The NDCL Lions demonstrated incredible mental toughness this week as they persevered through challenges by Holy Name and Bay to win an OHSAA regional title.
Match photos click here.
The NDCL Lions demonstrated incredible mental toughness this week as they persevered through challenges by Holy Name and Bay to win an OHSAA regional title.
Now the Lions head to the Nutter Center at Wright State University, where they will play in the final four and try to capture an OHSAA state championship on Nov. 11 and 12.
Led by the offensive dominance of University of Nebraska recruit Caroline Jurevicius , the Lions withstood a somewhat unexpected formidable challenge Nov. 3 by the Holy Name Green Wave in the regional semifinal.
“I think it was a roller coaster match, to be perfectly honest,” Jurevicius said. “We came in here expecting to honestly roll them over, but they put up a very very good fight and they posed a threat against us. And I think it’s how we responded as a team and picked each other up, that’s what made the difference in the match overall.”
Added senior Lauren Janosy, “They are a very good disciplined team; they honestly surprised us a little bit. We came out and fought as hard as we possibly could, every single point. That’s exactly what won us the match.”
In the regional semifinal against the Green Wave, the Lions took the lead 1-0 in a very closely contested first set which NDCL won by a narrow margin of 25-23.
In the second set, Holy Name was able to reverse the previous set’s outcome and win 25-23. However, as the Lions seniors noted, even as the Green Wave continued to battle, the Lions remained focused and resilient.
Staying focused on the task at hand, the Lions won the third set 27-25 to go up 2-1.
In the final set, the Lions started off having the momentum before the game tightened up. Still, the Lions hung on for the victory and defeated the Green Wave 25-21 in the fourth set to propel NDCL into the regional final game against the Bay Rockets.
“Holy Name came out and played with a ton of heart,” NDCL Volleyball Coach Tom Ray said. “They were very structured, they were great on serve receiving, great on serves. I honestly think they outplayed us.
“Tonight we were just really big, really athletic, and we were able to make plays when it mattered. And that was the difference.”
In the regional final, the Lions swept the Rockets 3-0, winning their first set 25-19 and sets two and three by an identical score of 25-18.
Jurevicius was again dominant in the regional final, recording 23 kills en route to leading the Lions to the sweep over the Rockets.
Now 17-7 on the season, NDCL is two matches away from winning the state championship.
Under Ray’s leadership, Lions volleyball will now have been to four state championships since the 2014 season, winning back-to-back state championships in 2014 and 2015 and finishing as state runner-ups in 2020.
On Nov. 11, NDCL will face Union Local from Belmont at noon at Wright State University. The winner of that match will play the Nov. 12 winner of Gilmour vs. Badin for the state championship. And should both NDCL and Gilmour win Nov. 11, the stage will be set for a rematch of the 2020 title match.
