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Notre Dame too much for Cadets in regional semi

RON JOHNSTON The Marietta Times Fort Frye’s Stephanie Camden (9) and Karlee Ross (32) try to block a spike attempt by Portsmouth Notre Dame’s Clara Hash (22) during a high school volleyball regional semifinal match Wednesday at Lancaster High School.

LANCASTER — Fort Frye High would probably just as soon forget the Titans.

The Cadets ran into a buzzsaw in the Ohio Division IV regional volleyball semis at Lancaster High Wednesday night, falling in straight sets to Portsmouth Notre Dame, 22-25, 16-25, and 17-25.

“You know, honestly, it was a hard-fought battle,” said FFHS head coach Tiffany Smith, who was recently honored as the District 12, D4 Coach of the Year.

“I’m so proud of my girls making it to this point for the third year in a row, especially since before we did it three years ago, it had been 30 years since the last time. So, just continuing to raise the bar every year, every game — and they didn’t go down without a fight.”

The Kelsey Glockner-coached Titans (21-5) were led by 6-foot-3 Katie Dettwiller, who finished with double-digits in kills. Last August, the senior middle hitter committed to Saint Francis University (Pa.) — to play basketball.

Also contributing for Notre Dame were outside hitter Clara Hash, setter Cassie Schaefer, and libero Joyce Zheng.

The Titans advance to Saturday’s 2 p.m. regional final, and will play Wednesday evening’s Portsmouth Clay/Lancaster Fairfield Christian semi winner at LHS. At stake then will be a berth in the state tournament in Dayton.

“Give credit to Notre Dame,” Smith said. “They were a great team. They had some great hitters and great players.”

Fort Frye, No. 17 in the final Division IV OHSVCA Coaches Poll with a 20-5 overall record, finished the 2018 campaign with a district title, sectional crown, and Pioneer Valley Conference championship. The Cadets were undefeated at 8-0 in PVC action.

FFHS was led by senior hitters’ Kasey Buchanan and Jade Baker, who each had 11 kills.

Buchanan, a unanimous District 12, D4 Player of the Year, also had six blocks, six digs, and two points, while Baker, a District 12 first-teamer, recorded a team-high 11 digs.

“Those two are irreplaceable,” Smith said. “Kasey and Jade, offensively and defensively, have put up big numbers for me for all the years they’ve been playing varsity for me.

“I couldn’t ask for better girls and better players — and they will both be missed.”

Outside hitter Maddie Webb, a District 12 honorable mention, and setter Stephanie Camden, a second-teamer, each chipped in with seven kills.

Webb also had eight digs and three points, while Camden finished with 28 assists and a team-high nine points.

Fort Frye was in control of the first set, and owned a 21-18 advantage until it faded at the end and lost by three points. Dettwiller capped the game with a kill for point 25.

It’s a little bit frustrating when it goes down to the wire, and you aren’t able to take the win in the first game,” Smith said. “It’s also kind of hard to re-shift and re-focus after something like that. But my girls did a good job of fighting through it.”

Early on in the second set, it was even and tied at 8-8 at one point. But after the Titans regained the lead, they never looked back.

In what turned out to be the final set, it was tied at 14-all when Notre Dame made its move and won by eight.

“Anytime you get to this point in the tournament, you know no matter who your semi opponent is they’re going to be a good team, and you’re going to face good players,” Smith said. “You just hope that you can come out on top. Sometimes, things go your way, but sometimes, they don’t.”

at Lancaster High

Division IV Regional Semifinal

Portsmouth Notre def. Fort Frye, 25-22, 25-16, 25-7

Fort Frye (20-5): Maddie Webb 7K, 8D, 2pts; Stephanie Camden 7K, 28assts, 9pts; Julia Zalmanek 2assts, 1B; Gilly Baker 3D, 1ace, 6pts; Jade Baker 11K, 11D; Lexie Huck 2D; Kasey Buchanan 11K, 6B, 6D, 2pts; Karlee Ross 3K, 2B, 3pts

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