Salem volleyball team rallies past Parma Padua to gain state

Don Conser’s Quakers will play Toledo Central
Catholic on Friday.

By TOM WILLIAMS

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

STOW — Trailing 18-11 in the third set against Parma Padua, the Salem High volleyball team’s dream of a perfect season was on the ropes.

After winning the back-and-forth first set against the Bruins, 25-23, the Quakers played lackluster in the second round, losing 25-20.

With momentum clearly on the Bruins side, Quakers sophomore Katie Scullion rode to the rescue. Scullion’s play all over the court triggered Salem’s 14-5 run that won the third set, 25-23.

The Quakers continued the surge, rolling to an easy 25-17 victory to earn their school’s second trip to state nine seasons.

Friday at 11 a.m. at the Wright State University Nutter Center in Dayton, the Quakers (26-0) will play Toledo Central Catholic in the Division II state semifinals.

“There are times when Amy does things that just amaze me,” said senior Sarah Brobeck who made five kills. “She’s a great leader despite being the youngest player on the floor.”

Scullion finished with 28 kills, three blocks and an ace for 32 points. Many of them came during the Quakers’ run to end the third set.

“Volleyball is all about momentum,” Scullion said, “so we knew if we could get it going again, if we could get it back that we would have a chance.

“We made a couple of big kills and they made some errors,” Scullion said of the turnaround.

Scullion’s performance didn’t surprise Salem coach Don Conser.

“She’s earned some offseason volleyball awards that are very hard to come by,” Conser said. “She’s been to the high-performance camp in Florida the past two years and you only get selected if you are one of the top 30 in the U.S.”

While the Quakers struggled, Conser twice called time-outs, advising his players that even ‘if we lose it, you’ve got to let them know we’re not going away.’

For years the dominant program in the Metro Athletic Conference, the Quakers have little experience coming from behind.

“We all came together and said, ‘we’re not letting this one go,’ ” said senior Katie Scullion who finished with nine kills, four aces and 13 digs. “We stepped it up and I definitely thought we had it going into the fourth game.”

The Quakers dominated the fourth game, jumping out to an 11-5 edge and cruising.

“I can’t even explain how excited I am,” Scullion said about Dayton. “Every year we work to get to this day and we’ve finally made it. To just get another week of practice is awesome and I’m sure we’ll all use it wisely.”

Junior Allison Ward made three of her four kills in the final set.

“I wasn’t ready for it to be done today,” Brobeck said. “It’s a dream to be on this team. Tonight wasn’t our night to end — we still have some work to do.”

williams@vindy.com