OHSAA boys volleyball: St. Charles sweeps St. Vincent-St. Mary in Division II state semi
SPRINGFIELD – Previously a basketball player, St. Charles senior Mladen Tague joined the boys volleyball program as a freshman upon the urging of coach Ned Gruber.
Three years later, Tague and his teammates are on the verge of the program’s first state title since 2018 after sweeping Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary 25-23, 25-16, 28-26 in a Division II semifinal Saturday at Wittenberg. The Cardinals (25-2), who also won a state title in 2009, play Cincinnati McNicholas (22-5) in the final at noon Sunday.
Tague, the Division II state and Region 5 Player of the Year, and Gruber both had high praise for the roster as a whole after the Cardinals made quick work of St. Vincent-St. Mary.
“These guys are great players,” Gruber said. “All credit to them. As coaches, we’re just doing our best to try to put guys in the best spot, and at the end of the day, they’re the ones that are going to go win it or not. They’ve really put it together and work well as a team, so I’m really proud of them no matter what happens.”
Tague played at the freshman level his first year in the sport before joining the junior varsity as a sophomore. In his second varsity season, the opposite-side hitter’s progression resulted in him and the Cardinals reaching elite status in the state.
“Mr. Gruber came up to me my freshman year and said he thought I would be a good fit to play volleyball,” Tague said. “He said he would be willing to work with me around my basketball schedule. That’s what sealed the deal for me. I ended up liking it a lot more than basketball and the rest is history.”
Tague helped lead a balanced effort against St. Vincent-St. Mary as he collected 13 kills and six digs. Outside hitter Jack Koesters had 15 kills and eight digs, outside hitter Stuart Hankinson had 14 kills and eight digs and setter Thomas Clark recorded 34 assists.
“This is absolutely a team effort,” Tague said. “I can’t do anything if the passes aren’t good. I can’t do anything if the sets aren’t good. Everybody pulls their weight. That’s what makes us so good.”
Mason Winters had eight kills and five digs for St. Vincent-St. Mary (14-12), which lost to DeSales in four sets in the state final a season ago.
Tague will attend the University of Mississippi but will not play volleyball. He hopes to end his prep career on a high note.
“It would be nice to win the state title,” he said. “We’re doing it for not only ourselves, but the dudes who graduated and we couldn’t help win. We want to win it for a lot of people (including) our coach, obviously. He hasn’t won it in a while. He really wants to win it. We’re trying to play selfless ball and that’s going to help us do it.”
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: St. Charles to play for OHSAA Division II boys volleyball state title
