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New Bremen is heading to Wright State's Ervin J. Nutter Center this week with a chance to repeat its Division IV volleyball title. St. Henry makes the trip for the second time in three years with a chance at its eighth state title in program history.
None of those facts will matter in the state tournament.
"History doesn't win us any games going forward, history doesn't get us to the state tournament this year," New Bremen coach Diana Kramer said. "These girls worked hard to get us to this moment, so we're locked in on the moment moving forward and just enjoying the journey."
St. Henry takes the next step in its 2023 journey Thursday at 2 p.m. in a Division III state semifinal matchup with defending champion Mentor Lake Catholic, while New Bremen gets undefeated Shenandoah in the Division IV state semis at 4 p.m. Friday.
If they win, the Redskins would get to play for a state title at 11 a.m. on Saturday and the Cardinals would get their chance at 5 p.m.
Molly Wendel (4) and Karlee Buschur (11) are among a complement of five hitters for St. Henry and contribute to the Redskins' block.
St. Henry brought back nine players who saw varsity minutes on last year's district final team, which lost to Coldwater in four sets at Kalida. Four of them - hitter Chloe Gels, setter Lydia Werling, libero Rya Buschur and defensive specialist Lauren Thieman - were on the 2021 team that reached the Division IV state final before losing to New Knoxville.
Werling is in her fourth year of running the offense and passed 2,000 career assists early in September, but there were several new hitters - Morgan Baumer, Karlee Buschur, Ellie Fullenkamp and Molly Wendel - who needed to get in sync with her early in the season, as the Redskins looked to replace top hitter Mia Niekamp.
Middle hitters Karlee Buschur, in her first season on varsity, and Fullenkamp got better as the year went on to take a bigger role in the Redskins' offense. The two have combined for 99 blocks this year.
"Just getting them involved in the offense, getting that connection with Lydia as the setter, I think they have definitely grown," coach Tricia Rosenbeck said. "They've worked really hard to be a part of our offense in transition, in serve receive, in free balls, and even their blocking has improved tremendously. They've just worked really, really hard to get to where they are right now."
Wendel settled in on the right side and has become a key piece of St. Henry's blocking. Baumer moved up to the front row as an outside hitter as a sophomore, and Rosenbeck said she has become a six-rotation player this year and makes an impact in all aspects of the game.
"You could put her anywhere and she'd be able to fill the role," Rosenbeck said. "She's a little undersized, but she jumps really well and is an awesome athlete."
Gels leads the team with 3.7 kills per set, followed by Fullenkamp with 2.7 and Baumer with 2.0. Baumer and Gels are also in the top three on the team in average digs, with 3.1 and 2.4 respectively, behind Rya Buschur's 4.3. Baumer leads St. Henry with 69 aces.
After losing to Coldwater to end the 2022 season, the Redskins knew they would have to find a way to beat the Cavaliers this year. Coldwater won the first two matchups early in the season before St. Henry took the district final rematch in four sets.
The Redskins swept Marion Pleasant and Huron in the regionals to run their winning streak to 10 and earn a matchup with Mentor Lake Catholic in the state semifinals.
The Cougars, who beat Coldwater in four sets in last year's Division III state final, have only lost three sets all year. They lost the third set to Columbiana Crestview last Saturday before cruising in the fourth to return to the state tournament.
"They remind me a lot of ourselves," Rosenbeck said. "They have five really, really good hitters that spread out their offense, their setter's an all-state setter, they have an awesome defense with a great libero, they serve aggressive. So basically everything I say about our team, you could say about their team."
Katie Sowko leads the attack with four kills per set, with Natalya Bergant adding three and Ava Budrys Rini chipping in 2.4. Anna Bergant and Budrys Rini have more than 50 blocks each, and Hannah Pattie runs the offense with 11.8 assists per set. Pattie and Sowko were first-team All-Ohio selections, while libero Julia Oster, who averages 3.6 digs per set, got an honorable mention.
On the other side of the bracket are Byesville Meadowbrook and Cincinnati Archbishop McNicholas, which play in the first semifinal at noon on Thursday. Both teams are making their first state tournament appearance.
Amelia Dammeyer stepped up as a hitter after primarily playing the back row for New Bremen's title team in 2022, one of several Cardinals who shifted positions this year.
The Cardinals lost four seniors (Rianna Paul, Mia Schmitmeyer, Megan Reinhart and Abi Powers) from their state title team, but brought back top hitter Olivia Heitkamp and setter Melina Schrader, among others.
Keira Steininger took over full-time at libero for Powers, Alivia Dammeyer shifted from middle to right-side, Amelia Dammeyer moved up to the front row and Heitkamp switched to outside hitter.
"People know that if they're not having a good day, somebody on the bench is there to come in and step up," Kramer said, noting that the starting lineup continued changing throughout the season. "I'm so proud of the team for competing every single day in practice, and letting the competition make us better. The girls that are on the bench are just as important as those people on the court. They're pushing us every single day in practice, and without them buying into their roles, greatness can't happen."
Sophomore Mary Rindler and junior Ava Trentman solidify the middle for the Cardinals. Trentman played in less than a third of New Bremen's sets in 2022, but has appeared in all 81 so far this year, making 60 blocks and averaging 1.6 kills per set.
Heitkamp, who had 41 kills over the Cardinals' two state tournament games last year, is averaging 4.9 kills per set this year to lead the attack, switching to outside from right-side this year.
Schrader, the one player whose role stayed about the same, has continued to run the offense smoothly. The University of Dayton commit won Co-Player of the Year in the Midwest Athletic Conference and averages 9.9 assists per set, while also leading New Bremen with 67 aces and adding 38 blocks.
The Cardinals dropped their second match of the season, a regional final rematch with Crestview, in five sets. (The Knights went back to the regional final this year, where they ended their season against Tiffin Calvert on Saturday). They then won 10 straight, including a five-set win over Coldwater, before back-to-back losses against St. Henry and Fort Loramie.
A week later on Sept. 30, they lost a best-of-three match against Shawnee, and haven't lost in the nine matches since. Saturday's four-set win in a rematch with Fort Loramie marked the first set New Bremen had lost in five weeks.
"We knew that being the defending state champion and with some of the history that we've had, people are very hungry to beat us, and we know that we're going to get everybody's best," Kramer said. "Being able to overcome obstacles, being able to overtake situations and overcome the difficult tasks that lie ahead is really, really important. …
"We're in a really good point right now, where we're locked in, we're focused, we're hungry, and we're ready to go."
The Cardinals also won their third straight MAC title, securing it with a sweep of Fort Recovery in the regular-season finale on Oct. 12.
In the tournament, New Bremen cruised past Spencerville and Ada, swept MAC rival Marion Local and Russia for the second time each, and then beat the Redskins to return to state.
Shenandoah (27-0), making its first state tournament appearance, needed four sets to win its opening match, then didn't take another set loss until Oct. 3. The Zeps won the Division 3A title of the larger Ohio Valley Athletic Conference, then swept Bishop Rosecrans in the sectional final and Malvern and Toronto in the district.
Berlin Hiland took the third set in the regional semis before Shenandoah swept Shekinah Christian to advance to Dayton.
Outside hitters Brenna and Mya Leach and Brylee May power the attack. Brenna Leach is averaging 3.4 kills per set, Mya Leach adds 5.3 and May adds 2.0.
Calvert is taking on Canton Central Catholic in Friday's second semifinal. Calvert lost to New Bremen in the state semifinals in 2020, while Canton Central Catholic is making its first state tournament appearance.
