KETTERING — Versailles combined strong serving, balanced hitting and steady defense to sweep Madeira 25-16, 25-12, 25-13 and capture an OHSAA Division V regional volleyball championship.
The Lady Tigers shook off an early first-set deficit and controlled the final two sets to punch their ticket to the state semifinals.
“What a team win! What a team effort!” Versailles coach Liz McNeilan said. “Everybody from every angle was doing their job. Came in, remained mentally confident, remained physically confident in their skill set. Proud of these girls; they did an awesome job.”
Versailles will face undefeated South Range at 1:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, at Wittenberg University’s Pam Evans Smith Arena.
The Lady Tigers opened the match with a 3-1 lead before Madeira answered with a 6-1 run to move ahead 7-4. Versailles responded with a 5-1 spurt to regain the lead at 9-8, then stretched the margin to 16-11, prompting a Madeira timeout.
Versailles continued pulling away to take the opening set 25-16.
McNeilan said the Lady Tigers worked through some early excitement before settling into their game.
“Sometimes you make those little errors that you just need to refocus, take a deep breath and...