VOLLEYBALL Aching Falcons happy to practice

Fitch is making its second state trip in three seasons.
By JOE SCALZO
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
AUSTINTOWN -- One player is facing surgery. Several players are battling colds. Every player is tired.
No player is ready to stop.
"Every time we play, we're like 'Let's practice the next day,' " said Austintown Fitch High senior Stacie Mang. "I've never been so excited to practice."
The Fitch volleyball team isn't ready to stop. But one way or another, the Falcons' season will end this weekend in the Division I state tournament at the Nutter Center at Wright State University in Dayton.
The Falcons (23-4) will face defending state champion Cincinnati Ursuline Academy (24-3) in the state semifinal Friday at 2:30 p.m.
They're the only public school left among the final four teams.
"We're the underdogs," Mang said.
Added senior Maggie Case, "We've got nothing to lose."
Others
Cincinnati St. Ursula (28-0) -- which beat Fitch in three sets in the 2001 state semifinal en route to a state title -- will face Toledo St. Ursula (26-1) in the other semifinal.
"And if they were seeding teams, we'd be fourth," Fitch coach Tom Case said. "All three are excellent teams. You just pick your poison."
Maggie Case, a first-team all-Ohio selection last season, will have surgery on both legs as soon as the season is over. She will face four months of rehabilitation and may miss the entire Junior Olympic volleyball season.
Seniors Jenn Drabison and Rachel Terzak have struggled with colds and nearly four months of practice have taken their toll on the players physically.
Fitch has a seven-player rotation -- senior Allison Kenney, junior Jessica Evans and freshman Caitlin O'Patchen also play -- which means the starters get few breaks.
But with just a few days remaining in the season, lazy days are ahead.
"I'm beat up," Terzak said. "I'm ready for a good three-week break."
scalzo@vindy.com