VOLLEYBALL Crestview High Red-Ridden out of the regionals

The Rebels finished 25-1.
By PAUL TRGOVAC
VINDICATOR SPORTS CORRESPONDENT
BARBERTON -- Defending state Division III champion Orrville High showed it is serious about defending its crown, as the Red Riders handed Crestview its first defeat of the season in the regional volleyball final at Barberton High School Saturday.
Orrville (27-1) won the match in three straight games, 25-17, 25-16, 25-10, to advance to the state tournament at Wright State next week.
Fast start helps Orrville
Right from the start the Red Riders showed they were ready to play as they broke to a quick 9-2 lead in the first game. Following a Crestview timeout, the Rebels scored the next three points, their longest run on the day, to narrow the gap to 9-5. Orrville then pushed back out to a 12-5 advantage and the teams traded points for the rest of the game, with Orrville winning 25-17.
"We can intimidate a lot of teams so we try to when we can, and with them [Crestview] having some young players in key positions it makes a big difference with us being so senior dominated," said Orrville coach Diane Shanklin.
Crestview served the first point of the second game for their only lead of the day. Orrville then scored the next three points for the lead. The Rebels trailed by just one point at 8-7, when the Red Riders went on a 9-2 run, keyed by the play of seniors Erica Short, and Katie O'Hare to open up a 18-9 lead. The game ended 25-16.
Short time
The third game was all Short, as the 6-foot-2 Indiana recruit had 10 of her 19 kills in the game.
Orrville served the first four points and led 10-2 early in the game. With the score 15-8, Orrville scored ten of the last twelve points to close out the match 25-10.
"Sometimes you just come at them with all the weapons in the first two games and then it's like 'Come on Erica [Short] it's time.' But she can't do it without the others. It's Orrville volleyball, not the Erica show. We are a great team, and that is what we want people to know," said Shanklin.
Attack recap
Short was 30 of 32 on her attacks in the game while O'Hare was 15 of 16 with seven kills. Celia Mastroine had 15 digs, while Kara Guster had 31 assists. Short added nine stuffs while Mastroine and Guster had two aces each.
"They have a very strong lineup, it's not just one girl," said coach Alisha Auer of Crestview, which finished 25-1. "Our girls played hard, they played tough.
"We were a little nervous in the beginning, but we settled down and played our game. I am so proud of my girls, the beginning of the year we were not even picked to win our league and here we are [in the elite eight]."
The most telling statistic of the day was that the Rebels were only able to score 12 points with the serve, while Orrville managed 44.
They have a very strong offense, and when we are serving they are getting the ball to hit right back at us, and that is their game," said Auer.
Rebel junior Tricia Richards had a team-high 10 kills, while senior libero Caitlin Crowell had 15 digs. Senior Rachael Parker had three blocks while sophomore Elyse Mongillo had 28 assists. Senior Sarah Flowers had three points serving. The final senior on the team was Chelsea Crowell while the Rebels will return seven players next season.