11-14-2009, 05:35 PM
Ursuline (29-0) wins state volleyball title
By Mark Schmetzer • Enquirer contributor • November 14, 2009
FAIRBORN, Ohio – After months of living with sacrifices, Dani Reinert finally got to set a goal.
“I just didn’t want to get trampled,” the Ursuline senior said Saturday.
![[Image: bilde?Site=AB&Date=20091114&...mp;title=0]](http://cmsimg.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcsi.dll/bilde?Site=AB&Date=20091114&Category=SPT0301&ArtNo=311140034&Ref=AR&Profile=1069&MaxW=550&MaxH=650&title=0)
The Enquirer/ Ernest Coleman
Ursuline Academy's Dani Reinert (facing) hugs teammate Olivia Johnson after winning the Ohio Division I volleyball championship over Dublin Coffman on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009, in Dayton.
Reinert was talking about surviving the Lions’ celebration on the volleyball court at Wright State University’s Nutter Center after Ursuline dispatched Dublin Coffman 25-16, 25-19, 18-25, 25-17 to complete a 29-0 season and win the school’s fourth Division I state championship.
Reinert, Ursuline’s senior setter, cranked out 48 assists, helping set up senior Jade Henderson for 18 kills and junior Christina Beer for another 10. Junior Kori Moster logged 15 digs while senior Anna Prickel added 13 as the Lions completed a job they felt they’d left unfinished last season.
Ursuline also was undefeated going into last season’s championship match, which they lost to Olmstead Falls in four sets. Lions’ fourth-year coach Jeni Case felt that loss helped her returning players focus.
“We’ve been waiting all year for this,” said Case, who led Ursuline to its first state championship since 2002. “Last year was horrible. I didn’t forget all year. They didn’t forget all year. We took things differently this year.”
Operating on the theory that winning the state championship should be everybody’s goal, Case suggested that her players trade setting goals for making sacrifices – sort of a volleyball version of the Roman Catholic season of Lent, a period of cleansing that leads up to Easter.
She and her players gave up everything from soda to junk food. Others devoted more time to prayer or set self-imposed curfews.
The slightly-built Reinert’s “sacrifice” was to eat more and do pushups to build strength.
The Lions also drew motivation from junior Jamie Goldschmidt, who’s been unable to even practice for months because of medical problems. She still showed up for every practice and match, and she was on hand Saturday, wearing a brace around her midriff that didn’t clash at all with Case’s state championship medal hanging around her neck.
“She’s as much a part of the team as anyone,” Moster said.
With all of that going for Ursuline, which finished the season ranked No. 1 in the statewide Division I coaches poll, the second-ranked Shamrocks didn’t have much of a chance in their first trip to the state tournament.
“Ursuline came out tough,” Coffman coach Mary Anne Souder said. “You have to start very strong against that type of team. We knew Jade Henderson would get a lot of sets, but they have a lot of weapons. We’d set blocks, but they did a good job of getting around them.”
Ursuline, attacking from each end of the net, set the tone by jumping out to leads of 6-1 in the first set and 5-1 in the second. Coffman never led until the start of the third set.
Case figured that Ursuline’s experience would pay off.
“Coffman’s an awesome team, but like I told the girls before the game, experience has to count for something,” she said.
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll...311140034/
By Mark Schmetzer • Enquirer contributor • November 14, 2009
FAIRBORN, Ohio – After months of living with sacrifices, Dani Reinert finally got to set a goal.
“I just didn’t want to get trampled,” the Ursuline senior said Saturday.
The Enquirer/ Ernest Coleman
Ursuline Academy's Dani Reinert (facing) hugs teammate Olivia Johnson after winning the Ohio Division I volleyball championship over Dublin Coffman on Saturday, Nov. 14, 2009, in Dayton.
Reinert was talking about surviving the Lions’ celebration on the volleyball court at Wright State University’s Nutter Center after Ursuline dispatched Dublin Coffman 25-16, 25-19, 18-25, 25-17 to complete a 29-0 season and win the school’s fourth Division I state championship.
Reinert, Ursuline’s senior setter, cranked out 48 assists, helping set up senior Jade Henderson for 18 kills and junior Christina Beer for another 10. Junior Kori Moster logged 15 digs while senior Anna Prickel added 13 as the Lions completed a job they felt they’d left unfinished last season.
Ursuline also was undefeated going into last season’s championship match, which they lost to Olmstead Falls in four sets. Lions’ fourth-year coach Jeni Case felt that loss helped her returning players focus.
“We’ve been waiting all year for this,” said Case, who led Ursuline to its first state championship since 2002. “Last year was horrible. I didn’t forget all year. They didn’t forget all year. We took things differently this year.”
Operating on the theory that winning the state championship should be everybody’s goal, Case suggested that her players trade setting goals for making sacrifices – sort of a volleyball version of the Roman Catholic season of Lent, a period of cleansing that leads up to Easter.
She and her players gave up everything from soda to junk food. Others devoted more time to prayer or set self-imposed curfews.
The slightly-built Reinert’s “sacrifice” was to eat more and do pushups to build strength.
The Lions also drew motivation from junior Jamie Goldschmidt, who’s been unable to even practice for months because of medical problems. She still showed up for every practice and match, and she was on hand Saturday, wearing a brace around her midriff that didn’t clash at all with Case’s state championship medal hanging around her neck.
“She’s as much a part of the team as anyone,” Moster said.
With all of that going for Ursuline, which finished the season ranked No. 1 in the statewide Division I coaches poll, the second-ranked Shamrocks didn’t have much of a chance in their first trip to the state tournament.
“Ursuline came out tough,” Coffman coach Mary Anne Souder said. “You have to start very strong against that type of team. We knew Jade Henderson would get a lot of sets, but they have a lot of weapons. We’d set blocks, but they did a good job of getting around them.”
Ursuline, attacking from each end of the net, set the tone by jumping out to leads of 6-1 in the first set and 5-1 in the second. Coffman never led until the start of the third set.
Case figured that Ursuline’s experience would pay off.
“Coffman’s an awesome team, but like I told the girls before the game, experience has to count for something,” she said.
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll...311140034/