FAIRBORN: Beating one undefeated team is tough. Beating two is almost impossible.
The Walsh Jesuit volleyball team, however, dared to dream. Unfortunately for the Warriors, the magic came up short.
Facing its second unbeaten opponent in as many matches, Walsh fell 3-0 (16-25, 25-27, 18-25) to Toledo St. Ursula in the Division I state semifinal at Wright State University’s Nutter Center on Friday. The Warriors, who advanced to the state tournament after downing previously unbeaten Jackson, finish the season 20-8.
“I am so proud of this team and everything they accomplished this year,” Walsh Jesuit coach Missy Sturm said. “They came very far this season, from the beginning to the end. They showed tremendous improvement and tremendous perseverance. We had a wonderful run.”
Walsh couldn’t have faced a tougher opponent in the semifinals. St. Ursula entered the match ranked No. 1 in the state and winners of 47 in a row; 21 of their 27 victories this year were in straight sets, and Friday was no different.
The Warriors started slow in the first game and found themselves down 14-6 before falling 25-16. In the second game, however, Walsh gave the defending state champions all they could handle, playing to a 22-22 standstill.
“They started to take us out of our system in that second game,” St. Ursula coach John Buck said. “Walsh really hung in there.”
The Warriors lost 27-25 but started to believe they could compete with St. Ursula.
“I think it pumped us up,” Sturm said. “The first game, that wasn’t the team I’ve seen the last few weeks. The second game, I saw that team. I saw that heart come out, that tenacity. I thought they thought they could do it, and that just gave them some confidence back.”
Walsh played St. Ursula to a 13-13 tie in the third game but fell 25-18.
“They definitely run a fast offense,” Walsh Jesuit senior libero Courtney Grdina said. “I don’t know if it’s the fastest we’ve seen, but they’re very good at finding open spots, and they have great hitters.”
The state semifinal was the second meeting between these two teams this season, as St. Ursula won 2-0 in its fifth match of the season.
“Ursula has had a lot of experience,” Sturm said. “They know this court, they know what they want to do, and that experience sometimes shows.”
Walsh Jesuit sophomore Kyra Coundourides said: “We were a little nervous in the first game, but we came back and fought hard. It was a touch match just like any other match.”
St. Ursula (28-0) advances to the state final at 3 p.m. today to face Cincinnati Mount Notre Dame (23-5), which dispatched Findlay 3-1. The Arrows are trying to become the first Division I team to win back-to-back state titles since Mount Notre Dame won three in a row from 1998 to 2000.
The Warriors, meanwhile, will graduate only four seniors from a squad that advanced to state for the first time since back-to-back runner-up finishes in 2005 and 2006, when the program was still in Division II.
“I know this group, and they’re going to do whatever they have to in order to get back here,” Sturm said. “They’re not going to forget this.”
