Sandwisch takes over Oak Harbor’s volleyball team

Press Sports Editor
sports@presspublications.com

As a player, Kaytlynn Sandwisch lifted the Oak Harbor volleyball program to new heights. She’s looking to do the same as the head coach of the Rockets.
Sandwisch, who has spent the last three years as an assistant under Jackie Gezo, was recently promoted to head coach, and she’s ready to get to work.
“I’m excited for this next adventure. I think it will be a learning experience for me — I think the girls will make me a better coach and a better person. They know my expectations, they know what it takes to win, and I just love that the girls have that drive, and that they’re willing to take that leap with me,” Sandwisch said. “They want to win. I want them to be successful. I just want to continue Jackie’s legacy.
“She wanted me to take (over the program) because I was under her wing and learning (how to be the head coach),” she said.
Sandwisch was also an assistant coach for the softball team, helping the Rockets reach the Division II state semifinals just two years ago. A 2019 graduate of Oak Harbor, she earned all-Ohio honors as a senior playing shortstop.
Sandwisch has Abbie Gezo, Jackie’s daughter, and Michelle Roberts, who will be her assistants, but she’s looking for one more coach to join the staff.
She talked about how she thinks she can relate to the players.
“I played at the JV and varsity level. I feel like I can relate and understand both levels. I played on one of the best teams to come through Oak Harbor,” said Sandwisch, who will graduate from Bowling Green State University in December. “I know what it takes — practices, games, the offseason. Peyton Bloomer – I learned a lot under her, and I feel like these girls have the drive to win. We have probably the most girls that have played travel volleyball (in a while). I played for Jackie for four years, I know what the expectations are because I played and coached alongside her.”
It took a while for Sandwisch to finally decide to go for the job.
“The position was posted and it took me two to three months to decide. I always wanted it, but I didn’t know if I was (ready) for it. I wanted to make sure I was tip-top for the girls because they deserve that. I didn’t apply for it right away because I didn’t know if I could do that. I feel like we, and the girls, will all be ready together. It takes a team effort to be ready, and I love volleyball, and I think these girls deserve someone who can give them a hard time and also be their biggest cheerleaders. I want to give them what Jackie gave me, and I think these girls deserve that, too.
For nine seasons, Jackie Gezo oversaw an impressive run of success at Oak Harbor.
Gezo, who recently decided to retire as the head volleyball coach at her alma mater, won five sectional titles, one district championship and a Sandusky Bay Conference Bay Division title, lifting the program to heights that it hadn’t experienced in quite some time, if ever.
The 1983 graduate of Oak Harbor compiled a record of 134-84 (.615) as the head coach and was a coach within the program in some capacity for 27 years, having just one losing season.
The pinnacle came in ’17 and ’18. In ’17, the Rockets won the Bay Division — the first league title in 28 years — and the first 24 matches before falling to Central Catholic in a Division II district final, 3-1. But Oak Harbor got over the hump the next year, dominating their district and advancing to the regional semifinals before losing to Parma Heights Holy Name, 3-0, which advanced to win the state championship game.
It was the first district title in 29 years, and the sectional championship in ’16 was the first for the program in 21 years. For her efforts, she won the Achievement Award in ’17, which was awarded to her by the OHSVCA (Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association).
But Gezo, a three-time district coach of the year, credits her players from the class of ’18, which consisted of Peyton Bloomer — arguably the greatest player in school history — Logan Harris, Kaytlynn Sandwisch, Alayna Hetrick and Jill Thorbahn, with talking her into taking over for Megan McGuire, who stepped away from the varsity position after building a strong foundation for the program.