Fort Loramie’s Corynn Holscher adds to the momentum of the the second set Thursday with a kill in the win over Kalida. (Press Pros Feature Photos)
It wasn’t as slick and smooth as you’d expect, but Fort Loramie had enough to best Kalida…and Russia overcame some rough spots to take out Lehman Catholic in Thursday’s Division VII regional semi-finals at Northmont.
Englewood, OH – In a year in which you’re never really sure of what you might see, two Shelby County League teams, Fort Loramie and Russia, fulfilled what had been anticipated by advancing past Kalida and Lehman Catholic, respectively, to meet in Saturday morning’s Division VII regional final matchup at Northmont High School.
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In the evening’s first match, #2-ranked Loramie (21-4) survived a slow start to best Kalida (20-6), out of Putnam County, 20-25, 25-13, 25-18, and 15-8…a match that saw Loramie both at its best, and at times not so sure of themselves.
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Relative to the latter, the first set was tied six times before Kalida finally broke free at 13-11, taking advantage of some issues with serve-receive on the part of Loramie, and some uncharacteristic ball handling. They built on that lead with a late 6-2 run and finished out the set by winning 25-20.
Loramie had looked indecisive in that first set, but during the timeout regrouped and came out a different team for the second set, benefitting from the hitting of Charleigh Albers and Isabelle Hoying. Now confidently in system, they jumped out to a 9-3 lead, built that to 14-4, then 19-9, and used every Kalida mistake to build momentum, eventually evening the match with a 25-13 win.
Ditto in the third set, as Loramie jumped out to another early lead, building to a 17-12 advantage before series of mistakes and lack of focus allowed Kalida a 5-0 run to close the deficit to 18-17 in favor of Loramie. But Kalida would then suffer the consequences of a 5-0 Loramie run in which they got back into synch, and won the last five points and the set, 25-18.
When the finally got up to speed…Charleigh Albers saves a point against Kalida in the Redskins’ five-set win.
Up two sets to one, the Redskins got noticeably complacent when they came out for set four. Kalida noticed, as well.
The Wildcats built an early four-point lead, played their best volleyball since the first set, and took advantage of what looked to be a tiring Fort Loramie defense – tipping balls into gaps and noticeably blocking better at the net.
Loramie made a late charge to tie at 21-21, taking advantage of Kalida errors in hitting and serve, but the ‘Cats righted themselves in time, Fort Loramie mishandled the last two points, and Kalida took the set 25-23.
Tied now at two sets apiece, Kalida’s crowd got into it and the ‘Cats came out with the momentum…but no points. Fort Loramie scored the first four to go out 4-0, then steadily built on it as fifth set fatigue began to set in on the Wildcats. A couple of questionable line calls exacerbated their frustration, and Loramie seized the moment to score the final five points and win the match, 15-5.
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“We knew that they (Kalida) were going to be a good team,” said Loramie coach Kelly Hoying. “But we expected the competition because it’s the regionals.
“We took our foot off the pedal in the fourth set and that’s exactly what I said not to do. But sometimes they don’t like to listen to me. And that’s what happened. We got complacent, they started making more plays, and give credit to them. They weren’t scared of losing and played all out. They didn’t let any balls hit the floor.”
They recovered in time, in the fifth set, to play like Loramie and win the match.
“And that’s what’s going to determine how far we go,” added Hoying. “Whether we come back Saturday and play like Loramie, or we don’t.”
In the nightcap #3-ranked Russia looked anything like themselves (23-3), struggling with an over-achieving Lehman (18-8) team that had built momentum throughout the sectional/district round with wins over Botkins and Cedarville.
Russia had trouble with getting into system – serve/receive and ball control – and their usually matter-of-fact style of play became more a matter of helter-skelter.
Lehman’s Madison Rank (#1) battles with Russia’s Jewel Cordonnier for control at the net.
Lehman had its own similar issues, but managed to keep the ball in play long enough for Russia to eventually make the mistake. Lehman took advantage, keeping the first set close until the 17-point mark when Russia used a quick 3-0 run to open a lead and finish the set with a 25-18 win.
“It was ugly,” said Russia coach Aaron Watkins. “There was no system to things, and Lehman served well, they had a lot of energy, and we just had trouble getting going. I wasn’t happy with it, but a win’s a win.”
Again in the second set Russia looked out of focus, never seized on a positive momentum, but served well enough and make enough plays offensively to stave off Lehman. For their part, Carolyn Danmeyer’s Cavaliers hung on grimly, making Russia earn every point.
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“I don’t think we were nervous,” said Danmeyer. “This team really didn’t have issues with nerves like some teams in the past did. They seemed ready, but we had slow starts in both the first and second sets. We had to dig out of a lot of holes, and in the third set we were getting blocked like crazy. We just could never recover. Our middles are young and they kind of bombarded the middle – took advantage – and that affected our game a lot.”
Russia’s Aryana Cordonnier raises her arms at match point to celebrate the Raiders’ return to the Final Four.
Eventually, in the final set Russia came out and played like Russia, reminiscent of their 20 consecutive wins coming into the regional round.
” I asked them how do you want to go out and get this done? In a 25-20 set, or a 25-10 set?” said Watkins. “How do you want to get to the regional final? How do you want to win your 21st win in a row? Some little things to inspire them when they came out for the third set.”
His words were like a tonic. The Raiders jumped on Lehman and went out to an 11-1 lead, and to Danmeyer’s words, the the Cavaliers were unable to reel things back in. They couldn’t recover as Russia suddenly turned up the pressure with the block and their hitting. The Cavaliers found themselves in a scramble and the match ended quickly, 25-12.
Loramie and Russia will now face off for a third time in 2026, having split their regular season series 1-1. The rubber game, however, will be for much higher stakes. The winner goes to next weekend’s OHSAA Final Four.
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If it’s Loramie they’ll play for a third state title, their previous two coming during the reign of coach John Rodgers.
If it’s Russia, the Raiders will seek to take the annual next bigger step in accomplishment that’s marked Aaron Watkins’ decade-long career at Russia. It used to be a district title. Last year it became a regional title. And now…it’s certain that nothing but the gold trophy will do.
The match has been moved up to 11 am on Saturday, at Northmont. Braggin’ rights in Shelby County takes center stage – winner take all.
And which team, Loramie or Russia, will play most like themselves?
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