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New Bremen's Carly Bushman (6) spikes the ball as Newark Catholic's Layla Jones (11) and Leah Caudill (7) defend during Thursday's Division VI state semifinal at the Nutter Center.
FAIRBORN - Winners find ways to win.
For undefeated Newark Catholic, that notion was proven correct against New Bremen. Despite winning the first two sets of the match, the Cardinals fell in a heartbreaker 26-24, 25-20, 17-25, 20-25, 7-15 at the Nutter Center at Wright State University.
The opening set was indicative of the match. Both teams traded the opening points until a three-point run by the Cardinals gave them a 9-7. That lead grew to 13-9 after an error by Newark, and the Green Wave were forced to call timeout.
That timeout worked, as a quick kill by Newark Catholic gave them the momentum right back. A five-point run gave them a 14-13 lead, before Mary Rindler responded with a kill for the Cardinals. The message was clear from coach Diana Kramer, who used "relax" multiple times.
New Bremen's Mary Rindler goes to the floor to save the ball during Thursday's Division VI state semifinal against Newark Catholic.
That kill highlighted a four-point run by Bremen as they took a 17-14 lead. A back and forth match set the score at 21-19. A kill from Maria Kramer was followed by a Newark error to put Bremen on the doorstep at 23-19.
Newark fought back to tie it at 23-all, but three straight points eventually gave New Bremen the set 26-24 and an early lead.
The second set was much of the same early on, as both teams vied for control of the contest. An ace by Charlotte Nelson eventually gave Bremen a 9-6 lead, but it was followed by a Green Wave rally to make it 10-all.
It was tied at 13-all the next Bremen run, as the Cardinals rallied off six straight points to give them a 19-13 lead and some more momentum. Newark responded with more fight to cut the deficit to 19-16.
Bremen was not fazed though, and grew their lead to 23-17. That forced another Newark timeout, but it was not enough as a kill from Rindler ended the set a few points later.
Up 2-0 over Newark, everything was on the up for Bremen. The Cardinals were able to control the height disadvantage over their first 50-points, but the Green Wave showed why they carried an undefeated record into the tournament.
A 5-1 run gave Newark a 5-3 run early, but Bremen responded to tie it at 6-all. The teams traded blows again, but an error by the Green Wave tied the set at 9-all.
That is when a huge shift happened in the match. Five straight points all went the way of Newark, which included a pair of errors by the Cardinals. It gave the Green Wave a 14-9 advantage, and with how competitive the match was, five points made all the difference.
Bremen tried to dig themselves out of the hole, but never led again for the rest of the set as Newark won comfortably.
New Bremen's MariAna Muether bumps the ball to a teammate.
Four sets in, and the style did not change. Both teams tried to feel each other early, as a kill from MariAna Muether tied the set at seven apiece. Newark quickly turned the set around, and won nine of the next 11 points to jump ahead 16-9.
"They caused us to make some mistakes, and they started earning a lot of points. I don't think anything changed in the first and second set except for the errors," coach Kramer said.
Bremen, as they tried to do all match, battled back. The Cardinals cut the lead 18-14 after a Maria Kramer kill, and looked to have found a spark.
Newark put out that spark and extended its lead to 21-14. Bremen responded to trim the deficit at 21-17 and forced a Green Wave timeout.
The teams traded points at the end of the set, which was more than all right with Newark. The Green Wave closed out the set with some ease, and resets were needed as the teams went into the deciding set.
"In the third, fourth, and fifth set, they went on one or two huge runs," Kramer said. "I don't mean 10-point huge, more like four point huge, which in a close match is huge."
Newark did not need to reset, and they did not in the final set. The team jumped out to a 6-3 lead, which eventually grew to 10-5. Needing a few points to close out the match, Newark won five of the final seven points of the match to clinch a reverse sweep against Bremen.
It brings an end to what was a strong season from the Cardinals, who despite the loss will have a conference title trophy to take home. For a young team, this type of result might help in the long run if they can return to the stage.
"It's a privilege to be their coach," coach Kramer said. "If I could bring everyone from the whole town of New Bremen (into the press room), I would because we do things together. I have never coached a team that loves each other so much."
Muether finished with 17 kills and six digs for New Bremen. Rindler added 14 kills and eight digs with Ashtyn Eilerman recording 10 kills. Maria Kramer had 19 digs with Nelson and Bornhorst combining for 40 assists.
Natalie Harrington had 15 kills, 17 assists and 13 digs for the Green Wave. Layla Jones added 13 kills.
