Falcons set for return trip

Three seniors remember what it was like the last time Fitch played in Dayton.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
AUSTINTOWN -- It's the little things they remember.
The size of the gym.
The size of the locker room.
The size of the crowd.
"I just remember how little I felt when we walked in the gym," Austintown Fitch High senior Stacie Mang said.
"And the butterflies," said senior Rachel Terzak.
"And the level of play," added senior Maggie Case. "It was amazing to play with such great players."
It's been two years since the Fitch volleyball team last went to the state tournament and one of the many story lines from this season involves the three returning starters, who were sophomores in 2001.
"I remember being a small 5-8 middle-hitter playing against these enormous girls," Terzak said. "Now I'm back in the same position and I realize how much I've learned since then. I see the game differently now. I can read the hitters so much better. I've really improved as a player."
The Falcons, who were making their second trip to the state tournament, lost to eventual state champion Cincinnati St. Ursula that season in three sets, 17-15, 15-9, 15-4, in the semifinals.
It was the first time they had won a set.
"Now we're trying to win two," Case said.
Nice turnaround
Fitch (23-4) began this season with a 2-4 record. Two of the Falcons' starters -- Case and Terzak -- missed several early games and another, freshman Caitlin O'Patchen, were inserted in the lineup after the first few games.
"Once our little freshman started improving, we improved," Mang said.
The Falcons had set a preseason goal of making it to the state tournament, but the slow start made even a fifth-straight district title seem far away. Still, Terzak never wavered.
"I knew we were going to make it," Terzak said.
Case and Mang weren't so sure.
"I never expected to make it," said Mang.
"Never, not until about midway through the season," Case said.
But once things started turning around, the players started coming around. The Falcons won the rest of their regular season games -- capped by a convincing sweep in the Federal League tournament -- and cruised into the regional tournament with a 15-2, 15-0 rout of Hudson in the district final.
After a win over Solon in the regional semifinal, the Falcons found themselves down 12-10 in the third set to defending regional champion Mentor -- the same team that defeated them in last year's tournament.
"They had just crushed us, 15-6, in the second game and I knew I needed to do something," said Fitch coach Tom Case on Monday. "So I told them, if we win Game 3, I'll shave my head.
"Then we went down 12-10."
Maggie smiled, then interrupted her father's story.
"Yeah, but then we won 15-12," she said. "So you need to do it. You said you would do it on Monday. That's today."
"Is it?" he said with a laugh.
High hopes
Case's hair has stuck around longer than expected -- just like his team. And the Falcons plan on sticking around for at least one extra day this weekend.
Fitch will play defending state champion Cincinnati Ursuline Academy (24-3) at 2:30 p.m. in Friday's Division I state semifinal.
The Falcons are the only public school remaining among the final four teams.
"We want to win the match," said Tom Case, who is retiring after this season. "You definitely don't go down there to lose."
And this time, the Falcons won't be so overwhelmed. With five seniors and five returning starters from last season, Fitch has the talent and the experience to do well.
"They've answered every question," Tom Case said. "There have been no upsets. They've played all the top teams and won. That's satisfying from a coach's standpoint.
"We just need to keep playing well, stay focused an do the little things right."
Ah yes, the little things. They're certainly important. But in his last season, Case also wants to give the rest of the state something to remember him by.
Something big.
scalzo@vindy.com