Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
The trio of Alayna Hall, Tatum Baumgartner, and Myley Sandwisch combined for 44 kills to lead the Oak Harbor volleyball team past Cortland Lakeview 25-19, 25-16, 25-14 in a Division IV regional semifinal at Lexington High School on Thursday.
With the victory, Oak Harbor (22-4) advances to the regional final for the first time in program history. They’ll face Buckeye Valley, which knocked off Oak Harbor’s NBC rival, Lake, in the other semifinal and will carry a 15-match winning streak into the final.
“Honestly, it's the best we've ever played all season,” Oak Harbor head coach Kaytlynn Sandwisch said. “I obviously wish that we could have started like this, but this is when it really matters. This is the moment that you work the hardest for. I'm so glad for all of the struggles and things that we faced in regular season because now we're able to handle the adversity --- get down five points and still be able to win the next set or whatever. I'm just unbelievably so proud of them and all of the work --- the energy, the time, and everything that they put into it.”
Hall was a force all night, producing a match-best 18 kills, including eight in the first set and seven more in the second. Baumgartner added 15 terminations, which included at least four in each frame. Myley Sandwisch added 11 kills and three aces, including six terminations in the clinching set alone.
“Everyone hit the ball over the net,” Kaytlynn Sandwisch said. “Yes, we got blocked, but we hit the ball over the net. We're getting there. I want to be that aggressive team. I constantly am telling them, ‘Hit the ball, hit the ball.’ Like, if you're tipping the ball, you're getting an automatic kill because you are tipping the ball where there's no spot or where no one's at in that spot. From my standpoint, I'm so proud that I'm able to trust my setters to set all six of my hitters at all times, no matter who's out there.”
Oak Harbor also got a pair of kills from Morgan Lalonde and one apiece from Laney Schmidt and Maddie Schiets. Bella Rios added a pair of aces, while Schmidt and Ava Lynch had one ace each.
“Everyone's going to have that rough moment,” Sandwisch said. “Everyone's going to have that rough night, or someone's maybe going to struggle a little bit, like 10 points into the game or whatever. But I know from my standpoint as a player, and then being a coach, being able to know that your team has your back and that someone else is going to get that kill for you (is huge) because they see that you're struggling or they see that maybe things aren't going the way that you would like. I think that having a good offensive team has been really helpful. I will say that with the offense, our passing has been very good. That’s something that I’m big on. We can't set our hitters if we don't have a pass.”
Hall had five kills early in the first set as Oak Harbor jumped out to an 8-3 lead. Three terminations from Baumgartner and an ace from Rios on consecutive points pushed the lead to eight. Three more kills from Hall, and another from Baumgartner, gave the Rockets a 20-14 lead, which forced Cortland Lakeview’s second timeout.
Oak Harbor concluded the set with four straight points, a stretch that included terminations from Lalonde and Sandwisch.
Hall added five more kills as Oak Harbor jumped out to a 14-8 lead in the second set, which forced a timeout. A kill from Sandwisch and an ace from Schmidt pushed it to 19-12 and forced another timeout. Two more kills from Hall, and another from Baumgartner, finished off the set.
The two teams split the first 14 points in the third set. Then Sandwisch took over. Back-to-back terminations, followed by an attack error from Cortland Lakeview (15-11), forced a timeout. The run continued with a kill from Baumgartner, another from Sandwisch, and an ace from Rios for a 13-7 lead.
After a kill ended the 6-0 run, Sandwisch added kills on three of the next five points for a 16-10 lead. She tacked on an ace for an 18-11 margin, which forced another timeout, and Oak Harbor ultimately concluded the set on an 18-7 run following the early split.
“These girls truly, they've earned it,” Kaytlynn Sandwisch said. “I talk about this, try to at least talk about it every time, yes, my girls are playing, but my bench people, they're the energy that feed my court. They are always jumping. They're always excited. It's just a team. I have 11 girls, and all 11 are amazing. I'm just so proud of them. I'm just, I'm so happy for them. They've worked hard. They've earned this.”
Now, Oak Harbor will compete on Saturday at 2 p.m. for the program’s first-ever trip to the state tournament. The program’s only other regional semifinal appearances came in 2018 and 1989. The most recent one was when Kaytlynn Sandwisch was a senior on Oak Harbor’s volleyball squad.
The Rockets, which fell short of preseason title aspirations in a loaded Northern Buckeye Conference that saw three teams make regional play, are also the last league team remaining in postseason play, which is a nice consolation.
“Obviously our league is very good,” Sandwisch said. “That's what has prepared us for this. Because of those tough situations, tough moments, we're now able to compete at this high level because when you get to districts, you get to regionals, you're playing the best of the best teams --- girls that don't give up, girls that are diving on the court.
“Now we have to set the pace. We set the standard. Every team we're going to face is going to be stellar. They're going to be amazing. (It’s about) staying on top, staying focused, and staying controlled. I'm just super proud and super happy for them.”
