Girls volleyball: Wadsworth gets big win in sweep of Archbishop Hoban

WADSWORTH — The Wadsworth volleyball team will head into the postseason with a full head of steam. The Grizzlies were sensational, especially late in games, in sweeping powerful Archbishop Hoban 25-19, 25-22, 25-22 Tuesday night in a Northeast Ohio non-league showdown. The match featured two of Ohio's premier programs, as the Grizzlies (21-1) are ranked fourth in Division II by the Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association and MaxPreps and the Knights (17-5) are first in D-III in both polls. Wadsworth lost in the state semifinals a year ago, while Hoban fell to eventual state champion Gilmour Academy in a regional final. "We're definitely pumped," said 5-foot-9 Grizzlies outside hitter and Robert Morris recruit Lauren Decker, who had 18 kills and 11 digs. "This was such a big win for us mentally. We're all feeling good and we're going to try to make a run at states." If the Grizzlies, who open tournament play Monday at home with a D-II, Northeast 8 District semifinal match against Cuyahoga Falls (4-18), play anything like they did against the Knights, they're going to be in the postseason for quite some time. Rowan Kelly, an extremely valuable and versatile 6-1 setter headed to Ohio University, did a bit of everything for Wadsworth while finishing with four kills, 30 assists, eight digs and three aces, while sophomore outside hitter Quinn Macko had 10 kills. Senior middle hitter Lily McComas added five kills and sophomore Addisyn Snyder had nine digs. "We feel good," Macko said. "It gives us momentum going into the tournament." "It boosted a lot of confidence," added Kelly. "Showing we can compete with really good teams feels really good." Hoban, which made its share of hitting and passing errors, some of them at crucial times, got a team-high eight kills from Samantha Dehrmann and five apiece from Kathleen Jones and setter Madison Mintz. Mintz joined Dehrmann with two aces, while Hope Sherman added four kills and three aces and Jones had two blocks. Macko, who hit primarily from the right side with Decker on the left, had three straight kills late in the first set to put the Grizzlies up 20-15, and they really weren't threatened after that. "It's good having two great outside hitters," Kelly said. "They both do so amazing. (Macko) is such a positive player." The second and third sets were a bit tougher, but Wadsworth showed its ability to come from behind in both. Down 19-13, the Grizzlies finished the second on a 12-3 run and then outscored the Knights 6-0 in the third to end the match. "It's hard when you get deficits like that, but we just have to tell ourselves, 'Stop making errors and keep pushing,'" Decker said. "That's what we did." The Grizzlies did a great job at chasing down balls and extending points while getting solid back-row play from the likes of Emily Snyder, Natalie Maddox and Eliana Wolf. Every time it looked like Hoban had taken control in the second and third sets, the Grizzlies had an answer. Kelly served for the final three points in the second, including an ace to end it, then served for the final five points of the match, including another ace. "I can't imagine what it would be like without her," said Decker, who added two kills in the match-ending run. "We've been playing club together since 13s. She's such a versatile player. She brings so much to the table." The same is true of two-time reigning Gazette MVP Decker. When she wasn't getting kills against the Knights, the senior was hitting balls over from incredibly difficult angles to extend points. "She's a safe spot for us," Kelly said. "We know she'll get it over somehow." Contact Rick Noland at (330) 721-4046 or rnoland@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @RickNoland on X.