Area Volleyball, Soccer Stars Earn All-Ohio Honors

Names like Sara Snowbarger, Delaney Marshall, Calen Relle and Christian Mullet highlighted this year’s list of area All-Ohioans for volleyball and boys and girls soccer.

Snowbarger is unquestionably the best player in the area, a game-changer, an influx of instant points and simply one of the best all-around players ever to grace a local volleyball court. The Wooster senior has definitely grown past the shadow of her mother and coach Jen Snowbarger, who starred for the Blue and Gold back in 1990-94.

Racking up 539 kills, she finished with 1,923 kills and is second all-time in area history, just behind Northwestern standout Kara Koch’s 2,196 set in 2008. She also finished with career marks of 719 points, 204 aces (ninth all-time), 1,397 digs (seventh all-time) and 84 blocks. Those numbers added up to the Indiana-bound Snowbarger earning her fourth All-Ohio selection, second consecutive first-team honor in Division II and third straight first-team honor overall.

Taking home her second All-Ohio selection and earning a spot on the first team in Div. V was Triway setter Taylor Mathis, who finished with 854 assists. The junior has 2,034 career assists and is 14th all-time in area history. 

Norwayne locked up its first Wayne County Athletic League title since 2000, thanks to stalwarts like senior Ava Maibach leading the way. The senior earned a second-team selection, finishing with 358 kills, 340 digs, 168 points and 42 aces.

Northwestern senior Claire Buchholz joined the pair as an All-Ohio honoree with an honorable mention selection.

In Div. VI, Dalton continued its torrid run of dominance, led by junior Sara Geibel, who earned her second All-Ohio selection with a second-team pick. She will enter her senior year with 1,117 kills, putting her among the top 15 in area history.

She was joined by teammate Mya Geiser, a senior setter who earned honorable mention accolades and had 970 assists this past season, the fifth most in area history.

Hiland's Addi Mast, a sophomore outside hitter, racked up 355 kills and 295 digs to earn second-team honors.

Garaway's Charlee Yoder, a junior setter who dished out 851 assists and now has 2,412 career assists, putting her 12th all-time among the area greats, was named to the honorable mention team.

Girls soccer

On the soccer pitch, Delaney Marshall was a bright spot for the Chippewa girls soccer team, overcoming an injury to help spark her team to consecutive Div. V state final appearances. She tallied 41 goals and 17 assists, giving her career marks of 90 goals (10th all-time in area history), 37 assists (eighth all-time) and 217 points (eighth all-time). She sits six goals from the program’s all-time goals scored leader Bailey Clark, who posted 96 in a career that ended in 2018. Making these numbers more impressive is the sportsmanship standard the Chipps adhere to, which limits their players to scoring only two to three goals per game, especially in blowouts.

Joining Marshall as a top honoree was coach Ruth Coney. She earned Coach of the Year in Div. V, which is just another staple for the career of the first female coach ever to be selected to the Ohio Scholastic Soccer Coaches Association Hall of Fame. Since starting the Chipps soccer program in 1997, her team has won 19 Wayne County Athletic League titles (league began in 2004) and posted an 83-25 record in the OHSAA playoffs. They have won 14 district titles, seven regional titles and made four state finals appearances.

Joining the pair as All-Ohioans in Div. V was Hiland senior forward Chanelle Kellogg, who finished with 18 goals and nine assists. That leaves her at 43 goals, 27 assists and 113 points for her career, placing her within the top 35 for goals scored and total points and inside the top 25 for assists in area history. 

Norwayne senior forward Alanna Bauman also earned All-Ohio honors, helping lead her team back to regionals for the third time in the past five years and second in the past three years.

In Div. IV, West Holmes junior Charli Murphy was unleashed on a nightly basis and racked up 51 goals, six assists and totaled 108 points. For her career she has 116 goals, 19 assists and 251 points, currently sitting second all-time in area history for goals scored and fourth all-time in area history in total points.

Joining her as All-Ohioans in Div. IV were Orrville junior midfielder Emma Brede — who had 15 goals and five assists, helping lead the Red Riders to the district finals, the furthest they have ever gone in the postseason — and Tuslaw senior forward Paige Marthey, who piled up 28 goals and 10 assists.

Boys soccer

In Div. II, Wooster standout and the area’s best soccer player Calen Relle earned All-Ohio with 20 goals, 11 assists and 51 total points against the area’s hardest slate of games. For his career, Relle capped it at 31 goals, 43 assists and 105 points, finishing third all-time in area history for assists.

In Div. V, two of the area’s best goalkeepers kept things battened down for the most part in Smithville’s Luke DeRodes and Central Christian’s Bryan Martin, earning All-Ohio honors. Both were key to their team’s success this season and were very active goalkeepers who feared virtually nothing and did whatever it took to keep the other team at bay. Combined, they helped their teams go 25-7-9 this past season and post 24 shutouts.

Hiland junior forward Christian Mullet finished with 28 goals, 12 assists and 68 points to earn All-Ohio in Div. V. He will enter his final prep season with 41 goals, 31 assists and 113 points, positioning himself to finish high among the area leaderboards.