High school volleyball: Medina comes up short against Amherst in district semifinal

GRAFTON TWP. — The Medina volleyball team had its chances Tuesday but couldn't grab full control and fell to Amherst Steele 25-12, 25-22, 25-21 in a Midview Division 1 District semifinal. "We had chances to put the ball away and didn't," Medina coach Jason Schellenberger said. "We had over nine errors in the first set and that's hard to overcome." The Bees (20-4) had leads in every set but couldn't pull away from the Comets (20-4), who move on the play Cleveland St. Joseph Academy on Thursday for the district title. Despite the best efforts of seniors Kira Holland and Makenzie Schellenberger, among others, Medina faltered down the stretch in the first and third sets. Claire Colesar had a huge hand in building the Medina advantages with nine straight service points in the first and five more in the third. Holland (21 kills) battled with Steele senior Nia Hall (24) in a showdown between a pair of the hardest hitters in the game. Schellenberger led the Bees with 17 assists, while Colesar had 24 assists and 14 service points. The ending point for the Bees was the same point last season, but the difference between how the teams played out couldn't have been more different. "I think coming from last year to this year we were ready to come out strong," Makenzie Schellenberger said. "We knew we had the talent and a strong just . It was getting the team together and getting used to each other. Team chemistry was really great this year." Medina's 20 wins rank second in school history and the future looks bright as the senior class leaves a legacy to build on. "The younger girls that were on the team last year really stepped up," Holland said. "I think they got more comfortable at the varsity level." Contact Chad Grant at sports@medina-gazette.com.