By RYAN HINES
rhines@dailystandard.com
Perfection is something that’s often strived for, but
rarely achieved.
The five Celina volleyball seniors have a chance at perfection
tonight in the final Western Buckeye League match of the season
as the Bulldogs travel to St. Marys.
Perfection has become expected from the Celina quintet of Megan
Harner, Traci Stoner, Sarah Lange, Tricia VanderHorst and Lydia
Fleck over the last three years.
If Celina wins tonight, the Bulldogs will win the WBL title
outright for the third consecutive year bringing the league
winning streak to 31 games.
The five Celina seniors have an unblemished 26-0 record in league
play the last three years and it’s something each one
of them is very proud of.
“It was so neat when we were sophomores and we won the
WBL,” said setter Traci Stoner. “We got to feel
that championship feeling and our motivation was to get that
feeling back each year after that and we’ve been able
to do that. “
“When we were sophomores, we saw how much that winning
the WBL title meant to the seniors at that time,” said
outside hitter and defensive specialist Megan Harner. “We’re
the seniors now and we want to go out and get another outright
WBL title that way the younger players on this team can see
what it’s like and want to continue the tradition.”
“This group were sophomores when I got here to Celina
and the jayvee team that year was 20-0,” pointed out head
coach Nikki Taylor-Etzler. “A lot of the seniors on this
year’s team dressed varsity and played for us while also
seeing some time on the jayvee team. They haven’t lost
much as a group and that keeps them motivated.”
The last time that Celina lost a WBL contest was on Sept. 28
of 2000 when Defiance upended the Green and White, 15-4, 15-11.
This crop of seniors wants nothing to do with being the team
that halts the league winning streak.
“It was exciting to win the WBL when we were sophomores,
but I think that it’s much better as a senior because
I was more of a jayvee player back then, where now I’m
more of this team and making more of a contribution,”
said right-side and middle hitter Tricia VanderHorst. “How
many people can say that they played varsity for three years
and went undefeated... I don’t think that there’s
too many people out there that can say that and I want to be
one of those people.”
“I think there’s always pressure there on us because
we don’t want to be the team that lost and ended the winning
streak,” noted Stoner. “ I guess that it’s
more motivation than pressure because we all want to go out
there and play so bad and compete.”
“I think that the girls know that once they get involved
into our volleyball program that there comes a lot of responsibility
with that,” said Taylor-Etzler. “We demand effort
out of the girls and they return that effort behind the leadership
of the seniors. I think that the type of girls that I have had
since I’ve been here is a big key because they all set
high goals and work so hard to achieve those goals.”
Celina senior Lydia Fleck knows that one of the major jobs of
the five seniors is to make sure that the underclassmen understand
that opponents will always give their best effort against the
three-time defending WBL champs.
“One thing about our volleyball tradition here is that
when you play for Celina you’re always going to get the
opponent’s best performance because they are gunning for
you at the top,” said Fleck who plays right side and is
a defensive specialist. “It’s important that everyone
on the team plays with motivation and intensity each and every
point. Coach has been here ever since our group of seniors has
been playing varsity so I think that the winning streak means
just as much to her.”
Most athletic programs would be ecstatic to clinch a share of
the WBL title, but after watching the girls following Tuesday’s
clinching win over Wapakoneta, it’s clear that the celebration
is on hold until the championship is decided once and for all
tonight.
“We’re seniors and we already have a share of the
WBL title, but we don’t want to go out losing our last
WBL game of our careers so our motivation is still very high
going into our game with St. Marys because we want an outright
title,” said middle hitter Sarah Lange.
This group of talented seniors have also been able to rely on
some talented underclassmen such as Jamie Siefker, Kelsey Fleck,
Shawn Dorsten, Jessica Wagner and Betsy Hone.
“We’re such a deep team and that’s a good
thing because our practices are so competitive each day that
we can’t help but get better as a team and as individuals,”
said VanderHorst. “There are some really good girls on
this team that could start on a lot of other teams and we feel
fortunate to have the type of depth that we have.”
“The best thing about this team is that they all know
what a team is all about,” lauded Taylor-Etzler. “They
know what to expect from others and themselves and they don’t
care how it gets done, as long as it gets done. “
Now, five Celina seniors are hoping to get the job done once
more for the 20th time in the program’s history in the
WBL. Celina’s dominance in the WBL is nothing short of
amazing as only Bath (three titles) has more than one WBL volleyball
title, other than Celina.
“We work so hard in practice and I think that’s
why we take so much pride in our program,” explained Taylor-Etzler.
“The work ethic is instilled by the coaching staff and
by the parents so the girls all know how hard they have to work
each day and they get plenty of reminders.”
Somehow, I think that reminders won’t be needed tonight
as the Bulldogs will take on the archrival Roughriders.
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