DII Regionals: Upcoming Semifinal Action

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Region 5</em></strong><br>Copley defeated Beaumont 3-1 and will next face Padua Franciscan, also a 3-1 winner over Bay. Copley is led by the 6'3 range and arm of senior [player_tooltip player_id='139300' first='Alexa' last='Strandberg']. The South Alabama commit is averaging 3.3 k/s. The Bruins from Parma are led by senior Jessica Nieman as she delivers 3.2 k/s. She is committed to IUP. On the other side of this region will be Marlington versus Kenston. Junior [player_tooltip player_id='289168' first='Layne' last='Graffice'] is another premier arm in this region as she terminates 4.6 k/s as she has been producing her best offensive output of her varsity career including a 51% kill rate and a .425 efficiency. At 6'1, senior <strong>Riley Rosneck</strong> has been terrific all season as she has earned over 300 kills for an average of 4.4 k/s. Her length creates a high contact point that can get over most blocks. She will play at IPFW next fall. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Region 6</em></strong><br>Gilmour Academy brings some of the best offensive balance to the regional round. Led by junior [player_tooltip player_id='152066' first='Marlie' last='Davis'] and her 3.9 kills, the Lancers have two others in [player_tooltip player_id='152050' first='Aubrey' last='Anders'] and [player_tooltip player_id='139301' first='Maria' last='Flynn'] who also offer three kills per frame. Norwalk has relied on a single arm for most of their offense as senior [player_tooltip player_id='289184' first='Lucy' last='Schlotterer'] terminates 5.7 k/s. She has been over 20 kills in a single match including a season high 32 kills in a 3-1 over Ashland earlier this season. Shawnee will take on Lake in the other Region 6 semifinal. Senior middle <strong>Kelly Cooper</strong> terminates 5.4 k/s for Shawnee with good support from sophomore<strong> Karleigh Hutchins</strong> at 3.2 k/s. The Lake Flyers are 20-6 overall and are led by Vanderbilt commit [player_tooltip player_id='139287' first='Taryn' last='Dewese']. Offensively, she leads her team with 4.5 k/s while also sharing the setting role as she has dished over 300 assists this season. She has earned approximately 950 kills and assists for her varsity career. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Region 7</em></strong><br>The Southeast champion in Marietta is led by a corps of juniors that are putting up some big numbers. With 847 assists, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='482504' first='Taylor' last='Karcher']</strong> has been distributing a balanced offense as the Tigers are averaging 13.9 k/s as a team through a collective .324 efficiency. Her top offensive threat is fellow junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='482502' first='Arianna' last='Buckley']</strong>. The middle is averaging 4.3 k/s. Junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='289178' first='Anna' last='Ritter']</strong> terminates 4.2 k/s while leading the team defensively in both digs and blocks. The Tigers will next face River View and the 5.1 kills from sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='502155' first='Haley' last='Balo']</strong>. She has increased her offensive production significantly in her second varsity season earning double-figure kills in every match of 2023. Dover, led by sophomore <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='227813' first='Caroline' last='Hanner']</strong> and her 2.9 kills per set, will face off against Bishop Hartley. The Hawks are led by FIU commit [player_tooltip player_id='139283' first='Kaylee' last='Musick'] and her 3.4 k/s along with <strong>Jada Shade</strong> and her 2.5 k/s. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Region 8</em></strong><br>The feature match of the this round will see Roger Bacon face off versus Mercey McAuley, ranked at the top of the DII poll for most of the season while finishing second overall in the GGCL. There is a lot of playoff experience among these teams. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='114590' first='Kelsey' last='Niesen'] and junior [player_tooltip player_id='179022' first='Mariah' last='Gaines'] continue to lead Roger Bacon as they advanced to the regional final round in 2022 as a result of a 3-0 win over the Mercy McAuley. The Wolves have better offensive depth this season including senior pins [player_tooltip player_id='139276' first='Sophia' last='Adkins'] and [player_tooltip player_id='114582' first='Ruby' last='Klusman']. Badin beat Roger Bacon to get to the state semifinals last season and feature the big arm of [player_tooltip player_id='176097' first='Luci' last='Heid'] on the pin and the steady contributions on both sides of the ball from middle [player_tooltip player_id='151959' first='Olivia' last='Schmidt']. Heid, the GCL's total kills leader recently committed to Northern Kentucky as Schmidt, the league's leader in total blocks, is committed to Wright State. The Rams will face Highland. At 23-3 overall, the Fighting Scots continue to ride the offensive stride of one of the state's top producing arms in junior [player_tooltip player_id='151973' first='Kameron' last='Stover'] and her 7.7 k/s. The junior is approaching 1,200 total kills for her varsity career with one more season ahead of her. She is also contributing a career best 13.1 digs per contest. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->