Volleyball state semifinal capsule

Lake Catholic vs. Columbus Bishop Hartley

What: Division II state semifinal

When: 2 p.m., Nov. 9 Where: Wright State Nutter Center, 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway #430

Records: Lake Catholic 16-11, Bishop Hartley 21-6 What’s next: The winner advances to D-II state championship match against the winner between Holy Name and Middletown Bishop Fenwick.

What to look for: Lake Catholic enters its third straight state berth on a seven-match winning streak. The Cougars have won nine of their last 10 sets in matches that include victories over No. 9 Notre DameCathedral Latin in the Jefferson District final, No. 12 Crestwood in a regional semifinal and No. 11 Gilmour in the Stow regional title match. Pitt commit Ashley Browske leads the Cougars with 4.1 kills and 4.1 digs per set. Middles Kylie Snyder and Ainslie McLaughlin support her in the middle. Junior Taylor Resetar has played well on the right side lately and freshman Jessica Wilson performed well in the Cougars’ regional final victory. Senior libero Mallory Lough works with Browske in the back row to lead Lake Catholic’s defense. Junior Katy Yopko, a Northern Kentucky commit, has played outstanding in the postseason after the Cougars switched to a 5-1 offense. Bishop Hartley finished the regular season tied for ninth with NDCL in the final state coaches poll. The Hawks downed No. 4 Big Walnut in their district championship match, No. 5 Jonathan Alder in a Heath regional semifinal and No. 18 Gnadenhutten Indian Valley in the Heath regional final. Middle Chiamaka Nwokolo, also a Pitt commit, leads Bishop Hartley with 4.0 kills and 0.9 blocks per set. Kayla Malone and Alexa Wilson are options on the outside. Five players average more than three digs per set. Setter Colleen Sweeney averages 10 assists per set. The Hawks hit at a solid percentage and are sound in serve-reception. How the Cougars find a way to slow Nwokolo in the middle could determine if they’ll advance to their first state final since Lake Catholic won a state title in 20102