio really well as well.”
The Pioneers defeated Worthington Kilbourne 25-7, 25-17, 25-11 in a district final and previously unbeaten Scioto 25-23, 25-17, 25-23 in a regional final before beating Toledo St. Ursula Academy 25-21, 25-22, 25-20 in a state semifinal.
Orange (26-4) earned the most wins in program history, eclipsing the previous mark of 22 in 2019, and won the OCC-Central at 10-0.
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The Pioneers featured five seniors, including Lily Barron, a Houston commit who was was first-team all-state and all-district, OCC-Central Player of the Year and an honorable mention All-American.
“Coach Duy means a lot,” Barron said. “She loves our team so much and she puts so much of (herself) into our team. She takes a lot of extra time out of her day and away from her family and her kids to spend with us to make sure that we get what we need and we’re taking care of our bodies, and we are putting in effort to be the team that we were this season.
“Knowing that this program has never been to a state final before this year and being able to do that for her is definitely a great feeling.”
Orange has won seven district titles and six OCC championships since Duy took over the program in 2015. Duy was an assistant coach at Parma Padua, her alma mater, when the Bruins won Division II state titles in 2008 and 2009 and at Hartley when the Hawks won the Division II championship in 2011. She also was an assistant at Gates Mills Gilmour when it finished second in Division III in 2010.
Duy said the Pioneers will miss the seniors, who helped set a standard for younger players to follow.
“I can’t say enough good things about them,” Duy said. “I saw something in them as freshmen and sophomores. As sophomores, three of them (Barron, Skylar Kelso and Lauren Jacob) played on varsity. We had one who was a four-year varsity starter (Maddie Cugino).
“(They leave) big shoes to fill, but we have four sophomores (Emma Cugino, Maci Gerboth, Delaney McAtee and Izzy Scholvin) returning and they learned a lot from this group, and they’re going to be ready to continue the legacy.”
The Dispatch’s Athlete of the Year in girls volleyball will be among the honors announced at the Central Ohio High School Sports Awards in June.
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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Orange's Duy is 2023 Dispatch girls volleyball Coach of the Year
