DII Regionals: Upcoming Semifinal Action

Region 5
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 Alexa Strandberg Alexa Strandberg 6'3" | OH Copley | 2024 State OH . 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 Layne Graffice Layne Graffice 5'9" | OH Marlington | 2025 State OH 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 Riley Rosneck 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.

Region 6
Gilmour Academy brings some of the best offensive balance to the regional round. Led by junior Marlie Davis Marlie Davis 5'11" | OH Gilmour Academy | 2025 State OH and her 3.9 kills, the Lancers have two others in Aubrey Anders Aubrey Anders 6'1" | OH Gilmour Academy | 2025 State OH and Maria Flynn Maria Flynn 6'0" | OH Gilmour | 2024 State OH who also offer three kills per frame. Norwalk has relied on a single arm for most of their offense as senior Lucy Schlotterer Lucy Schlotterer 5'10" | OH Norwalk | 2025 State OH 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 Kelly Cooper terminates 5.4 k/s for Shawnee with good support from sophomore Karleigh Hutchins at 3.2 k/s. The Lake Flyers are 20-6 overall and are led by Vanderbilt commit Taryn Dewese Taryn Dewese 6'0" | S Lake | 2024 State #161 Nation OH . 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.

Region 7
The Southeast champion in Marietta is led by a corps of juniors that are putting up some big numbers. With 847 assists, Taylor Karcher Taylor Karcher 5'5" | S Marietta | 2025 State OH 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 Arianna Buckley Arianna Buckley 5'10" | OH Marietta | 2025 State OH . The middle is averaging 4.3 k/s. Junior Anna Ritter Anna Ritter 5'9" | MB Marietta | 2025 State OH 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 Haley Balo. 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 Caroline Hanner Caroline Hanner 6'1" | MB Dover | 2026 State OH and her 2.9 kills per set, will face off against Bishop Hartley. The Hawks are led by FIU commit Kaylee Musick Kaylee Musick 6'1" | S Bishop Hartley | 2024 State #112 Nation OH and her 3.4 k/s along with Jada Shade and her 2.5 k/s.

Region 8
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 Kelsey Niesen Kelsey Niesen 5'9" | DS/L Roger Bacon | 2024 State OH and junior Mariah Gaines Mariah Gaines 5'10" | OH Roger Bacon | 2025 State OH 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 Sophia Adkins Sophia Adkins 6'0" | OH Mercy McAuley | 2024 State #71 Nation OH and Ruby Klusman Ruby Klusman 5'9" | OH Mercy McAuley | 2024 State OH . Badin beat Roger Bacon to get to the state semifinals last season and feature the big arm of Luci Heid Luci Heid 5'11" | OH Badin | 2025 State OH on the pin and the steady contributions on both sides of the ball from middle Olivia Schmidt Olivia Schmidt 6'0" | MB Badin | 2025 State OH . 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 Kameron Stover Kameron Stover 5'9" | OH Highland | 2025 State OH 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.