Kings is 1st Cincinnati-area public school to reach volleyball state tournament since 1994

In the corner of the gym at Lakota West rests four signs to represent the four state championships won by the Lakota Thunderbirds before the school split into Lakota West and Lakota East.

The last of the four comes from the girls volleyball state championship won in 1994. That was the last time a public school from Cincinnati reached the Ohio High School Athletic Association state tournament in volleyball. Nearly 30 years after that title, another public school will represent Southwest Ohio in the Division I tournament.

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The Kings Knights are that school after they met the St. Ursula Bulldogs in the regional final, clinching the title and heading to state with a victory in four sets, 30-28, 22-25, 25-17, 25-23.

"I've been a head coach for 28 years and always at a public school," Kings head coach Amanda Meadows said. "This dream just didn't seem possible."

Senior and Appalachian State commit Elise Marchal knew the importance of the success had a greater reach to more than just the Kings fans in the gym: "We're all just proud to represent the public schools.

"The private schools are super strong and have a really tough conference, but we knew we had to do it for the public schools."

A runaway 3rd set gives Kings control

St. Ursula had set point three times in the first set against Kings, but each time the Knights forced a tie and continued the game until Kings took it 30-28. After St. Ursula completed a comeback from an early deficit to take set two 25-22, the regional final seemed like a match destined to be settled in five sets.

The Knights put that feeling to rest after a dominating third set.

Tied 4-4 early, Kings scored the next eight points for a 12-4 advantage. St. Ursula got as close as a three-point deficit after, but the Knights rallied back together for a 25-17 set three victory.

Both teams traded blows at the end of the fourth set and were tied at 21-21, 22-22 and 23-23 before Kings took the final two points and the match.

"We knew it was going to come down to a fight for sure," Meadows said. "This team is a bunch of fighters. I don't care what sport we were playing, I take this team."

A dream in place since 3rd grade

Meadows and the girls in the program have not been shy that they believed they were the team to beat heading into the season. That dream of reaching the state tournament wasn't put into place in 2023, it began when the core of seniors were as young as third graders.

"We knew a few years ago with this group," Meadows said. "I started working with most of them when they were in grade school. We knew back then that the city better watch out when these public schoolers get to high school."

The group of Kings seniors are Marchal, Dakota Henry, Cate Freeman, Abby Yoder, Sydney Barrett and Abby Trapp.

"We've been playing together since third grade," Barrett said. "We all went to the same elementary school (J.F. Burns Elementary School). Our chemistry is just unbreakable and in the tough moments it really shows that we can get through those things together."

We have six seniors and our determination this year has been awesome," Marchal added. "We had that goal and the goal is still there to get to Wright State and we put everything into it to get where we are now."

What's the state tourney schedule for Kings?

The Division I state semifinals will begin with Kings at noon Friday, Nov. 10, at the Nutter Center at Wright State University. The Knights (26-1) will play Cleveland St. Joseph Academy (23-4) in the first semifinal. Olentangy Orange and Toledo St. Ursula Academy will follow in the second semifinal.

The Division I state championship game will be played at 3 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 11, at the Nutter Center.

St. Ursula's senior sendoff

The Bulldogs reached the regional final with just a trio of seniors on their roster. Addy Brus, Molly Dorger and Kaleigh Frietch were all contributors that earned All-Girls Greater Catholic League honors in 2023.

Brus will continue her volleyball career at St. Louis while Frietch committed to play at the University of Cincinnati.

Mercy McAuley completes reverse sweep for 1st state tournament appearance

While Mother of Mercy reached the OHSAA state tournament nine times (with four championships) and McAuley reached a pair of times, the combined Mercy McAuley had never reached the state tournament before beating Badin in the Division II regional finals.

The Badin Rams took the first two sets over the Wolves before Mercy McAuley completed the comeback, 16-25, 24-26, 25-20, 25-23, 15-6. Badin finished with a 20-8 record while reaching the regional finals for the third consecutive season.

Mercy McAuley (23-4) will play Alliance Marlington (25-3) in the Division II semifinal at 4 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 9, at the Nutter Center. The winner of that match will see the winner of Bishop Hartley and Gilmour Academy in the state final at 1 p.m. Saturday at the Nutter Center.

McNicholas tops Summit Country Day in 5 to reach DIII tournament

The McNicholas Rockets began the season with a 1-3 record, but have gone 19-4 since with a five-set victory over Summit Country Day to reach the state semifinals for the first time in school history.

Unlike the Wolves in Division II, Summit Country Day did not complete the reverse sweep, falling to McNicholas 25-20, 25-21, 22-25, 20-25, 16-14 in a competitive contest. The Silver Knights fell to McNicholas in straight sets on Sept. 27 and had gone undefeated since. Summit Country Day finished the year 22-6, the second-straight 20-win season for the program.

McNicholas (20-7) will see Byesville Meadowbrook (23-5) at noon on Thursday at the Nutter Center for the Division III state semifinal opener. The winner of that contest will compete with the winner of Mentor Lake Catholic and St. Henry in the Division III finals at 11 a.m. on Saturday.