Vermilion up two spots

The Morning Journal coverage area’s unbeaten volleyball teams continued to earn honors in the second Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association poll. Westlake (16-0) and Vermilion (15-0) both remained ranked in the second poll to be released this season.

The Demons, coming off a weekend sweep of a quad they hosted, technically fell in the Division I rankings. In Week 1, Westlake ranked 13th, and this week they sit tied for 14th with Cincinnati McAuley.

Mary Elizabeth Hargett totaled 30 kills in the Demons’ three matches at the Westlake quad. Hargett, a captain, had half of those kills in a win over Avon Lake and had eight in a three-set classic against Highland.

Westlake and Highland entered the match undefeated and went back-andforth in a wild second set that ended 36-34 in favor of the Demons.

Vermilion, the area’s other team yet to lose a match, jumped from sixth to fourth in the Week 2 D-II poll. The Sailors have won 27 straight regular-season matches under Coach Kara Coffman.

Senior Jenna Peters earned a spot in the Vermilion record books in the Sailors’ latest win. Peters now ranks as the school’s alltime leader in solo blocks, block kills and block assists after picking up four solo blocks in a Sept. 25 win over Midview.

For the second week in a row, Vermilion also earned a pair of first-place votes. In points, the Sailors are 15 behind third-place Lake Catholic and 32 ahead of fourthplace NDCL. NDCL finished as the state runner-up in D-II last season, falling in the championship match to rival Gilmour, which ranks first in the Week 2 rankings.

In Division I, Olmsted Falls dropped a spot from No. 10 to No. 11. The Bulldogs are 15-1 with their only loss coming to the area’s fourth state-ranked team — Amherst.

Amherst also dropped a spot in the D-II rankings despite not losing a match since the last ranking. The Comets (15-2) have yet to drop an SWC match and have a rematch against Olmsted Falls on Oct. 7.

One of Amherst’s losses came to ninth-ranked Perrysburg. The Comets, under first-year coach Felicia Sanchez, are looking to become the first team to win the Southwestern Conference not from Avon in five years.

The OHSVCA is released every Sunday until the final week of the volleyball season. This year the poll champions will be announced Oct. 18.

JENNIFER FORBUS FOR THE MORNING JOURNAL Midview’s Grace Milano sets the ball over the net toward the outstretched arms of Vermilion’s Hallie Habermehl (1) and Kaitlin Colahan (15).