Week One

The Panthers began a new season by returning to the annual St. Charles Tournament in Columbus, Ohio. Elder has participated in this tournament for a number of years because it is an excellent way to get a lot of play and court experience as a team in a small amount of time.

The tournament began with pool play scrimmages on Friday evening. Overall, the team played rather well. The week leading up to the tournament offered us a lot of scrimmage time to work out a few of the kinks and bugs. So in Friday's scrimmages it was nice to see the team coming together and improving some of the problems that were noticed earlier in the week. We left the gym Friday night with an undefeated record in pool play and a spot in Saturday's Gold Bracket.

Saturday morning came far too early and began with a match against Pickerington North. Pickerinton was a particularly scrappy team. They were able to get many quality backcourt touches which only served to frustrate our frontcourt. However, in the end, it was our tough serving, offensive diversity, and tough front court defense that led us to vistory over the Panthers of the north.

In the second round Elder faced a very tough team out of Louisville, Kentucky. Louisville St. Xavier had a number of impressive players who were extremely well-rounded. Their middle hitter had an strong and quick arm swing that was effective from every spot on the court; especially from behind the service line. In order to combat the strength of the Tigers' attack, Elder mustered some impressive backcourt defense (Welch- 8digs, Kent and Moehring - 6 digs each), as well as smart attacks to exploit their blocking weaknesses. Elder frustrated Louisville St. Xavier enough to earn a hard fought victory and a trip to the finals of the tournment.

Harpenau blocking a setter dump against Louisville St. Xavier.

One of the challenges for any team in the early part of the season is to get the team to believe in their abilities and have confidence each time they step on the court, regardless of the opponent. This issue was a very real issue for the Panthers as we stepped onto the court to face our hometown rivals, the St. Xavier Bombers.

While the scores were relatively close (23-25, 18-25), the quality of play was not. All the things that the Panthers had done so well against their previous opponents in the tournament failed to make an apperance in the finals match. While no defeat is easy to endure, it is a particularly difficult pill to swallow when you fail to put your best foot forward. Overall, the weekend tournament was a good step forward for the team, eventhough the last match failed to illustrate it.


The climax to the week came 3 days later when the Panthers faced the Bombers in a regular season match. With the poor tournament performance fresh in all of our minds, it didn't take a lot for the players to be motivated to take the court. And take the court they did. Filled with the confidence and trust that they lacked in the first meeting, the Panthers put together an impressive performance from the serving line as well as a diversified offensive attack that seemed to give the Xavier defense difficulty.



As usual, the Elder faithful pitched in to offer a trenmendous home court advantage. The house was packed and the student body provided a boisterous and intimidating presence. Special thanks to all those that pulled "double duty" - attending the volleyball match after cheering on the Elder baseball team earlier in the afternoon.


Not only is the win important from the standpoint of a regular season match or in GCL standings, but it was also very significant in regards to building the confidence and conviction of this team. A lot of expectations have been placed on these players by people inside and outside of the team sphere. As a result, the players have battled their confidence and trust in one another much more than any opponent on the court. Last Wednesday, the Panthers rebounded against a very good opponent and showed the faith, confidence, and trust that is necessary to maintain a cohesive and successful team.

After enjoying the Easter break, Elder returns to competition this week with 2 home matches against Oak Hills and Purcell Marian. Thursday's match against Oak Hills will be the annual Grade School Night at the Pit. Any grade school volleyball players who come in their uniform will be admitted free and registered to win a host of lovely door prizes.

Best of Times and Worst of Times

The first full week of the volleyball season is half way over. Only 13 days remain until Elder opens 2010 competition at the annual St. Charles Tournament. It is always exciting heading into a new season full of possibility and potential. Got to love spring. However, it is the first few days of that new year that are the toughest to work through.

No one likes try-outs. It is hell on students and just as stressful on coaches. While some schools struggle to get enough willing participants to field a team, Elder has always been blessed not only with numbers, but also talent. As a result, the season begins with coaches going through the difficult task of paring down the numbers into the "best" team possible; a difficult task no matter the year.

Another important aspect of the start of each season is the annual Alumni Scrimmage. This year's version will take place on Thursday, March 25. All Elder Volleyball alumni are invited to participate and the scrimmage is open to the public. The evening will begin with a scrimmage between the Freshmen and JV teams at 6:00 PM. After an hour of scrimmaging the varsity and alumni will warm up (7-7:30) and the scrimmage will begin at 7:30 PM. Following the competition, all alumni are welcome to join in the "First Serve Social" with the teams and their families.

For those of us who are hungry for the first official set of the season, you can whet your appetite by checking out a little video promoting Ohio High School Boys Volleyball and featuring clips from last year's state finals. While the last 30 seconds might break your heart, it should also light the competitive fire for the 2010 season.

Go Panthers!

Taking It to the Next Level

There is some good news going on in the volleyball world. While some arenas of the sport are stuck in a quagmire of status quo, other areas are growing and expanding. For instance, it was just announced that a new women's professional league is forming in the US. That is huge. While it has been tried before, it is fantastic that others are willing to learn from past mistakes, pick up the torch, and try anew to build a sustainable pro league. Check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETnAaknmzVY

On the men's side of the net, volleyball at the collegiate level is growing in leaps and bounds. Unfortunately, at the current time, the grow seems to be contained to Division II and III schools. But who is complaining. The growth of the sport is what causes the quality of play to increase as well as opening up opportunities to more qualified athletes.

At Elder, some of our players are beginning to take advantage of those opportunities. While a number of our former players have gone on to play club at a number of colleges (U.C., Bowling Green, U.D., Ohio University, I.U., Miami, etc.), very few have made the jump to an organized collegiate program. Other than current varsity assistant coach, Mike Wauligman ('00), no other former players come to mind. That is, until 2009.

In April of 2009, Clancy Gay ('09) committed to play for Pfeiffer University's inaugural men's volleyball team. Clancy was a starting outside hitter for the 2008 state championship team and the 2009 state runner-up team.

As a member of Pfeiffer's Men's Volleyball team, Clancy has already worked his way into the starting line-up and is currently tied for the team lead in kills.

Another volleying panther making the leap to the next level in 2010-11 will be Elder senior Matt Harpenau ('10). As a starting middle hitter on last year's squad, Matt had significant offensive and defensive contributions. He was third on the team in kills, second on the team in blocks, and first on the team in aces. At 6'8, Matt received a lot of looks from Division I and II programs. Ultimately, Matt has orally committed to Lees-McCrae College in North Carolina. Lees-McCrae is an established Division II men's program and is a part of the newly formed Conference Carolinas league.

#10 - Matt Harpenau

Finally, there has been growth in collegiate men's volleyball right in "our own backyard." Mount Saint Joseph is currently in the midst of their inaugural men's season. The team boasts two Elder alumni in Kyle Smith ('08) and Jon Grote ('07). While experiencing some early growing pains, it is uplifting to see some additional collegiate volleyball so close to home.

Who knows what other exciting developments the future might bring for the sport of volleyball. Regardless, it is exciting to see more and more of our players taking advantage of opportunities to play at the next level.

Pre-Season Work in Full Swing

The end of exams and start of the third quarter always brings excitement to the third floor of Elder High School.

At Elder, we are very blessed to have an excellent weight training staff and facility at our disposal. Some guys who haven't been involved in fall or winter sports have been doing off-season conditioning and lifting since the last ball fell to the ground in the 2009 state tournament. However, once mid-January rolls around, a more formal conditioning regiment begins with me, Coach Tierney.

We are now two weeks into our pre-season team conditioning and I have been very pleased with what I am seeing thus far. Every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday students interested in being a part of the 2010 volleyball program meet on the third floor of the main building to shed some sweat and flab, and build a little strength, agility, and endurance. After 2:30, lockers slamming and students shuffling through the halls are replaced by athletes jumping, sprinting, shuffling, and bounding. Since this is not mandatory, I usually see a fluxuation of participation throughout the weeks. However, so far, I have noticed that the guys have been very faithful and motivated during the pre-season.

The past few years have brought great success for our volleyball program: 2007 - state runner-up, 2008 - state champions, 2009 - state runner-up. During this period, and especially last season, I have concluded that the reason for that success has been the dedication of the players to work hard day in and day out. I recently read a quote from a NCAA basketball coach who talked about the importance of a player's practice attitude. Coach Brannen said, "Players have to think, 'What can I get out of practice', and not, 'How can I get through practice.'" Members of our recent teams have displayed the former attitude each day. In my mind, this desire to improve each day has been the most significant factor to our success.

Throughout the current school year, I have observed a core group of players who have the same fire and same determination to improve. They have maintained a consistent presence and work ethic in the weightroom that has been noticeable. The seniors and a nice group of freshmen have been the most impressive. If this dedication and motivation continues throughout the spring, I am confident we will see another successful season for all levels in the Elder Volleyball program.

Until we hit the courts in March, we'll be sweating and dodging lockers on the third floor.