All season long the Berkshire Badgers boys’ volleyball team has frustrated their opponents with their scrappy play. The shoe was on the other foot on Saturday afternoon as the Badgers fell to Nordonia in the Ohio High School Athletic Association Division II Region 7 championship by a 25-14, 25-18, 25-17 sweep at Berkshire High School.
“They have such a commanding offense,” Coach Tim Percic said. “Because of that it stretches out our defense. Our defense likes to go after balls that are in play and makes plays but when we are completely spread out over the full court, there a lot more holes and that was a tough test for our guys.”
A historic season in which Berkshire (16-7, 7-1) captured a share of the conference banner, set the record for most wins in a season and advanced to the regional final for the first time in school history ended just shy of capturing a berth in the OHSAA Division II Final Four.
Nordonia established control in the first set, racing ahead to a 6-4 advantage. The five-year coach noted Berkshire wanted to speed up its offense to catch the Knights off guard but it was the other way around. By using a full-court offense, Nordonia found all of the holes in the Badgers’ side of the court.
In addition to finding the sweet spots, senior outside hitter Jake Starr noted that the Knights set the tempo early, forcing Berkshire out of its usual system, evidenced by them going on a 6-1 run to hold a 15-8 advantage at the halfway point of the first set.
“I think they came out punching and were (not?) ready to go,” he added. “We honestly came out really slow and I think that was our kryptonite, in the first two sets we played like we did not care and in the third set it was closer. We woke up but at that point it does not matter, you have already dug yourself a deep hole.”
Nordonia went on a 10-6 run to claim a 25-14 victory in the first set and carried the momentum into the second set.
Starr acknowledged that the Knights were the relentless team in fighting for every loose ball, a strategy that had served Berkshire well throughout the season.
“We haven’t seen a team that scrappy,” he said. “They fought just as much and honestly, they fought more for every point than we did. I think that is why we lost, we did not want every point, we wanted every other one and they wanted everyone, so it showed.”
After taking a 9-5 advantage in the second set, the Knights kept rolling and were spurred by a 10-8 run, increasing their lead to 19-14. The Badgers continued allowing Nordonia to dictate the terms of the match as the Knights won the set 25-18.
Percic said that no matter how often the Badgers tried trimming into Nordonia’s lead, the Knights always had an answer.
“It is a big stage against a tough opponent, and you want to do something spectacular,” he said. “Hit the grand slam of volleyball if there was one but it is a game of patience. Sometimes, the moment got to us and we made silly mistakes.”
The Badgers demonstrated their resilience in the third set as they battled back from an early 7-4 deficit fueled by an 8-5 run to tie the score at 12-12.
The teams traded points and Nordonia appeared to be pulling away by being fueled by a 4-1 run, but Berkshire trimmed the lead to 16-15 with another rally
Ultimately, Nordonia maintained control at the end and senior setter Zac Fernandez closed the match out by delivering four aces in the final five points to end the third set with a 25-17 victory.
Although the Badgers’ season ended just one win shy of the Final Four, Starr spoke glowingly of the bond shared by the seven seniors that returned from last year’s team and raised the ceiling for the entire program.
“This is my favorite high school sport,” he said. “We all loved it and we are definitely going to miss it. I know a couple of us are going to stay around, but we will stay connected. I am hoping at some point so set up a little bit of a game between all of the seniors.”
As far as Percic was concerned, while the Badgers are graduating some valuable contributors, he looked forward to seeing what the next wave of players will show for next season as Berkshire’s depth kept several talented players on the bench this season behind the leadership of the senior class.
