'We just stayed really calm:' St. Ursula wins 5-set thriller over Seton in regional semis
WEST CHESTER, Ohio – The volleyball programs at Seton and St. Ursula high schools have a lot of state championship history. But it’s all ancient by the players’ standards because neither team has played in the state tournament since before any of the current players were born.
St. Ursula earned the chance to break that drought after a thrilling five-set win over Seton (17-25, 25-20, 25-14, 18-25, 20-18) at Lakota West in the Division I, Region 4 semifinals of the Ohio High School Athletic Association tournament.
“It took every single one of them and it took a lot of trust, a lot of heart and a lot of determination,” head coach Gretchen Krumdieck said. “Playing our game and being composed is how we win matches.”
St. Ursula (18-7) advances to play Kings in the regional final 2 p.m. Saturday, also at Lakota West. Seton finishes 23-3.
St. Ursula has eight state championships. The Bulldogs’ last one was in 2003, which was their last regional championship. Krumdieck was a player on two of them in the 1990s and hopes to lead her players to a long-awaited one.
“Hopefully we have as big a student section as we have tonight because that was awesome,” SUA senior Molly Dorger said. “They helped us win. This team has worked really hard, especially through the lessons we’ve learned from our losses.”
Seton, who finished the season 25-3, has a similar history. The Saints have six state championships, the last one in 2005 which was their last state-title season.
Since then, Mount Notre Dame has had six state championships and Ursuline five, including last season.
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Five-set drama
Seton had won both prior meetings with St. Ursula this season, but one went four sets and the other to extra points in the fifth set, 16-14.
The Bulldogs won the fifth set in extra points after the race to 15 couldn’t decide a winner.
“We just stayed really calm,” Krumdieck said. “I put them in a lot of pressure situations in practice to prepare for that situation. That’s why we were so calm in that, it was ‘Let’s go. Turn the page. This is what we worked all year for.’”
St. Ursula seemed to have control of the fifth set, leading 12-7 after senior Addy Brus had three kills during a 4-0 run.
Seton responded with a kill from Daisy Cluxton, a block from Madison Lambers and a kill from Callie Combs to cut the deficit to 12-11.
St. Ursula had match points at 15-14 and 16-15. Cluxton thwarted both opportunities with a kill.
Tied at 16, Seton got its first match point after sophomore Gabby Semona was called for a double-hit violation which the Bulldog players on the floor protested immediately and Krumdieck had a long discussion with an official.
St. Ursula stayed alive with a kill from Brus. Alli Kirch got a kill to give Seton its second match point, but a Saints serve went long to tie the match at 18.
Brus and Dorger gave St. Ursula a 19-18 lead with a block at the net. On the next point, a Seton kill attempt misfired.
“It’s a mental game, especially when we were almost 50-50 physically,” Dorger said. “If you stay engaged and you let the other team make the errors, then it’s all yours.”
Recapping the first 4 sets
Seton won the first set, 25-17. Sakura Codling had two of the team’s five aces, and the Saints scored 12 points from the Bulldogs' errors.
St. Ursula won the second set with three kills each from Brus and junior Molly Creech. A big key was the Saints had zero aces and the Bulldogs only gave them two points on errors. Kirch had seven kills in the set for Seton.
“We did cut down on the errors,” Krumdieck said. “That’s what we talked about, being calm and playing our game. Not overthinking. They know each other so well because they play each other all year in club.”
St. Ursula dominated the fourth set, 25-14. The fourth set was tied at 17 before the Saints ended it on an 8-1 run. Senior Lauren Emerson had two blocks and a kill in that closing stretch.
St. Ursula stat leaders
Brus had 22 kills, one solo block and three block assists. Dorger had 12 kills, two solo blocks and two block assists. Creech had 11 kills, one solo block and two block assists. Semona had six kills, one block and three block assists.
Emsley Venard, a junior setter, posted 47 assists. The Bulldogs had 14 team blocks.
What’s next for the Bulldogs
The Bulldogs will play Kings at 2 p.m. Saturday in the regional final. Kings has never won a regional championship, and no Cincinnati-area public school has advanced to the state tourney. Kings won in five sets over Ursuline Wednesday night in the other semifinal.
St. Ursula won in four sets at Kings on Aug. 28 (19-25, 25-21, 25-19, 25-19). Brus had 19 kills in the match and Creech 15.
“We’ve got another tough one on Saturday and that’s our focus now,” Krumdieck said. “We’ll celebrate tonight and go back to work tomorrow.”
Senior salute
Seton has five seniors: Madison Lambers, Emily Hilton, Lauren Emerson, Taylor Grubbs and Alli Kirch.
Kirch was the team leader in kills and went over 300 for the season tonight. Lambers was second in kills and blocks. Emerson had over 100 kills and led the team in blocks. Grubbs led the team in assists at setter.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Ohio regional volleyball: St. Ursula wins thriller over Seton
