Held in Centerville, a southern suburb of Dayton, the annual Centerville Elite 8 is a marathon of volleyball. A meatgrinder of a tournament for any team, the invitational brings together the best teams in the state.
The difficult tournament prepares teams for the State Tournament with back-to-back-to-back matches on the same day, readying squads for the three matches in two days a state champ must play and win.
The Volleyball Cats made the 3-hour, 15-minute trek south to the tournament with high hopes and a steel will. The Wildcats returned with one win, two losses, and lessons learned entering the home stretch of the season.
The first match of the day presented a rematch of the 2017 Ohio High School Boys Volleyball Association (OHSBVA) State Championship. The Wildcats and Hilliard Darby faced off for the first time since last June, when the Volleyball Cats captured the program's first-ever state title.
The contest evolved just as last season's showdown did – with a 3-0 Saint Ignatius victory. The game was anything but a cinch for the Wildcats, however, as Darby battled to the end.
The men of Ohio City started the contest with a burst of energy, rolling to a 5-1 start off two kills and a block by Quinn Flanagan. Three errors by Darby and a Phil Catanzaro spike led to a timeout by the Cats' opponents at 9-3. Darby then clawed to a 7-4 run to narrow 13-10 deficit before the Volleyball Cats took over.
David Castele's clutch kill and two Eric Larsen blocks at the net tilted the set fully into the Wildcats' favor. Saint Ignatius led 17-11 before Darby took a timeout, but it was too late. Catanzaro, Andrew Boeckman, and Teddy Koncelik finished off the set at 25-17 with dynamic plays. Aidan McCaffrey's 11 assists and Vince Holzheimer's 4 digs also helped the Cats tremendously.
Darby adjusted in the second set and came out swinging. The Wildcats hung tough, but trailed 10-8 early on. The men of Jacob Layden then made a move, with Flanagan, McCaffrey, and Koncelik making plays at the net to tie the contest at 12. The Wildcats grabbed their first lead of the set at 14-13 and kept it for a while. Larsen and Flanagan played key roles in keeping it.
Darby did mount a comeback to retake the lead at 21-20, but a Catanzaro kill tied the contest and changed the dynamic of the match. Darby made three errors and a Larsen block paved the way for a 25-23 win for the Cats in the second set.
The third set featured even front line play, and wonderful play by the Wildcats in the back line. Catanzaro notched five digs, Holzheimer tallied four, and Saint Ignatius recorded 14 total to scoop Darby in the final set.
The first 22 points were divvied up evenly with 11 aside. Three straight Wildcats' points, two scored on kills by Catanzaro and Flanagan, led to Darby burning a timeout. Wonderful plays by Holzheimer and McCaffrey caused Darby to burn its second break, as the Cats held a 17-13 advantage.
Flanagan Castele, Matthew Rogers and Catanzaro finished off Darby with impressive plays down the stretch, helping to orchestrate a 25-19 set win and a match sweep.
The Wildcats then advanced to a matchup with a dynamic team from Cincinnati – Archbishop Moeller. Reversing the trend of the season, the Wildcats were swept by a tough Crusaders team. Moeller's 37 kills and the Wildcats' 34 errors proved to be the deciding factors in a hard-fought match.
The Crusaders and Wildcats battled to a 12-12 tie in the first set before Flanagan exposed Moeller with two straight kills. Moeller quickly took a timeout and adjusted, tearing off a 6-2 run to grab a 18-16 advantage. Following a Catanzaro kill to make it 18-17, the Crusader caught fire with a 7-0 run to put away the Cats.
Moeller kept the momentum rolling in the third set with a 13-8 start. The Cats called a timeout at 16-11 and started to chip away, narrowing the deficit to 20-18 and 21-19 on great plays by Castele and Catanzaro. But despite Moeller errors to make it 24-23, the Cats could not win the next point, allowed the Crusaders to walk away with a 25-23 set two win.
In the third set, the Wildcats fought hard to force a fourth set. However, the Crusaders had momentum on their side. Coach Layden tried to reverse the trend with a timeout as Moeller led 14-9. But a strong Moeller push down the stretch pushed the Cats out of contention and secured a 25-16 win for the sweep.
Another difficult foe – the Elder Panthers – awaited soon after the Wildcats and Crusaders finished fighting.
Battling fatigue, the Wildcats perservered in set one. The Cats fought to a 10-10 tie with the Panthers before a 5-1 Elder streak turned the tide. Then, trailing 18-13, the Cats took a timeout to regroup. Unfortunately, Elder just kept rolling, steamrolling to a 7-5 run to down the Cats, 25-18.
The Wildcats returned to the floor and kept on fighting hard in set two. The Panthers held a lead but the Cats kept it within three – 16-13, 18-15, and 19-16. Thanks to superior play by Flanagan and the Cats, the men from Cleveland tied it at 21, then 22, and finally 23. Unfortunately, the Volleyball Cats could not seal the deal, as two Elder spikes earned the 25-23 victory.
The Wildcats kept up the same pace in the thrid set, determined to finish the marathon well. Layden's crew did just that. The Panthers earned the final set win, 25-18, but the Wildcats never surrendered.
"Fatigue and low energy set in late in the day, which is natural," Layden said. "We played three of the top five teams in the state back-to-back-to-back. This is great preparation for a state tournament run."
The road to Columbus continues for the Wildcats this week in Brecksville-Broadview Heights. The 12-3 Cats will face the Bees on the road at 7:15 pm on Friday.