Smithies, Bears volleyball both primed for tourney runs

No area volleyball team is more eager to start the postseason than Smithville.

Check that — Waynedale is more anxious to get going when the OHSAA Sectional/District tournament opens this week.

OK, both squads are ready to make their respective playoff runs — the Smithies looking to make up for an early postseason exit last fall and the Golden Bears poised to defend their district championship and get back to regionals.

That focus has been on full display all season long as Smithville and Waynedale have been the top teams in the Wayne County Athletic League, having split their season series. The two could have a potential rubber match in the Division III district final later this month.

And for Smithies coach David Yoder, the sting of last season’s five-set district-semifinal loss to Tuslaw was more than enough to charge his team for another strong regular season.

“They were really motivated after Tuslaw,” he said. “I didn’t have to say much; they came in when we started in April, and they were ready to go. And all summer we won every single tournament we were in. They were honed in and focused.”

That locked-in approach was evident this fall as the team ran off 18 straight victories to open the year, including a four-game victory over Waynedale, to earn a share of the WCAL title for the fourth straight campaign.

Behind the leadership of All-Ohio outside hitter Naomi Keib, the Smithies earned the top overall seed in the upcoming sectional/district tourney. Smithville, which returned its entire 2022 roster, also has one of the top setters in Taryn Fath — who also is among area leaders in aces — along with gritty defenders like Maddy Lengacher and the emergence of hitters Caitlin Walsh-Knouff and Angelina Yates.

“We talk about the pressure all the time,” Yoder said. “Everyone is waiting to give you their best shot. They know that. We have a sign in the locker room about pressure, and they see if every time they leave the locker room. It’s there, and we’ve had to learn to play against it.”

For the Golden Bears, who made an impressive run to the Sweet 16 last fall, the motivation of getting back was fueled a little more with that early season loss to the Smithies.

Waynedale returned the favor with a four-set victory of its own on Oct. 3, and like their local rival, they did so by rallying from a one-game deficit to earn a share of the county championship for the first time after a year hiatus.

“After Smithville beat us the first time, we had a decision to make — either play like we have nothing to lose or end up in second or third place in the league like the past few years,” Bears coach Jen Lauber said. “We had to play Smithville like our hair was on fire and with a sense of urgency on every point. We had to play with everything we had. We all had to sharpen our focus and step up.”

Indeed it did as Waynedale, which was tabbed with the second seed when the postseason starts Oct. 17, has used a balanced lineup with multi-talented veteran players Alyssa Geiser and Addesa Miller, along with newcomers like Callie Wolfe, to get back atop the standings.

The key to success, however, is a talented setter in senior Meghan Miller, who surpassed the 1,000 career assists mark earlier this season.

“Meghan is a talented and experienced setter,” Lauber said. “She has grown mentally and emotionally this season, which has allowed her to set her hitters more effectively. She is competitive and seeing the court better, and that has allowed our hitters to find seems in blocks. She embraces challenges that we throw out to her every day.”

Those challenges for both the Smithies and Golden Bears could be a district title match showdown, which would be held Oct. 28 at Smithville’s Berkey Fieldhouse, provided both can take care of business in their tourney tests before that.