District Playoff Notes; Regional Action Just Ahead

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>GGCL DI Top Four One Step from Regional Bracket<br></em></strong>The Girls Greater Catholic League has four teams ranking in the top six of the most recent Division I state poll including #1 Ursuline, #3 St. Ursula, #4 Mount Notre Dame, and #6 Seton. Each team is awaiting their respective district finals match with a regional berth on the line. In Southwest 4 action, Ursuline, and the GGCL's top offensive performer in senior and recently named Athlete of the Year <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='114516' first='Brooke' last='Bultema']</strong>, with take on Bellbrook (20-4), led by the big arm of senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='227362' first='Mckenna' last='Melton']</strong>. St. Ursula has been having a great year and will face off against Springboro in the Southwest 3 final. SUA's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='141697' first='Ava' last='Siefke']</strong> is top-three offensively in the conference with 233 kills while Springboro senior <strong>Lauren Patrick</strong> was recently named to the GWOC all-conference 1st-team. The second half of Mount Notre Dame's season has been a big success as senior 1st team all-conference selection <strong>Shaye Wolfe</strong> is top-five offensively. The Cougars take on Centerville and GWOC Player of the Year <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='114599' first='Reese' last='Wuebker']</strong> in Southwest 1 play. In the Southwest 2 bracket, Seton has a big arsenal including 1st-team GGCL selection in <strong>Allie Kirch</strong> and they will battle ECC champion Kings and the junior trio of <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139272' first='Abby' last='Yoder'],</strong> <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='114565' first='Sydney' last='Barrett']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='114584' first='Elise' last='Marchal']</strong>, each at the top of ECC stats in total assists and kills.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Thursday's District Finals Upsets</em></strong><br>In Division I, Highland, the Region 2 #8 seed, pulled off a big victory as they took down #2 seed Olmsted Falls 3-1 to win the Parma Heights district title. Following back-to-back five-set wins to advance to the championship match, Highland will take on #4 seed Steele, who also pulled off an upset in defeating #3 seed St. Joseph Academy. Steele got 22 kills from senior<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='114531' first='Nia' last='Hall']</strong> and 13 kills from junior middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='169112' first='Cecily' last='Waynar']</strong>. Senior setter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='227389' first='Ava' last='Haddix']</strong> dished out 46 assists in the win. SJA finished their season at 15-10 overall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In DII play, #3 seed Vermilion defeated top-seeded Lake in Region 7 action to claim the Attica district crown. Vermilion's <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='169525' first='Gracie' last='Starcovic']</strong> put down 23 kills while picking up 21 digs in the win. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='139287' first='Taryn' last='DeWese'] </strong>led Lake with an equal attacking output while adding 18 assists and 14 digs for the triple-double. Teammate <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='169098' first='Sydney' last='Stanley']</strong> had a match high 29 digs. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In DIV play, Region 13 #5 seed Canton Central Catholic beat #2 seed Western Reserve 3-0 to win the Columbiana district behind the 16 kills from junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='169114' first='Madison' last='Heiser']</strong> and 34 assists from junior setter <strong>Sydney Turner</strong>. Senior <strong>Gracyn Clark</strong> had a team high 21 digs. Also in Region 13 and the Willard district, #2 Monroeville beat #1 Seneca East 3-1. Senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='169501' first='Maddie' last='Daniel']</strong> led the winners with 22 kills on a .340 efficiency. Seniors <strong>Madi Clark </strong>and <strong>Lilly White</strong> added team highs of 45 assists and 34 digs respectively. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->