For the first time since 2018, there will be a regional playoff round for the Berkshire Badgers’ volleyball team. The Badgers secured the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division V Northeast 2 district banner, fending off Triway’s comeback in a five-set thriller, winning 25-17, 25-11, 18-25, 16-25, 15-7 last Thursday evening at Magnificat High School.
“We were super excited to do it,” said Coach Joan Prots. “It was one of our goals at the beginning of the year and it was good to see the girls fight back and accomplish one of the goals that they had set early on in the season.”
If the Badgers (23-2, 9-1) defeat Elyria Catholic in the OHSAA Division V regional semifinal on Thursday, they will face either Lake Catholic or Crestview in the regional championship for a Final Four berth on Saturday at Streetsboro High School at 2 p.m.
“We are going to have to play a really good match and have to execute our game plan and not let them control the match,” said the 20-year coach. “We need to go out and try and be in charge as much as we can. They have some very talented hitters, and we just have to play our game.”
For Berkshire, it has been a long time coming to advance to the regional round as it has suffered several early exits from the postseason in the last few years, including bowing out in the district semifinal last year.
According to Prots, it was the last chance for the senior class to capture the elusive district championship, a feat that they had personally seen the 2018 squad accomplish when they were still in elementary school.
“These seniors have been around the game a lot and some of them watched that last team that went to regionals,” Prots added. “They were in the gym watching them as their high school idols, so it was cool to see them be the group to get us back there.”
On Thursday, the Badgers appeared poised to make quick work of Triway after storming ahead 2-0 by winning the first two sets, but the Titans turned the tables on Berkshire, winning the next two sets 25-18, and 25-16 to send the match into the decisive fifth set.
Prots acknowledged that after building a 2-0 advantage her squad played a little more conservatively in the next two sets but credited the senior leadership for righting the ship.
“We are definitely senior heavy and even our juniors have played Junior Olympics and been in those situations before, so I really think that they just went back on their experience and regained their confidence in themselves,” she noted.
The Badgers went back to what worked in the first two sets to pull away early from Triway, including recording more blocks in the fifth set and ultimately withstood the Titans’ furious comeback to earn a regional berth for the first time in seven years.
In addition to having more blocks at the net, Prots said that Berkshire improved its service game and became more aggressive, keeping the Titans on their heels.
Although the match was pushed to five sets, she credited the Badgers for once again demonstrating mental resolve, something that they have done throughout the season.
“They looked at each other in the huddle and I looked at them and I told them ‘You guys can still do this. ‘You just have to go out and play your game,’’ Prots noted. “They decided that it was their match, they wanted to win that match, so they worked extra hard.”
Berkshire finished what it started, going back to when they built an early lead at the beginning of the match by pulling away late after exchanging points with the Titans in the first set.
Prots said that the Badgers carried that momentum into the second set with nearly flawless execution on all fronts, cruising to a resounding 25-11 victory.
Prots credited Triway for making the necessary adjustments to counter Berkshire’s strategy but also conceded that her team played too passively in the next two sets, allowing the Titans to build momentum.
“I think we relaxed a little bit more than we should have but credit to Triway, because they came out and played and they did a better job of executing what I assume was their gameplan and hitting spots on the floor that they had not necessarily hit in the first two sets,” she said.
The Badgers recovered and were fueled by a well-balanced offense, as three different players recorded double-digit kills to send the team into the Sweet Sixteen.
