The Mirror Newspapers Reflecting Life Along The Maumee River
BY JEREMY SCHNEIDER | MHS VOLLEYBALL
Maumee 3, CCHS 0
One more day, one more chance to play.
Those were the words Maumee volleyball coach Lindsay Vannett closed with after her team beat Central Catholic 3-0 (25-22, 26-24, 25-13) in a Division II district semifinal.
But to think this game didn’t mean a little more would be a lie.
“I’ve been nervous since Friday for this game,” Vannett said.
As the defending district champions, the Panthers were one of the teams to beat in this year’s tournament. And as the top seed, any championship was going to run through Central Catholic.
The Panthers will get a chance to defend their title on Wednesday when they travel to No. 2 Lima Shawnee. The Indians outlasted No. 5 Elida 3-2 in Monday’s other semifinal.
In both of the first two sets against the Irish, the Panthers had to rally from early deficits. By the time they reached the third set, Maumee (15-10) was in its groove and raced to the lopsided win.
“We had a rough start, so I was a little nervous, but I had confidence these guys could overcome,” Vannett said. “I’ve seen them do it all season. I wasn’t nervous once the game got going.”
The Panthers had a loud and strong following supporting them on the road, including a collection of fellow student-athletes in the stands. It created a raucous environment for the visiting Panthers to enjoy.
“We’ve been doing it without students and without a lot of people,” Vannett said. “They’re getting some people. Kids are asking to come. They want to come and support. It’s firing these guys up.”
The Panthers were led by a host of outstanding efforts. Four players had double-digit digs, three players had two or more blocks, and three players had at least three aces.
“It was absolutely a team effort. There were a couple of balls where I was like, ehhh, but they just know each other well enough to know who goes and what goes. There weren’t a lot of miscommunication balls today. They knew what they wanted today and they went out and took it.”
Brynn Brown had 13 kills, 16 assists, 15 digs and three blocks to lead Maumee. Jolie Sobb had a team-high 16 kills with 15 digs, three aces and two blocks.
Avery Lewis had a team-best five blocks with three kills, and Katelyn Owens added six kills, three aces and a block.
Camy Wedge had four aces to lead Maumee, with 11 assists. Maddie Kontak had 12 digs, and Kylie Miller paced the Panthers with 21 digs.
Maumee 3, Shawnee 1
It wasn’t going to be an easy route to the district championship, but as the old saying goes, anything worth having is worth working for.
The Maumee volleyball team definitely worked hard and earned a second straight Division II district championship, beating host Lima Shawnee 3-1 (25-27, 26-24, 25-17, 25-15).
As the fourth seed in the tournament, Maumee had to beat the top seed Central Catholic and second seed Shawnee. They advanced to the regional tournament, where they’ll face Sandusky Perkins at 8:00 p.m. on Thursday in Lexington.
At first, it appeared as if the pressure and weight of the moment would get the better of Maumee (16-10). They held leads in the first set but ended up going in a 1-0 hole.
“We started a little shaky and a little nervous, and you could tell the nerves got the best of us in the first,” Panthers coach Lindsay Vannett said. “But then we had a little chat and we took a deep breath and relaxed, and we turned into the team I knew we could be all along.”
It was another back-and-forth set in the second, but Maumee climbed back into the match with the win. They started quickly in the third set, setting a tone that would last through the end of the match.
“We skated out of that second set by the skin of our teeth, but when we scored the first five points of the third set, we’re like, OK, we can be us tonight,” Vannett said. “They didn’t take their foot off the gas pedal. They built their leads and kept them.”
As has been the case through much of the season – and especially in their current eight match winning streak – once the Panthers get on a roll, they continue to get stronger and stronger as they go along.
“That’s a byproduct of the way we practice,” Vannett said. “We work on building those momentum runs like that so that way if it happens in a game, we know how to respond.”
The Panthers’ service game was on point, totaling 14 aces. Katelyn Owens and Brynn Brown each had four aces, Jolie Sobb had three and Camy Wedge added two.
Vannett said she was concerned about the strong middle hitters for Shawnee, and getting strong serves over the net effectively neutralized that advantage.
“When you’re serving aggressive and they can’t run their middles, you’re primarily worrying about one hitter, so it makes your defense that much easier,” Vannett said. “When we’re in this situation, we can eliminate hitters by getting them out of system.”
Owens had a monster game, leading the team with 16 kills and adding two blocks.
Brown came home with 15 kills, 22 assists and 12 digs, and Sobb had 19 digs, eight kills and two blocks.
Wedge led the Panthers with 22 assists, and seven digs. Kylie Miller added eight digs and five assists. Maddie Kontak totaled nine digs and eight kills.
