Knights fall in 4 sets to Columbus Bishop Hartley, which wins 1st state title.
By Debbie Juniewicz, Contributing Writer Updated 12:47 AM Sunday, November 13, 2011
FAIRBORN — The preparation was there but the performances were not.
“Hartley came to play, they played hard all the way through and we did not,” Alter coach Tina Jasinowski said. “I’m very disappointed. I feel like we were prepared and ready but we didn’t compete today.”
Columbus Bishop Hartley achieved its first state volleyball title with a 25-20, 18-25, 25-18, 25-21 win over Alter in the Division II state final at the Nutter Center on Saturday. The Hawks, who have been to state four of the past five years, embraced the underdog role against the Knights, who were looking for a fourth state championship.
“We knew we were the underdogs and we knew we’d have to play that much harder,” Hartley senior setter Natalie Briggs said.
Hartley coach Max Miller enjoyed the role reversal for his team, which has earned at least a share of the Central Catholic League crown for the past five years.
“When someone else has the ‘X’ on their back, you exhale a little bit,” Miller said.
The Hawks, however, had some doubts after watching Alter beat Mansfield Madison in the semifinals.
“After watching them (Alter) Thursday, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, how are we going to do this?’ ” junior outside hitter Molly Shonk said.
Execution proved to be the key as junior hitter Brooke Betts led the attack with 16 kills and Shonk added 12. A much-improved blocking game frustrated the Alter offense. After not posting a single team block in the semifinals, the Hawks had nine against the Knights.
“They executed a good match,” Jasinowski said. “We knew we’d have to have strong performances across the board and we did not. We had sub-par performances from a number of major contributors.”
Penn State-bound senior Megan Courtney paced the Alter offense with 17 kills and 20 assists and did her part defensively with 12 digs but it was not enough.
“She’s a great athlete and she gutted it out today, I just wish she had some help,” Jasinowski said.
The Knights were poised to push the match to a fifth set as a kill by freshman outside hitter Maddie Bazelak gave Alter a 20-15 lead late in the fourth set. But the Hawks rattled off the next six points to take a 21-20 lead. It wasn’t an adjustment or a change in the game plan, it was desire. Hartley would never trail again.
“It was the want we had in our hearts,” Hawks junior Kayla Smith said. “We just wanted it so bad.”
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