HUDSON: Walsh Jesuit appears to be getting the hang of this Division I thing.
In its first year in the highest classification, the Walsh volleyball team is headed for state. The Warriors knocked off previously unbeaten Jackson in convincing fashion for the Division I regional championship Saturday at Hudson High School.
“Awesome — oh, I can’t explain it in words,” said Walsh setter Kyra Coundourides, who led the Warriors with 33 assists. “It’s amazing. I’m shaking right now. That’s awesome.”
Coundourides, a 5-foot-9 sophomore, is the youngest starter on a team that started hot and kept Jackson on its heels most of the day en route to a 25-15, 21-25, 25-18, 25-17 victory.
Walsh (20-7) will play Toledo St. Ursula at 2 p.m. Friday in the state semifinals at Wright State University. Jackson (27-1), ranked third in the state poll, saw its dream season end in heartbreak.
“It’s nice to know that we can just come together as a team,” said Coundourides, who distributed the ball with the efficiency of a quarterback. “I trust my teammates and my teammates trust me. We’re one big team. It’s really nice to know we have that.”
Her rapport with 5-11 junior Mary Grace Kelly (15 kills), 5-8 senior Brittany Zmyslinski (eight kills) and 6-0 junior Annie Osterfeld (seven kills) was the key to the Warriors’ attack.
Kelly, who also notched 17 digs, praised the selfless attitude of her Warrior teammates.
“Everyone is involved,” she said. “There is no one star player. Everyone gets the ball. Everyone can put the ball down. And Kyra did a great job of setting everyone up.”
Walsh will be making its first trip to state since back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2005-06. Of course, those were in Division II, where the Warriors had competed since Missy Sturm started the Walsh program 18 years ago.
“This team has been through so much this year, with injuries and everything. They’re so, so strong and I’m so proud of them,” Sturm said. “The way they stepped up during this tournament. Every individual player has stepped up. I’m very excited for them. They deserve it. They really deserve it.”
Keeping Jackson’s players on the move was an emphasis, Sturm said.
“We wanted to focus on corners a lot, hitting deep corners,” she said. “We really wanted to make them move on defense and hit seams, especially when [Paige] Hill was on the back row. Make her move, hit the seams, hit to one spot and we did that pretty good.”
Hill, a 6-1 junior, had 13 kills and three blocks for Jackson. Teammate Katie Zito, a 5-9 senior, had 23 kills and seven digs. Kristin Cardwell, a 5-6 junior, contributed 34 assists. They helped the Polar Bears rally for a second-set win, but Walsh was able to pull away late in the final two sets, including scoring seven of the final eight points.
“Walsh put a constant pressure on us the whole time,” said Jackson coach Jeff Walck, adding that poor serving was also a problem. “I think we were a little bit tight to start the match and I was a little surprised we were tight. It’s my belief when teams get ahead, they become confident, and the teams that are behind try to play safe. I think we played a little safe sometimes.
“We haven’t played from behind a lot but just give them credit. Walsh kept banging the ball at us and we just didn’t send it back over the same way.”
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