As good as they were offensively, New Bremen’s reflexes and coordination on defense made it tough for Russia to put points on the board. Melina Schrader (above) watches a dig by teammate Keira Steininger. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Julie Wright and Sonny Fulks)
Without regard for their back-to-back Division IV titles, New Bremen embarked on a challenging Division VI schedule Tuesday with a 3-set shellacking of Russia.
Just ten months after claiming her fourth OHSSA volleyball title since 2017, and back-to-back in 2022 and ’23, there’s not much savoring going on with Diana Kramer and her latest edition of New Bremen volleyball.
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Ironic. As the rest of Division VI volleyball is talking about her…four titles out in seven years…and a possible three-peat…all she can talk about is what has to improve with her 2024 team to even compete with the likes of St. Henry, Versailles, Coldwater and Marion Local for this year’s MAC title. She doesn’t get ahead of herself.
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But if you press her, she’ll eventually tell you that this year’s team is not her biggest, just the most athletic in her four-title tenure at New Bremen.
Kramer can even sound a little like the old Indianapolis Colts coach Jim Mora.
“Playoffs? Don’t talk about playoffs.”
But she was willing to talk after Tuesday’s 3-0 win over neighboring Shelby County League contender Russia (25-5, 25-8, and 25-13), a match in which Bremen simply overwhelmed the Raiders with aggressive serving, flawless serve-receive, passing, defense, and communication…the likes of which you’d see two months from now after the ‘necessary improvements’ have taken place.
The hitting was precise…Bremen’s Lydia Bushman threads the needle between a pair of Russia blockers.
And never once did she talk about the past. This is another mission, and Tuesday was the embark.
“I mean, we were composed tonight, locked in, and focused, and that was neat to see,” she began, matter-of-factly. “Every year is a new group, girls stepped up and made some plays, and every aspect of our game was pretty good tonight.
“There’s a standard that’s been set here, and that’s to come out and play New Bremen volleyball. And there’s some unspoken words that go with that. The past is in the past, and it doesn’t win you anything in the future. One of the biggest things I try to teach is to be humble. It’s a good quality. Every year is a mission, every year is a new challenge, and that’s the expectation.”
But 0-2 Russia has been good for years under Aaron Watkins’ leadership, and his annual expectation is to make the regional round of the tournament…this year in Division VII. But against the pent-up expectation from the defending champs Tuesday, they never had a chance.
It was a clinic – a real-life how-to on all phases of the game. New Bremen jumped out to an 14-1 lead in the opening set before Russia pieced together a brief regrouping…only to see Bremen run it out to 18 to 5, and eventually 25-5.
In set 2 another quick Cardinal start spotted them an 8-2 lead. Their serving was so aggressive, and precise, that the Raiders struggled to get into any kind of system. Senior Melina Schrader got into the midst of her 26-assist night, setting up one hitter after another at the net…and they drove the ball through the heart of Russia’s helpless defense. New Bremen went on a 13-0 run to end the set, 25-8.
Good as they were offensively in sets 1 and 2, set 3 was conspicuous for the defense – Keira Steininger with 11 digs, Schrader with 12, to go with her 8 serving aces. Everyone got in on what was a re-run of the the first two sets, despite Russia rallying to score 13 points. In just an hour and four minutes, Bremen closed out the match with a 25-13 win.
New Bremen’s hitting kept Russia’s defense in scrambling mode for the entire match.
It’s not a big team. Take senior Ava Trentman (5’11”) off the floor and you have a group that looks like a team of long-distance runners.
“Without Ava we might average 5’6″ across the board,” smiled Kramer. “My libero is as tall as my setter. My setter is as tall as my outside hitter. And my hitter’s about as tall as my middle. It’s nice to have Ava out there to bring up the average. But this is arguably the most athletic team I’ve ever had. And they work incredibly hard in the weight room.”
Now playing in Division VI for 2024, it promises to bring a delicious showdown with other Division VI favorites Coldwater and St. Henry…who are bigger physically…for the MAC title. And then, of course, those three will cannibalize each other to reach a regional final.
But in between, a lot of volleyball at New Bremen, the likes of which has never been more fun to watch – fast, precise, and exhaustively frustrating on opposing offenses.
“Nobody’s going to beat them,” smiled Aaron Watkins as he and the Raiders headed for the bus.
Indeed, good things do come in small packages, as long as you stay humble…and don’t look back. It can’t help you now.
Kramer’s Cardinals are on another, different mission.
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