STRONGSVILLE — Their dream season ended abruptly.
Buckeye Central got knocked off by Canton Central Catholic in four sets in the Division IV Region 13 regional championship here Saturday night.
The Buckettes (19-8) took the first set 25-20 and appeared to be cruising to a state final four appearance. The Crusaders (22-5) had other ideas, however, winning the next three sets 25-24, 25-23, 25-21.
Buckeye Central head coach Missy McDougal said her team was off in all areas.
“When you play in a regional final and you don’t win and you play well, you can still be proud. But to end the season playing probably one of our worst games of the year is tough. It hurts,” she said.
“We played so bad. Our passing. It just wasn’t there. We couldn’t get the ball to our hitters in a good place. We couldn’t get Mia the ball. She hit it every time she had a decent set, but we couldn’t get her the ball enough.”
With the victory, CCC plays Friday at 6 p.m. in the state semifinals at Wright State University in Dayton against Tiffin Calvert, which swept Convoy Crestview 25-22, 25-20, 25-22.
Mia McDougal closed out the first set with a pair of kills as Buckeye Central won by five points. Her two kills earlier knotted the game at 10 and put BC on top 11-10. Sophomore Aleyse Seifert had a nice placement point to put Buckeye on top 20-17.
But the front-line players of the Crusaders proved too much.
The tandem of freshman Sophia Keane and seniors Madison Heiser and Lauren Neisel was formidable. Keane and Heiser each recorded four blocks for head coach Lauren Colla’s team.
“We practiced a lot of different shots, especially yesterday. We knew they mix up a lot of things with their offense and obviously No. 1 jumps out. We were able to adapt and wait and anticipate,” Colla said.
“Sophia is a freshman and has really stepped up. Madison has been a star and has grown more into that role.”
Neisel had 22 kills and Heiser 9.
The slow start was nothing new for the Crusaders.
“They do this all the time. They like to make me nervous with a start like that. They are just very levelheaded, and we just made some more adjustments and our defense with our libero.”
Like Buckeye Central, Colla said her team plays larger schools to prepare for the tournament run. “We play some Division I schools, and that really helps,” she said.
The second set was sparked by Keane and Heiser, with several kills apiece as Central Catholic won by a point.
“I was trying to be positive and reinforce going back to those basics. We were just fundamentally off. We’re not a great passing team, but we’re way better than that,” McDougal said.
“We seemed really flat. We seemed off tonight. We have no excuses. The girls wouldn’t make an excuse. There was nothing there and I don’t understand that. It’s regional finals. We should be up. They never quit, not even at the end in that fourth set.”
The Crusaders raced out to a 6-0 lead in the third set. Two more Mia McDougal kills cut the lead to 17-13 before Buckeye tied it at 22. Another Mia spike gave them the lead, but Heiser answered back with a kill and a two-point win.
Buckeye Central rallied in the fourth set.
The team went up 5-1, but again Central Catholic returned the favor and tied the set at 10. A Heiser block and then a kill stretched the lead to 21-11.
“They do have some good hitters,” McDougal said. “They had a great game. We were hitting right into the block all night long. We struggled with that and that stems from our passing. Nothing clicked. Nothing jelled.”
BC went from 12-12 last year to a regional final this season.
“We made so many improvements. Just every little aspect of our game,” Mia said. “Tonight, the match-up was there and we had everything going for us. We just didn’t play great.”
McDougal concludes an amazing career. She said she is looking forward to watching younger sisters Mara and Maren play and her mom continue to coach.
“It’ll be a little less stress for myself. But it’ll be fun to watch … and maybe help coach from the sidelines.”
The trio of Mia McDougal, Ella Steele and Kimmy Biglin played their final game in a Buckettes uniform.
“I’ve coached Mia since she was maybe 3 years old. It’s hard. She’s done with volleyball. The program’s going to miss her and all of them,” McDougal said.
“We have lots to replace with those three seniors. The girls need to start putting some work in for next year. Right now, they need a physical break and I know Phil (Loy) is ready to get a few of them back for basketball. We’ve got some work to do in the off-season.”
Finishing with 19 wins, a 10-4 Northern 10 Athletic Conference record and a district title are all reasons to be proud.
“The girls had a great season. I’m proud of them,” McDougal said.