CLAYTON — New Bremen got off to a slow start in a Division IV regional final volleyball match on Saturday, but any possible worries of another letdown by the Cardinals’ large contingent of fans were quickly eased.
New Bremen, which lost in a regional final last year, beat Fort Loramie 3-1 on Saturday to earn the first state semifinal berth in school history.
New Bremen (25-1) will face Buckeye Central in a state semifinal on Thursday at 4 p.m. at Wright State’s Nutter Center. Buckeye Central beat Carey played in a regional final on Saturday at Elida.
Paige Jones had 27 kills for New Bremen while Julia Goettemoeller had seven. Abbi Thieman had 23 assists, Jones had 11 digs and Blake Snider had 10 digs. Macy Puthoff had five aces and four kills.
Fort Loramie won the first set 25-19 and took a lead midway through the second. New Bremen battled back to win the second 25-20 and then won the next two 25-13 and 25-17.
The teams battled to an 11-11 start in the first set, but Loramie went on a 9-2 run to take the lead. The Redskins built a 24-15 lead, and New Bremen scored four consecutive points before the match ended when a serve went into the net.
Loramie and New Bremen again battled to an 11-11 tie in the second set. After the Redskins took a 14-13 lead, the Cardinals went on a 6-3 run that was capped off by a kill by Claire Pape. Fort Loramie called a timeout, but New Bremen scored the next point to extend the lead to three.
The Redskins battled back to tie it 20-20, but New Bremen took a lead after a Loramie serve went into the net. The Cardinals scored the next four points to finish the 25-20 win, with the last point coming on a kill by Jones.
Jones served at the start of game three as New Bremen built a 5-0 lead. Loramie came as close as 11-9, but New Bremen scored six of the next seven points to take control.
New Bremen went on a 5-2 run in the fourth set to take a 14-11 lead. The Cardinals then scored six of the next nine to put the game away.
Kenzie Hoelscher had eight kills for Fort Loramie, while Chole Stang had seven and Marissa Meiring and Abby Holthaus had four each. Sophia Albers had 21 assists and 15 digs, while Chole Stang had 12 digs. Hoelscher had four assisted blocks and one solo block.
The Redskins finish with a 17-11 overall record.
More online, in Monday’s paper: This story will be updated late Saturday night with additional information, and more about the game will be published in Monday’s edition of the Sidney Daily News.
