Jerome, Liberty, Desales boys advance in tourney
The difference between a historic win for his program and a third loss in six weeks to one of its biggest rivals was small to Dublin Jerome boys volleyball coach Phil Cagnoli.
All the Celtics cared about after a 25-19, 25-23, 19-25, 13-25, 19-17 win over Thomas Worthington in a Division I East Region final Saturday at Westerville Central was that they will play another day, and that their next match will be the program’s first in a state tournament.
“We’ve been trying to break through this hurdle and this was an exciting one,” Cagnoli said. “Good for the sport, bad for my heart. We train for moments like this. We want to be the aggressive team. We want to actively go out and try to win matches as opposed to trying not to lose. That’s served us well . ...
“We knew we had this in us. We’re more confident and we have more experience than when we played them earlier. These guys played like veterans.”
Jerome (17-9) will face Cincinnati Elder in a state quarterfinal Saturday at Pickerington Central.
The sixth-seeded Celtics, who were appearing in their fifth consecutive regional final, rarely led the secondseeded
Cardinals in the third and fourth games. The fifth featured 14 ties before Jerome scored the last two points.
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—Dave Purpura
Olentangy Liberty 3, Mount Vernon 1
It took 16 seasons for Liberty to reach the state tournament for the first time. The Patriots did not have to wait as long for their second trip after a 25-27, 25-20, 25-8, 25-20 win over Mount Vernon in a Division I East Region final clinched a berth for the second consecutive season.
“I knew coming in, we had a lot of potential,” Liberty senior Noah Koknat said. “We just really wanted to win. But we still have a (long way) to go with states next weekend.”
Liberty (22-3) faces Cincinnati
Moeller in a state quarterfinal Saturday at Pickerington Central.
Size was a strength for top-seeded Liberty, which used 25 blocks to throw off the Yellow Jackets. Jake Koch and Colby Whiteside had six blocks each and David Jenkins added five.
Typical of their season, the Patriots had a balanced effort. Koknat had 15 kills, Jenkins had 12 digs, Connor Severson had 25 assists, 10 digs and three aces, Jack Sullenberger had 18 digs and three aces and Wes Davis had 13 assists.
—Michael Rich
Desales 3, St. Charles 1
Health made a difference for the topseeded Stallions, who were not at full strength during two regular-season losses to second-seeded St. Charles but largely controlled their Division II East Region final throughout, winning 25-15, 25-20, 21-25, 25-15.
Camren White had 17 kills, Cameron Hoying had 29 assists and four kills and Luke Gabrielli had six assists for Desales, which won its first regional championship since 2016.
“Our top end is as good or better than any team in the state in my opinion,” Desales coach Andy Feltz said.
Desales (20-4) will play Hamilton Badin in a state semifinal Saturday at Pickerington Central.
—Dave Purpura