Recapping the State Tourney: Top Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Congratulations are in order for all four Ohio state champions: DI - Kings; DII - Mercy McAuley; DIII - Lake Catholic; DIV - New Bremen. Both DIII and DIV had repeat state champions while public school Kings broke through in Division I to overcome the Cincy are private school dominance. Mercy McAuley brought home another state title for the tough GGCL. Here are some of the top performers over the state weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Division I</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='139272' first='Abby' last='Yoder'] eclipsed the 3,000 assists mark for her career as Kings' setter. Named a 1st team all-American by one source, the Ohio State commit had 86 assists over two matches for a 10.8 a/s average. Her biggest target was fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id='114584' first='Elise' last='Marchal'] who terminated 47 kills, including a match high 28 in their 3-0 finals sweep to cap a terrific high school career. The Appalachian State commit and 1st team all-Ohio selection has proven time again why she is one of the most prolific point scoring arms in this Ohio class. The third element of this squad that helped their year over year progress is [player_tooltip player_id='114565' first='Sydney' last='Barrett']. The versatile Dayton commit had 25 kills in their semifinal win to lead all attackers. Another 1st team all-Ohio selection, she also collected 27 digs on the weekend. All three are among the top prospects in our Ohio 2024 rankings. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another standout performance was provided by SJA junior [player_tooltip player_id='152043' first='Belle' last='Groomes']. The San Diego commit provided a big effort in their tough 3-2 semifinal loss as she led the Jaguars with 24 kills while also adding 22 assists, four blocks, and three aces. She is our top ranked prospect in the 2025 class with some of the best two-way skills on the right pin. She can elevate and hammer the ball with range while also showing elite distribution skills.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Division II</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With 30 kills on the weekend, senior [player_tooltip player_id='139276' first='Sophia' last='Adkins'] led Mercy McAuley's offense at the pin. Her veteran experience was key all season as she finished as one of the top kill producers in the GGCL among a balanced team effort. At 3.4 k/s on the season, she terminated 334 kills on the season. In the finals, she led her team with 19 kills. [player_tooltip player_id='403525' first='Emma' last='Adkins'] was terrific on the defensive side with consecutive 20+ performances defensively. With 44 digs on the weekend she averaged 4.9 d/s. Middle [player_tooltip player_id='152053' first='Ashley' last='Sess'] provided a big presence at the net defensively with 12 blocks over the two matches. She also added 14 kills. Sess has continued to improve the quality of her game and impact with more efficiency and aggressiveness in her movement and arm.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Division III</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lake Catholic was a heavy favorite to repeat before the season even started. With one of the most efficient offenses in the state, it was senior [player_tooltip player_id='169128' first='Hannah' last='Pattie'] that carried this team through her setting selection and floor leadership. The Campbell commit earned 75 total assists in consecutive 3-0 sweeps as the Cougars hit .266. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='169125' first='Katie' last='Sowko'] had one of her biggest performances of the season in the championship match to close out her varsity career as she had match highs of 21 kills and 17 digs to finish the weekend at 32/26. The 6'0 pin will take her skills to Wright State in 2024. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>For upstart McNicholas out of the Cincy area, first-year outside hitter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='480801' first='Savanna' last='Stacey']</strong> earned 20 kills in her first state tournament. She capped off an impressive freshman season as the 5'11 pin was top-five in the GCL at 321 total kills. She has a big arm and can develop high contact and good movement, which complements her six-rotation skills as a primary passer. Her ceiling is high and it will be fun to watch her progress over the club season. One of her best performances came in the postseason versus a good Summit Country Day squad in which she earned a match high 28 kills and 18 digs in a tight and highly competitive 3-2 victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Division IV</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>New Bremen repeated as the DIV state champion behind the offense and leadership of senior [player_tooltip player_id='152118' first='Olivia' last='Heitkamp']. The 1st team all-Ohio honoree averaged 5.5 k/s over their two 3-1 wins that helped the Cardinals end a dominant season and terrific career for the Toledo commit. On the defensive side, [player_tooltip player_id='152359' first='Keira' last='Steininger'] (*pictured) brought her high-level libero skills from the club season to another terrific high school effort. The junior had a career best 390 digs in 2023 including 35 total digs over the semis and finals. Look for her in the coming months to return to her club squad that should once again have potential to compete very well on the national stage.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->