“We did it”…Tipp coach Howard Garcia raises his arms to the student section moments after the clinching point of the Red Devils’ first state title in volleyball. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
After 14 years program building and some times of frustration, Howard Garcia and the Tipp Red Devils are finally state champions in volleyball with a four-set win over Bloom-Carroll in the Division III final.
Fairborn, OH – At precisely 9:04 pm Saturday night both the past and the future changed for Howard Garcia and his undefeated Tippecanoe volleyball team.
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In the twinkling of an eye, or at least as long as it took Garcia to turn to the student section behind him at the Nutter Center and mouth the words, “I think that’s it”, the Red Devils became OHSAA state champion for the first time in the sport of volleyball at Tipp.
Officially, it was the second OHSAA title for Garcia, who previously won one while coaching at Hamilton Badin (2013). But later he would admit, “This is the best high school volleyball team I’ve ever coached. It’s that special.”
And with their 25-19, 25-22, 24-26, and 25-10 win over runner-up Bloom-Carroll (27-2), the Red Devils became both the first undefeated champion in program history, as well as the standard for comparison in the future – the team of 2025! And who can forget?
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New ground, for sure, for Garcia and the Red Devils, and the perfect send-off to five seniors who helped with program renovation after a near miss in 2020 in the state semi-final round…and the frustration of having lost last year with nearly the same cast of athletes in the regional semi-final round – Kaylee Armstrong, Savannah Clawson, Morgan Sessions, Brianna Morris, and Courtney Post.
And it was Morris, whom Garcia later called the “best setter in the state” who did the improbable flipping of history in the fourth set on Saturday, coming into serve with the score tied at 7-7…and proceeded to serve twelve consecutive points before Bloom-Carroll could break her. And as often as volleyball is called a game of momentum, Morris not only stole the momentum that led to the Red Devils closing out their title…she committed grand larceny.
But first, Tipp came in off the best performance in program history on Friday with a straight-set win over state #1 Akron Hoban. “It would be hard to top that,” Garcia said following the Hoban match. “That was nearly perfect volleyball.”
Savannah Clawson works a kill attempt around the onstacle of a Bloom-Carroll blocker in Saturday’s Division III final.
And they knew, said Savannah Clawson twenty four hours earlier on Friday, that they would have to come back with the same mindset for the final match on Saturday. And for the most part they did, riding the hard hitting of Clawson and Abby Mader, the Red Devils worked their way to an 18-14 lead in the first set, then the serving of Morgan Sessions to a 25-19 win in the set. It was, indeed, very reminiscent of the way they played the day before.
In the second set, again, Tipp jumped out early to a 12-8 advantage, only to lose their way long enough for Bloom-Carroll to overtake them and run out to a 19-16 lead. But Tipp’s defense came to the rescue, extended a couple of rallies on which they scored to tie the set at 20-20…and then again rode the powerful hitting of Abby Mader (20 kills for the match) to a 25-22 win. And all the momentum you’d think necessary to sweep the match.
The Arbogast family of dealerships congratulates the Tippecanoe Red Devils for the their OHSAA state title in Volleyball.
But think again. Throughout the 2025 season Garcia has warned about this team’s tendency to lose focus, and energy, in the third set of matches, particularly matches involving other Miami Valley League teams.
“I think they’re just so talented that they think they can get away with taking their foot off the gas,” he said earlier in the year.
Brianna Morris, shown setting here, was the hero of the fourth set for her serving twelve consecutive points.
And you wouldn’t expect that in a match as important as one for the state championship.
But lo and behold, they did, allowing Bloom-Carroll to build as much as a ten-point advantage in the third set…until Tipp began to reel the Bulldogs back in with a late run of points to tie the game at 20-20. It wasn’t enough, however, and Bloom-Carroll finally broke through to take the set, 26-24.
“I told the girls in the huddle between sets [three and four],” said Garcia. “It’s no longer a matter of skill anymore. This is about heart and unity now.”
Bloom-Carroll took a quick 4-2 lead in the fourth set before the two teams began to go back and forth, eventually tying at 7-7. And that’s when the best setter in the state made her impact felt…as a server.
Brianna Morris would serve the next twelve points in a row and allow Tipp to streak to a 19-10 lead before a raucous Tipp crowd and student section that became louder with each succeeding point. When Bloom-Carroll finally broke her string of points [ at 19] the match was all but clinched.
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“She broke them down with the serve,” said Garcia. “She moved the ball around, changed depths and changed sides of the court, and made them get out of system.”
At 24-10 Savannah Clawson began to have tears in her eyes – crying – knowing that a state championship was just a point away, and imminent – all the hard work rewarded.
Abby Mader led all scorers with 20 kills in the match, crushes one in the fourth set.
“I told myself, ‘You have one more point to play. You’ve got to finish the game.'”, said Clawson afterwards, with a smile.
And a moment later, at 9:04, the ball touched the floor and Garcia and the Red Devils finally had their title after fourteen years of building, frustration, and soul-searching.
“But I told you yesterday,” said Garcia in the post-game press conference. “I’ve have some really good teams here at Tipp. But this is the best team I’ve ever coached in high school volleyball…for their commitment, for their love of each other, and for the kind of people they are on and off the court. Last year, when we lost to Ursuline in the regional round, the kids took on an agenda to rectify that loss. And this team – their unity, their love, and their faith – is what takes them over the top, and what took them over the top today.
“And there’s no words that a coach can really express when they see their kids do the job and succeed, when people really didn’t give them a chance. And here they are today, getting a chance, and they made a statement.”
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Even to rectifying that third set curse that went back to the MVL league play during the season.
“It really wasn’t a bad curse,” said Garcia. “We made it close, and then carried that momentum forward into the fourth set.”
You know you’re a state champion…when there’s a dog pile. Tipp celebrates its first-ever title in volleyball.
And just like Friday, when Clawson, Mader and Faith Siefring led by their example, on Saturday it was Brianna Morris who stepped forward in the manner of a senior with an agenda to fulfill.
“I was just trying to get the ball across the net,” she laughed, when asked about the improbability of a 19-3 run and her twelve consecutive points.
“Tipp had to beat the three best teams in the state en route to their title – Ursuline Academy, Akron Hoban, and Bloom-Carroll.
But minutes earlier Bloom-Carroll coach Kyle McFerin gave his own perspective on the improbable run of consecutive points at such a critical point of such an important game.
“I won’t make excuses,” he began. “But we’ve played a lot of volleyball in the past few days, the match last night (Cathedral Latin), and the quick turnaround to play Tippecanoe. And they’re such a good program, sometimes it’s just hard to keep it all together when the wheels begin to come off.”
And to McFerin’s point about the quantity and quality of volleyball necessary to overcome and win a state championship, Tipp would end up playing and defeating the top three teams in the state to win theirs – Ursuline Academy (19-8), Archbishop Hoban (22-6), and Bloom-Carroll (27-2).
Faith Siefring and the Red Devils finished with a perfect record of 29-0.
“And think about finishing the year 29-0,” said Garcia before boarding the bus back to Miami County. “Usually you welcome the opportunity to play the best competition available because it does make you better. And the Miami Valley League is not known for volleyball. So as testimony to how good this team is, maybe rethink that question about strength of schedule in the future. That’s how good this team was this year.”
“It really isn’t about the team you play,” added Savannah Clawson, addressing the same question during the press conference. “It’s how we come together as a team and the way we play.”
And in the meantime, “What a time to be a Red Devil,” said athletic director Kregg Creamer.
Indeed. When you’re good enough to win a state championship despite the curse of the third set, and in comparison to the way you played in the semi-final round to get there, what does it say when you win that championship with your ‘B’ game.
Your 2025 Division III state champs in volleyball…the 29-0 Tipp Red Devils (lost just 4 sets all year)
“They deserved it, though,” said football running back Xavier Melton, who watched history being made from the front row of the student section Saturday. “They worked hard for it.
“Now it’s time for football,” he added.
And that’s not improbable, either.
Truly…has there ever been a better time to be a Red Devil?
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