WILLARD — If anyone had a reason to feel underappreciated, it was Monroeville coach Kendra Snook.
A year ago, the Eagles made it all the way to the Elite Eight in Division IV, losing a tough five-set match to Dalton.
And this season, the Eagles entered the district championship game with a 20-4 record. But they were ranked 14th in the final state poll.
Conversely, their opponent in the game, 23-1 Buckeye Central, was rated fourth.
“We were ranked 14th at the end, and we didn’t get a lot of love this season,” Snook said. “We graduated a lot, and we were definitely the underdogs this season. It’s a different story than last year but, if you had asked me coming into this week if we were going to be sweeping both teams (Norwalk St. Paul and Buckeye Central), I don’t think I would have said yes.
“These kids are playing with confidence and having fun. I’m having fun and we’re playing hard and that’s all I can ask for.”
Well, the Eagles proved all their naysayers wrong, blanking a very good Buckeye Central team, 25-20, 25-20, and 25-19 to win the Division IV district tournament at Willard High School Thursday night.
With the win, the Eagles (21-4) advanced to the regional tournament in Strongsville and will play either Loudonville or Dalton Thursday at 6 p.m.
Buckeye Central, on the other hand, finished an incredibly dominating season with a 23-2 record. The Buckettes lost just eight games all season, six coming to Monroeville.
The Buckettes swept teams like Fort Recovery, St. Henry, and Broadview Heights.
Did Monroeville have a mental edge entering Thursday night’s game? After all, BC’s seniors never beat the Eagles.
“I didn’t think that was the case, but I think that might have had something to do with it,” Buckeye Central coach Missy McDougal said. “We played right with them, and we were right there. We just couldn’t finish it tonight.”
BC was right in all three games with the Eagles, but Monroeville hitters Graisyn Yoder and Maddie Daniel were extremely aggressive in the latter portions of the games.
“It was the Graisyn Yoder, Maddie Daniel show tonight,” Snook said. “They shared the spotlight up in the front row and then, again, hands down, our defensive performance in the semis and in the finals were tremendous. We’re digging balls that, for most teams, are going to be down.
“The kids are staying disciplined, making good game plans, looking at tendencies and they’re listening,” Snook added. “We’re getting a lot of digs and a lot of tough balls.”
BC led through most of the first game, leading 15-11 midway through the game before the Eagles outscored BC, 14-5 the rest of the way.
In the second game, the Buckettes held an early lead, 5-4 on a Lauren Mann kill, but Yoder and Daniel combined for five kills late in the game for the win.
In the third game, the Buckettes held a 7-5 lead on a Mia McDougal block, before tying the game at 12-12 on Mann kill. But Monroeville finished the game with a 13-7 run to end it.
Snook said that her team was extremely disciplined.
“Our offense sells the tickets, but defense is what wins championships,” Snook said, and that’s exactly what happened.”
McDougal also felt that Monroeville was the more aggressive team.
“They stayed aggressive, and our service seemed a little bit shaky. They played better than we did tonight,” McDougal said.
“We didn’t have a great night passing and that’s what starts our whole offense,” she added. “Our hitters did a pretty good job with the balls, but we needed to be a little bit tighter. Credit to Monroeville. They were aggressive.”
McDougal felt that her team played well defensively.
“I thought we did a great job getting hands on balls,” McDougal said. “We got early blocks, then they started tipping and cutting off the block. We didn’t make enough adjustments.”
Despite the loss, BC had one of the most successful seasons in school history, McDougal credited her seniors for a good portion of its success.
“Kudos to our seniors,” McDougal said. “They have had a phenomenal career. I’m so proud of them. I’m really proud of all the kids, they had a great year. This is not how we wanted the season to end but we were 23-2. I told the girls in the locker room we have a lot to be proud of. They’re upset but it is what it is. I told the underclassmen we have some work to do.”