High school volleyball notes: Elyria should face tough test this week … against Stow? You better believe it
Steve Byrne | The Chronicle-Telegram
Jodie Johnson saw this coming, even if few others did.
Elyria has a huge match at home Thursday against Stow-Munroe Falls. That’s right — SMF. Who would have ever thought?
“They’re very, very good,” Johnson said. “A lot of people didn’t give them much respect at the start of the season.”
That’s because the Bulldogs weren’t very good last year, even if they did win the first two games of their second match against Johnson’s Pioneers before Elyria rallied to win in five. SMF was 8-12 in 2007 and 2-8 in the Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division.
But the ’Dogs are 10-3 this year, the same record as Elyria, and are second in the Valley with a 4-2 record. Elyria is 5-0.
“We knew they had Chelsea Harvey back,” Johnson said of the Bulldogs’ stellar outside hitter. “She gave them a lot of stability in 2007, and she’s been playing well above what she did last year.
“Plus, they have a new coach who has college experience (Scott Carter, ex-assistant for Kent State). That college coaching has made a huge difference for them.”
Bees on the ‘A’ list
Olmsted Falls will face a ranked Southwestern Conference opponent this week, and it won’t be Amherst.
Falls and Amherst do hook up Thursday, in what has become a traditional twice-a-year battle for SWC supremacy. The ranked team the Bulldogs will play is Brecksville, when the Bees visit Falls today.
Brecksville landed on the Division I list for the first time this season. The Bees are No. 14 (tied with Toledo St. Ursula) after winning the prestigious eight-team Independence Invitational on Saturday.
No disrespect to the Bees, who are on a seven-match winning streak, but why Amherst isn’t ranked ahead of Brecksville is a mystery.
The Comets beat Brecksville in three games by a combined score of 75-52. Amherst’s four losses have been to ranked teams. Perhaps the fact that two of them — Smithville and Northwestern — are Division III might have had some influence on the voters.
Smithville is No. 2. Northwestern, in West Salem, is fifth. Both schools are members of the Wayne County League.
Throwing out the match they played against each other they have a combined 28-0 record. Five Division I teams have fallen to these two.
Brecksville (12-2) has yet to beat traditional powers Amherst and Olmsted Falls in SWC competition since joining the conference in 2005.
• Columbia’s J.J. Lubinski had a weekend to savor. The senior defensive specialist was chosen Homecoming Queen on Friday night. On Saturday, she helped the Raiders upset Elyria Catholic in a triangular that also included a victory over Southview.
• Amanda Balakso of North Olmsted and Jamie Liese of Lutheran West were named to the all-tournament team in Independence on Saturday.
Contact Steve Byrne at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Megan Auble, Wellington
CLASS: Junior
POSITION: Outside hitter
LAST WEEK: Totaled 44 service points in 10 games, with 16 aces, 30 kills and 33 digs as the Dukes went 4-0 and gave Coach Marsha Coultrip her 400th career victory.
OTHER SPORT: Softball
FREE TIME: Enjoys going to the movies with friends, especially for a comedy or a drama. “House Bunny,” she says, is the last good movie she saw. Also likes to play cards, with peanuts being her favorite game.
FUTURE PLANS: Attend college, major in accounting and play varsity volleyball. Has no preference as to which college to attend.
PARENTS: Duane and Laura
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Filed by Steve Byrne | The Chronicle-Telegram September 23rd, 2008 in Sports. Popularity: 2% |
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