BROOKVILLE – Versailles won an Ohio High School Athletic Association sectional tournament championship on Thursday evening with a sweep of Greeneview.
Versailles was in complete control throughout Thursday’s match, winning by scores of 25-5, 25-9 and 25-12.
“I really felt that the girls earned it,” Versailles volleyball coach Kenzie Bruggeman said. “They came out, they were scoring in five, they were driven, they were determined so we kept going with it. They had a good drive going and just good chemistry on the court so I wanted to reward that and absolutely to prepare us for what’s coming up.”
Versailles’ superiority was evident from the beginning of the match. From a 1-1 tie the Tigers went on a 14-0 run with strong serving from Kate Stammen as a catalyst for the success.
“Amazing,” Bruggeman said. “Again just so consistent and focused back there, very easy when you get on those long runs to (have a) mental lapse and serve it in the net or serve it out of bounds so she was really able to refocus herself every time she went back to serve and just made it a consistent ball, which was huge for our offense.”
Versailles also got dominant play at the net from Danielle Winner on its way to the 25-5 victory in the opening set.
“That was another one of our goals,” Bruggeman said, “serve aggressive, get the ball back on our side and establish her.”
Greeneview scored the first point of the second set to take its first lead of the match. The Rams also led 2-1 before the Tigers went on an 8-0 run to claim the lead. Versailles dominated the rest of the game on their way to a 25-9 victory and a two to nothing lead in the match.
The third set started off like the second with Greeneview taking leads at 1-0 and 2-1. But once again Versailles went on a strong run, this time scoring 13 consecutive points. Versailles ended up winning the set 25-12 to sweep the sectional championship match and advance to the district finals.
“Definitely the strongest offensive team that we have seen so far this tournament season so for them to just remain focused back there and driving through and not being satisfied with just getting the ball up but making sure that it was perfect or not letting it touch the ground and just hustling, and that’s what you want on your defense,” Bruggeman said.
Versailles will play Madeira in the district finals on Saturday at Northmont with a spot in the sweet 16 at stake. The match tentatively is scheduled for 3 p.m.
