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Another First-Timer
No. 6 Columbus Bishop Hartley Defeats Kettering
Archbishop Alter for School�s First Volleyball Crown
DAYTON, Ohio
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The volleyball match between Columbus Bishop Hartley and Kettering
Archbishop Alter lived up to the hype Saturday afternoon as these two
volleyball powerhouses battled it out in the 2011 OHSAA Division II
volleyball state championship at Wright State University�s Ervin J.
Nutter Center. After letting one slip away in game two, Hartley came
back strong in sets three and four to claim its school�s first
volleyball state title (25-20, 18-25, 25-18, 25-21).
In the last six years, these two schools have combined for eight state
tournament appearances, three runner-up trophies and two state titles.
It was Hartley�s fourth overall state appearance. Alter was making its
sixth state appearance and had previously brought home the crown in
2006, 2003 and 2002.
Game one saw an aggressive Alter team jump out to an early 5-2 lead.
Hartley battled to back to a 5-5 tie before winning the next point and
never relinquishing the lead through the rest of the set. Alter came out
on fire again in set two to take a commanding 22-11 lead before winning
on a service ace by Natalie Seiler. The Knights couldn�t hold onto the
momentum though as Hartley battled through 12 ties and seven leads
changes in the final two sets.
After a semifinal match in which she put up 18 kills, Hartley All-Ohioan
Brooke Betts repeated her impressive performance with 16 kills and three
digs in the final match. She received help from junior Molly Shonk, who,
after a dominating semifinal match of 17 kills and 18 digs, followed up
that performance with 12 kills and 10 digs. Senior Natalie Briggs
finished her career with 64 assists over the weekend (29 in the semis
and 35 in the finals) and senior Lauren Hurley added 19 assists in the
final match.
Alter was led by its senior All-Ohioan Megan Courtney who tallied 17
kills, 12 digs and 20 assists. Courtney, who will be continuing her
volleyball career at Penn State, also had 22 kills and 19 assists in the
semifinal match. Sophomore Natalie Seiler was the only other player from
Alter with double digit kills (11). On the defensive end, Maddie Bazelak
(16), Kelsey McGraw (10) and Kristen Kaiser (9) all contributed to
Alter�s 61 digs.
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