The Falcons, who came into the postseason with a 10-12 record, punched their ticket to the state semifinals with a 3-1 win over Versailles in the Division V regional championship game Saturday.
Fenwick (15-12) will face Ottawa-Glandorf Thursday as the 50th Annual Ohio High School Athletic Association girls volleyball state tournament gets underway at four sites in the Dayton area — the Wright State University Nutter Center and Vandalia Butler, Northmont and Fairmont high schools.
The Falcons will play will at the Nutter Center, which will also host all seven state final matches on Friday and Saturday.
The OHSAA had three divisions in girls volleyball from 1975-89 and four divisions from 1990-2023. The OHSAA announced in February that girls volleyball would be expanded to seven divisions, shifting Fenwick from D-II to D-V.
“The state did the right thing adding more divisions,” Conley said. “These kids should have the opportunity to compete.”
The Falcons have now qualified to state seven times, most recently winning the title in 2019. But while this is a veteran Fenwick squad that didn’t graduate a single player, none of them have advanced this far into the tournament.
“We expect to be in these moments,” Conley said. “We’ve put in the time.”
Beyond the hard work, this Falcons squad is also an exceptionally tight-knit team.
“Everyone on this team, I could call my best friend,” sophomore libero Emerson Moser said.
Even the rough stretches during the regular season were a little easier with such a tight team.
“Everyone on this team is just moving in the same direction,” Moser said. “And we’re always there for each other.”
Moser, who rattled off three aces late in the regional final, leads the Falcons in aces (56) and digs (375), while outside hitter Morgan Meiring leads the team in kills (359) and Andrea Ptaszkiewicz leads the Falcons in blocks (49). Brookelyn Zeuch and Abby Keller have tallied 484 and 315 assists respectively for the state tournament-bound Falcons.
OHSAA Girls State Volleyball Tournament ― Area Matches
(Pairings include state rank from final regular-season OHSVCA coaches poll)
Division V
Fenwick vs. No. 7 Ottawa-Glandorf, Thursday, 4 p.m., Wright State University Nutter Center
No. 1 Mentor Lake Catholic vs. No. 5 Frankfort Adena, Thursday, 6 p.m., Nutter Center
Championship match: Friday, 1 p.m., at Nutter Center
Division VI
No. 10 Independence vs. No. 1 Coldwater, Friday, 5 p.m., Vandalia Butler High School
Marion Pleasant vs. No. 5 Defiance Tinora, Friday, 7:30 p.m., Vandalia Butler High School
Championship match: Saturday, 5 p.m., Nutter Center
Division VII
No. 2 Tiffin Calvert vs. Norwalk St. Paul, Thursday, noon, Nutter Center
No. 1 Fort Loramie vs. Strasburg-Franklin, Thursday, 2 p.m., Nutter Center
Championship match: Friday, 11 a.m., Nutter Center
* All matches streamed live on NFHS Network.
* Tickets for all OHSAA postseason tournament contests are available at www.OHSAA.org/tickets.
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