Will(mann) to win

CLAYTON, Ohio — The Indians swept the Trojans during the regular season.

They weren’t so lucky in the postseason as they dropped a set for the first time in four matches.

It didn’t get them down.

Keeping their heads up and confidence clear, they are headed to a level not reached since well before they were born.

Fort Recovery High School’s volleyball team took down the top-seeded Arcanum Trojans 25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 26-24 in the OHSAA Division VI Regional 24 semifinal hosted by Northmont on Wednesday.

“Positive affirmation is what my team thrives on,” said FRHS coach Travis Guggenbiller. “I just kept telling them, ‘You're doing everything you’re asked to do. We’re making those steps. Keep fighting. Keep pushing. Keep pushing. Keep pushing.’ …

“That positive affirmation, it’s just been huge for this group of girls and we keep thriving on that. I’m just awed and I’m so proud of them.”

The second-seeded Tribe moves on to play its neighbor, No. 2 St. Henry, which is another top seed, at noon on Saturday at Northmont. This is just the third time Fort Recovery (14-12) has sent a volleyball team to the regional final. The first was in 1990, when it went on to win the state championship. FRHS also made the regional final in 1991 with just two semifinal appearances in between that year and the upcoming match.

When asked about bringing the Indians to their first regional final in 34 years, Guggenbiller could barely choke out one word in response.

“Speechless.”

The Tribe’s middles, Brynn Willmann and Alexis Grisez, carried the bulk of the load. They combined for 20 of the team’s 44 kills and five of seven blocks. Willmann led the Indians in both categories — she had 13 kills, four solo blocks and one block assist — while also dropping in two aces.

    Brynn Willmann of the Fort Recovery High School volleyball team gets a block on Arcanum’s Caroline Long at Northmont on Wednesday during the OHSAA Division VI Regional 24 semifinal. Willmann led the Indians with 13 kills and five blocks in the 25-20, 21-25, 25-21, 26-24 victory that earned their third regional final appearance and first since 1991. (The Commercial Review/Andrew Balko)

“We’ve been working on blocking a lot in practice and being effective on our serve receive,” Willmann said. “So we were really just putting it away and making sure they were out of system.”

Along with putting up big numbers, Willmann’s points came in timely fashion. She won the ball back from Arcanum (20-6) 14 times, including six when AHS had scored two or more points in a row.

“I usually take a deep breath and make sure I’m calm,” Willmann said. “I know that when I get in, I have to help my team overcome those challenges, so I just place (the ball) and then we move on to the next play.”

Willmann earned at least one pivotal point late in each of the three sets FRHS won. In the first, she attacked a ball off a Trojan blocker to end a seven-point run to tie the set at 18. Her third-set moment came when she blocked Kamryn Beisner to end a long rally and followed it up with another kill to go up 23-19. She also had back-to-back points late in the fourth set with a soft redirect kill and a ball she pushed to the left sideline for a 22-20 lead.

The Trojans didn’t back down, as they reached 20 in all four sets after no team had made it past 16 against Fort Recovery in the district. That second set was fueled by a pair of runs that had Beisner (12 kills, three aces) serving, Cameron Garbig and Grace Fry with her in the back row, Grace Psczulkoski (15 kills) at outside hitter, Carolina Long (17 kills, two blocks) in the middle and Avery Leeper (three kills) at outside. Garbig is the only junior from that group, while the others are seniors.

“When we have five seniors on the court, it just clicks differently,” said AHS coach Jacie Holman. “That makes a huge difference. These seniors really wanted that set and that’s really what made the difference in that one moment.”

FRHS is now set to face Midwest Athletic Conference runner-up St. Henry for the opportunity to make it to state. The schools, which are separated by less than 8 miles, previously met on Oct. 19, in a match in which SHHS held the Indians to just 15 kills in three sets.

“We have to go out there and play MAC volleyball,” Guggenbiller said. “We’ve got to go out there, we’ve got to block, be aggressive, we’ve got to communicate. We’ve got to go out and have fun and believe in our abilities that anything can happen.”