Camryn Coomer goes for a kill shot over Mentor defenders Ashlyn McKinney and Anna Cassidy during the state D1 semifinal match. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Brian Bayless)
In what was their second state appearance in three seasons, the Pioneers couldn’t find enough answers against the Cardinals’ blocking and power hitting in a semifinal Saturday.
Vandalia, OH – Success has continued to breed success for the Olentangy Orange volleyball program, and the Pioneers aren’t moving away from that philosophy any time soon.
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Throughout her 10 seasons as the Pioneers’ coach, Katie Duy has stressed the value of senior leadership and having her most experienced players educate the younger ones.
That building block for success has created a central Ohio powerhouse, with Orange earning a Division I state runner-up finish in 2023, a regional runner-up finish last season and an appearance in a state semifinal this fall.
Orange might have gotten a shot at defending state champion Cincinnati Seton on Sunday at Wright State in the state final had it found enough answers for the left-handed swings and blocking abilities Mentor showed in a semifinal Saturday at Vandalia Butler.
Veteran central Ohio columnist Jarrod Ulrey writes the OCC and sports at large for Press Pros
Even with a 25-17, 18-25, 25-23, 25-18 loss to the Cardinals, the Pioneers have gone a combined 71-12 over the past three seasons.
“It starts with our seniors,” Duy said. “From the time they came in, they bought in. They also had good leadership from the kids that came in ahead of them. These seniors, I can’t give them enough credit. Last year we were an injury away from knocking on the door of three runs to the final four, and it’s because these kids set the tone from the time they were freshmen.”
From the onset of what was Mentor’s sixth overall state appearance but its first since 2007, the Cardinals’ frontline of senior outside hitter Kayden McKinney, junior middle hitter Audri Vanhuss, and left-handed right-side hitters Melody Garrett, a senior, and Ashlyn McKinney, a freshman, was going to cause problems.
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Bri Bush gets a dig on an incoming serve during the D1 state semifinal against Mentor.
“It’s a lot of fun when you have two lefties that can do it, especially from the outside where teams are used to playing against right-handed hitters,” Cardinals coach Samantha Weaver said. “It not only makes our team better because we go against that in practice, but it makes us offensively ready to go. Our block was a game-changer today. We worked on it all year, and it showed today against a big team like Orange because our block handled it.”
Mentor, which improved to 22-5 while the Pioneers finished 24-3, put together leads of 15-8 and 20-11 before closing out the first game.
Orange took its first lead of the match at 13-12 in the second game on a kill by senior middle hitter Maci Gerboth. A kill by senior Delaney McAtee gave the Pioneers a 19-16 lead and a kill by Gerboth closed out the game.
During a tight game three, it was tied at 5 and 10 before Mentor built a 21-16 lead. Orange got back to within 22-21 on a kill by Gerboth, but the Cardinals got a kill from Kayden McKinney to make it 24-22 and a kill by Garrett to take the game.
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“We haven’t seen (two left-handers) a lot, but that’s probably what makes them a little more dynamic because it’s obviously difficult to have to stop them,” Duy said. “At times if one of them started to struggle, another was able to turn it up and pick them up.
Senior setter Izzy Scholvin executes one of her 38 sets in the match.
“We made some adjustments in our blocking. They were hitting high hand and hitting through the block at times. Those are strong kids. We made a little adjustment on our serving to pinpoint different people but give them a lot of credit. They were able to step up.”
In the fourth game, a serving ace by sophomore Bri Bush gave Orange a 16-15 lead, but the Cardinals responded with three consecutive points. After the Pioneers got back to within 19-18, Mentor scored the final six points of the match to move on.
“I’m super proud of this team,” senior libero Emma Cugino said. “Every day we came into practice, had a goal and we achieved it. We know how hard it was to get here.”
Garrett finished with 18 kills and 11 digs and Kayden McKinney had 15 kills and four blocks to lead the Cardinals, whose only previous appearance in a state final was in 1998.
Gerboth and Bush both had 11 kills and McAtee added 10 kills, with senior setter Izzy Scholvin totaling 38 assists and 16 digs to lead the Pioneers.
Orange had six seniors overall, with Cugino (Texas), Gerboth (Marshall), McAtee (West Virginia Wesleyan), and Scholvin (Texas State) all committed to playing collegiately.
Texas State commit, Maci Gerboth. defends against Mentor’s Anna Cassidy.
“We did a good job of being a team,” Scholvin said. “We had a really tough schedule, and there were a lot of girls that stepped up.”
Cugino, Gerboth, McAtee, and Scholvin all were contributors in 2023 when the Pioneers lost 3-0 to Kings Mills Kings in the state final.
Duy is hoping key contributors like junior right-side hitter Camryn Coomer, junior middle blocker Kenzie Renshaw and junior defensive specialist Chloe Moore will help her program continue the run a year from now.
“I’m extremely proud of this group,” Duy said. “There were worries all year that it was going to be an extremely tough schedule. They stepped up and did everything we asked. I couldn’t be prouder of this group, but I also give a lot of credit to Mentor because they played fantastic. They were dynamic, had a lot of great hitters that played the ball. These seniors with their leadership and what they’ve done the last four years, they’ve helped these kids get ready to take over. These kids grew a lot because of their belief in (our veteran players).”
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