Edison, St. Paul denied state volleyball berths

Two volleyball teams hoping to make the state tournament were turned back Saturday.

Edison lost a four-set decision in the Division III regional final at Findlay, and St. Paul lost in five in Division IV in Elida.

Columbus Bishop Ready (22-5) stopped Edison (24-3) short of another postseason comeback victory for a 25-23, 25-14, 21-25, 25-20 victory.

The Chargers (24-3) fell behind 2-0 and won the third set, like they had against Bucyrus Wynford in the district final, but the Silver Knights closed the match with a strong fourth-set victory.

"You come out at this point of the season and you battle hard, but the teams are all about the same level here," Edison coach Sean Hoover said. "Our girls went out and played their hearts out. We were behind, but came back there in Game 4.

St. Paul found itself tied 11-11 in Game 5 of against Mohawk with a trip to state on the line.  But none of the four points went in favor of the Lady Flyers, as Mohawk (25-2) claimed its first-ever trip to state by winning the five-game match, 25-16, 17-25, 25-20, 20-25, 15-11.

St. Paul (21-6) had leads of 4-1, 7-5 and 10-9 in Game 5, but once Mohawk tied the match at 11, the Lady Flyers were their own worst enemy.

“Throughout the day, with the exception of Game 2, we just had way too many unforced errors,” St. Paul coach Nancy Miller said. “Things that have been our rock all season, like passing and serve-receive, just weren’t strong today... And we had some unforced hitting errors we shouldn’t have made. I thought we were trying to overextend ourselves a little bit instead of just playing the solid ball that got us here.”

For more oon this story, read Sunday's Register and Monday's Reflector.