On Wednesday night in Sullivan Gymnasium, it was another impressive showing from the 2017 Saint Ignatius volleyball team. Facing the second ranked team in Division II, it was all business for Head Coach Casey Marcelo’s squad.
Saint Ignatius had faced off Archbishop Hoban once already this season. Back on April 11, the Wildcats went down to Akron to face the Knights, who entered with a one loss record, losing to the same squad the Wildcats fell to, St. Xavier. That match was all Wildcats, with Saint Ignatius winning 3-1 over the Knights.
The second matchup at the Wildcats’ den was no different, ending in an uplifting 3-1 victory for the Wildcats.
Saint Ignatius got out to a hot start in Set 1, taking down Archbishop Hoban, 25-20. The Wildcats led the entire set, thanks to J.P. Purcell’s first set performance. The senior and recent Student-Athlete of the Week tabbed 4 kills to go along with 4 digs and the winning point to secure a 1-0 lead.
Saint Ignatius recorded 13 kills compared to Archbishop Hoban’s 14 in the first set, along with 13 digs and 6 errors.
Set number two went to the Knights, who had to fight their way back all night. Down 19-17, the Austen Gerwig-led Knights battled back and ran off seven straight points to take a 24-19 lead over the Wildcats, eventually winning, 25-20. Gerwig is a recruit to Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne for next season.
Saint Ignatius had 4 blocks in that set, but the Knights attacked the net just a little better with 12 kills compared to the Wildcats’ 11. The Wildcats hurt themselves a bit with 12 errors.
But the Wildcats came out with an attitude in Set 3, determined to not let the Knights have any life. The Wildcats pulled out to a 9-2 lead in Set 3, en route to a whopping 25-13 victory to take a 2-1 lead in Wednesday’s match.
Danny Michals had 5 huge kills in the third set to go along with 2 blocks. Purcell had 3 kills to go along with a dig and two blocks. The savvy Richie Holzheimer had 13 huge assists and 2 digs to help the Wildcats.
Archbishop Hoban, trailing 2-1, then tried to make it interesting in Set 4. The Knights never trailed by more than 4 points the entire set. The Knights were playing for a fifth set and pushed the Wildcats to the brink to try and get it. The visitors tied the set up at 23-23 thanks to the phenomenal serving of Jeremy Leyden, the toughness of Austen Gerwig, and the physicality of Lance Talmage.
But the Wildcats refused to be defeated, as Phil Catanzaro gave the Wildcats back the lead for good and the hosts prevailed, 25-23. Both teams had 11 kills in Set 4, but the Wildcats had 14 digs to help their case.
“They’re a good Division 2 team, IPFW’s number one recruit challenged us and we were up to speed in catching up to him,” said Head Coach Casey Marcelo. “But if you look at the stats from other big matches, different guys come in and help us and I think that’s our strength. If our middles can’t get us the big points, the outsides will get us the big points.
“Richie is doing a phenomenal job of just spreading it out. Coach Leyden directing everybody, knowing what to do. The entire coaching staff really. We really work really well together.”
The Wildcats, now at 10-1 on the season, now gear up for a tough tournament this Saturday at the Elite Eight Tournament at Centerville High School. Top teams in the state such as Archbishop Moeller, Saint Xavier, Hilliard Darby, Elder, Westerville South, and Centerville will all be there to give the Wildcats a great challenge and to show them what they will see in the State Tournament this year.