No league championship, but Clay stands tall in TRAC

By: 
J. Patrick Eaken

Volleyball teams in the Eastern Maumee Bay community had a lot of close calls in league races — three teams finished as runners-up.

Finishing second were Eastwood in the Northern Buckeye Conference, Oak Harbor in the Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division, and Northwood in the Toledo Area Athletic League. 

Oak Harbor ended the season 19-6 and tied for second, splitting two matches with Margaretta and losing twice to Huron. Defending state champion Huron had no losses and the Rockets and Polar Bears had three apiece, but Margaretta defeated Eastwood and Huron in the district tournament to advance to the Division III regional at Lake High School.

Eastwood finished 19-3 and 12-2 in the Northern Buckeye Conference, losing both times to league champion Lake (23-2, 14-0). Northwood (5-3, TAAC) finished 13-10 overall and finished tied for second in the Toledo Area Athletic Conference as coach Josh Jordan won TAAC Co-Coach of the Year and shared Alan Miller Jewelers All-Press Co-Coach of the Year with Lake’s Amy Vorst.

However, Clay finished tied for third with Findlay and Fremont Ross at 4-3 in perhaps the toughest league of them all, the Three Rivers Athletic Conference. The Eagles finished the season 14-11, but were swept in three sets by Lake, 25-16, 25-20, 25-23.

“Overall, we did very well. We played a lot of hard teams,” Clay coach Carrie Wagoner said. “We don’t sugar coat our schedule. We go out and play Olmsted Falls, Norwalk, Perkins and Huron — so we played some good schools. 

“Obviously, the results are not always going to be a win-win, but we really do compete. That’s what I like. That’s what I told the AD, Mark Beach, ‘I’d rather play the big teams and get our butt kicked, you know.’ It’s only going to make us better as a team in the long run.”

Outside of Lake’s four All-Press selections, every first team honoree is from the three runners-up teams, Clay, or regional qualifiers and TRAC champion St. Ursula (7-0 TRAC), led by sophomore outside hitter Olivia Batch from Oregon.

There were six seniors on Clay’s team, but only four played because two were injured. Clay senior middle hitter Meah Przbylski would likely have been the Eagle’s fourth first team All-Press pick, but she was one of the two seniors who missed the season because of an injury.

“Honestly, talking to all the TRAC schools, I think she probably would have been Player of the Year,” Wagoner said. “It’s hard to give a kid anything when she missed that whole year, even for an injury. It was very devastating for her as a person as well.”

Przbylski’s volleyball career will continue as she is signing to play at Lourdes University. Still, the Eagles finished over .500 against solid competition.

“Against Huron, we did really well, and we played well and beat Norwalk. Honestly, even though we got beat by Notre Dame, we really competed. It was like 25-23, 19-25, 25-14 (tri-match). We really competed. Again, we didn’t have Meah, and I think Meah would have put us over the top this year, but it is what it is,” Wagoner said.

“I do think we did really well against Notre Dame, and (coach) Jeff Pitzen came up to me and he goes, ‘This might not mean anything to you coming from me, but your girls played great.’ That makes me feel good that you have another coach who is looking at your girls on the team as well.”

 

Three Eagles first team

Clay’s first team All-Press choices are senior outside hitter Adella Rodriguez, senior setter/OH Molly Brammer and senior libero/defensive specialist Mackenzie Jones.

The 5-foot-5 Jones, a team captain, had a team high 219 kills to go along with 48 assists and 29 aces. She has had a couple college visits and plans to continue at the next level, but is keeping her options open for now.

“Mackenzie Jones did really well this year,” Wagoner said. “Unfortunately for ‘Mac,’ she had to take a back seat to (2020 grad) Kendall Seimet because Kendall was really good, but this year ‘Mac’ did really well. She was our back row, and I was very proud of her for stepping up and doing what she needed to do.”

The 5-11 Rodriguez led the Eagles with 203 kills, plus she had eight aces, 26 blocks, 48 assists and 59 digs.

“Adella Rodriguez is with me for another two years. There were times when she did not play all-around for me due to injuries, but I’m excited to have her for the next two years because she is going to be really, really good,” Wagoner said.

The 5-9 Brammer was second on the team with 181 kills, plus she had three aces, 29 blocks, 60 digs and three assists, earning honorable mention All-TRAC and all-district. Brammer has offers from Lourdes University and Defiance College.

“She did really well for us on the right side, and then at times she had to go on the outside. With all my injuries I had at the beginning of the year, she filled in,” Wagoner said. “She’s a great net girl. I think she played middle one game, and she’s not middle at all, but she stepped up and she had to do what she had to do — very well deserving for her.”

Also finishing her final season was 5-9 senior outside hitter Grace Dalton, who had 124 kills, 19 aces, 21 blocks, 159 digs and seven assists. Leading the team in passing was 5-5 senior setter Kenady Cox, who put up a team high 445 assists, plus she had 21 kills, 31 aces, and 147 digs.

Wagoner believes the future looks bright, too.

“Freshman Natalie Karrick, Jaiden’s (2020 grad) little sister, came in and she set for us, and honestly, she played six rotations for me as a freshman, so she really never came off the court. She was a great asset for us, too, this year,” Wagoner said.

“I am excited because we do have a couple good girls who are younger who are coming up. I think we’re going to be, honestly, a stronger team next year. That’s what I see, but obviously that can change anytime from now to August 1.”

Karrick, a setter, had 245 assists, 117 digs, 77 kills, 17 blocks, and a team-high 35 aces. Karrick already stands 5-7 with three more years of high school remaining. Olivia Yenrick, a 5-3 junior defensive specialist, had 175 digs and 22 aces.

In addition, Wagoner calls 5-10 sophomore middle blocker Avery Young her “secret weapon.” Young had 75 kills and tied for the team high with 45 blocks.

“She really came into her own at the end of the season. I think I have a lot of younger girls who I think are just going to flourish the next couple years,” Wagoner said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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