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Local Sports

Thursday, November 12, 2009

State Girls Volleyball: Once-beaten H-L to get shot at No. 1 Marion Local
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By SCOTT COTTOS

The Review Times

BASCOM -- Setting an athletic goal is something like requesting a gift from Santa Claus.

Whether you get what you want largely depends on whether your performance is naughty or nice.

Hopewell-Loudon's volleyball team is going to the state tournament.

Nice.

"It's amazing," senior libero Alexis Creeger said. "I didn't know if we could get this far. But we did it."

And for the first time since 2001, when the Chieftains collected the last of five consecutive Division IV state titles, the championship trophy could receive a resting place in Seneca County.

Hopewell-Loudon (25-1), the state's second-ranked team, will meet top-ranked Marion Local (26-0), the two-time defending state champion, in a 6 p.m. semifinal today at the Nutter Center on the Wright State University campus in Fairborn. Today's other semifinal, scheduled for 4 p.m., will pit No. 5 Norwalk St. Paul (24-3) against No. 7 Tuscarawas Central Catholic (25-2).

The Chieftains gained their trip to state by clubbing 14th-ranked Columbus Grove 25-20, 25-15, 25-13 in last Saturday's regional final in Elida.

"It still hasn't set in, I guess," third-year Hopewell-Loudon coach Erin Dircksen said. "It just feels like another game in another gym, just playing volleyball."

While watching her team practice Monday, Dircksen said she hopes that feeling holds true the rest of the way. The venue and the crowd will be bigger than usual, and so will the stakes. But the Chieftains don't normally tense up, and Dircksen aims to do her part to keep it from happening.

"I feel if I make a big deal out of it, I'm just going to make them more nervous than what they really need to be," she said. "If I stay calm, at least I feel like I'm going to keep them calm."

Dircksen said her players have indeed reached a desired destination.

"My first year here, they set the goal: "Coach, we want to go to state,'" she said. "If that's their goal, it's my job to help them accomplish their goal, so I will do everything I can to give them the tools and give them the advice to get them there. It's whether or not they want to do it, and I think with some of these (six) seniors, they were like, 'OK, we're going to accomplish it no matter what.'"

The Chieftains sport a first-team all-Ohio performer in 6-foot middle hitter Brittany Egbert, who leads the team with 361 kills and 172 solo blocks. Brianna Richey, a 5-8 outside hitter who received honorable mention all-Ohio, has served a team-high 55 aces and stands second on the squad in kills (207), digs (308) and serve receptions (231).

The 5-4 Creeger leads Hopewell-Loudon with 378 digs and 247 serve receptions, and 5-8 senior setter Mary Ellen McAllister is tops in assists with 462.

Something that assuredly won't change is Dircksen's emphasis on defense. That department is keyed by Creeger and Richey.

"You just have to hustle after every ball -- read it and follow it," Creeger said.

She likely will have to do just that quite often against Marion Local's 5-10 Alyssa Winner, a first-team all-Ohio outside hitter who has collected team highs of 233 kills, 38 aces and 343 serve receptions.

"She's a very big driving force for that Marion Local team and I think the more times she gets the ball, the worse off we're going to be," Dircksen said with a laugh. "I'm not expecting to shut her down blocking, but up to now in the postseason, our defense has really stepped up. I'm more counting on our defense to frustrate Alyssa."

Other key contributors for the Flyers include 5-1 senior setter Shelby Moeller, a second-team all-Ohio pick; junior libero Alyse Bergman, a third-team all-Ohioan; and 6-foot senior middle hitter Ashley Lochtefeld, who gained honorable mention all-Ohio.

St. Paul, which last won state in 2006, had honorable mention selections in 5-9 senior setter Kaylee Bundschuh, 5-7 senior outside hitter Hannah Livengood and 5-1 sophomore libero Corynne Smith.

Tuscarawas Central Catholic landed 5-8 senior middle hitter Molly Lawless and 5-9 junior middle hitter Millie Patchen on the all-Ohio second team.


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