31°VOLLEYBALL: Welfle starts, ends career at state
12:05 AM
Nov 13
2009
Nov 13
2009
On the opening set of St. Paul’s Division IV state semifinal Thursday afternoon at the Ervin J. Nutter Center, senior hitter Amber Welfle’s eyes lit up as she was going for a powerful kill right off the bat.
Welfle missed, however, and barely grazed the ball sending it back over the net — but it still dropped between two New Philadelphia Tuscarawas Central Catholic defenders for the first point of the match.
It was that kind of day for Welfle and the Lady Flyers, who cruised by the Saints (25-3) in three quick games that took an hour and 10 minutes to complete, 25-14, 25-12, 25-15.
The win advances St. Paul (25-3) to the state championship match for the fifth time since 2002 where a familiar foe awaits in unbeaten Maria Stein Marion Local (27-0) — the No. 1 team in the coaches poll since early September.
“I was a little overanxious maybe in wanting to put the ball down really hard,” Welfle said of the opening point. “We had great passing and setting, and we just settled into a flow early.”
Central Catholic held a 5-4 lead in Game 1, but it didn’t last for long. With Kaylee Bundschuh serving, the Lady Flyers scored the next six points to take a 10-5 lead and before the Saints knew what happened, it was a 22-10 lead as Welfle and Hannah Livengood were having a field day at the net.
Game 2 was the most lopsided of the three, as St. Paul broke an 8-8 tie by outscoring the Saints 17-4 the rest of the game for a commanding 13-point lead that all but assured the Lady Flyers were on their way to more state hardware.
St. Paul had 10 kills in Game 2 alone, with Welfle slamming four of them.
“It was just a very solid match for us,” St. Paul coach Nancy Miller said. “I thought we came out strong and the things that had been working well for us did again today. We served and passed the ball well and I thought the hitters did a great job of attacking the ball today.
“Their two middles were exceptional players, but the girls did a great job of minimizing their attack. We had a really good scouting report and we felt like we walked in there and felt like we had already seen them. Defense is what won that match today for us.”
The Saints gave their best effort in Game 3, jumping out to a 5-1 lead — but that didn’t last long either.
With Hillary Fritz serving and Welfle and Emily Nickoli getting big swings at the net, St. Paul scored nine of the next 11 points to take a 10-7 lead that they did not relinquish.
Central Catholic pulled to within 11-10, but the Lady Flyers ended the game and the match with a 14-4 run.
“To beat St. Paul, you have to be more aggressive,” Central Catholic coach Linda Williams said. “It was hard to get anything going against them. We had some good rallies, but I think they got a hand on pretty much everything we hit at them today.”
St. Paul had just seven hitting errors in the three games while Central Catholic had 22 hitting errors.
“We knew all their strengths and weaknesses and what to do and how to handle them.” Nickoli said.
Welfle missed, however, and barely grazed the ball sending it back over the net — but it still dropped between two New Philadelphia Tuscarawas Central Catholic defenders for the first point of the match.
It was that kind of day for Welfle and the Lady Flyers, who cruised by the Saints (25-3) in three quick games that took an hour and 10 minutes to complete, 25-14, 25-12, 25-15.
The win advances St. Paul (25-3) to the state championship match for the fifth time since 2002 where a familiar foe awaits in unbeaten Maria Stein Marion Local (27-0) — the No. 1 team in the coaches poll since early September.
“I was a little overanxious maybe in wanting to put the ball down really hard,” Welfle said of the opening point. “We had great passing and setting, and we just settled into a flow early.”
Central Catholic held a 5-4 lead in Game 1, but it didn’t last for long. With Kaylee Bundschuh serving, the Lady Flyers scored the next six points to take a 10-5 lead and before the Saints knew what happened, it was a 22-10 lead as Welfle and Hannah Livengood were having a field day at the net.
Game 2 was the most lopsided of the three, as St. Paul broke an 8-8 tie by outscoring the Saints 17-4 the rest of the game for a commanding 13-point lead that all but assured the Lady Flyers were on their way to more state hardware.
St. Paul had 10 kills in Game 2 alone, with Welfle slamming four of them.
“It was just a very solid match for us,” St. Paul coach Nancy Miller said. “I thought we came out strong and the things that had been working well for us did again today. We served and passed the ball well and I thought the hitters did a great job of attacking the ball today.
“Their two middles were exceptional players, but the girls did a great job of minimizing their attack. We had a really good scouting report and we felt like we walked in there and felt like we had already seen them. Defense is what won that match today for us.”
The Saints gave their best effort in Game 3, jumping out to a 5-1 lead — but that didn’t last long either.
With Hillary Fritz serving and Welfle and Emily Nickoli getting big swings at the net, St. Paul scored nine of the next 11 points to take a 10-7 lead that they did not relinquish.
Central Catholic pulled to within 11-10, but the Lady Flyers ended the game and the match with a 14-4 run.
“To beat St. Paul, you have to be more aggressive,” Central Catholic coach Linda Williams said. “It was hard to get anything going against them. We had some good rallies, but I think they got a hand on pretty much everything we hit at them today.”
St. Paul had just seven hitting errors in the three games while Central Catholic had 22 hitting errors.
“We knew all their strengths and weaknesses and what to do and how to handle them.” Nickoli said.
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