VANDALIA — The Olentangy Liberty girls volleyball team certainly ran into a juggernaut in a Division I state semifinal on Nov. 12 at Butler.
The Patriots not only lost on the scoreboard to reigning two-time state champion Cincinnati Seton 25-11, 25-17, 25-16, but they had just about everything else going against it.
Whether it was kills, service aces, blocks, hit percentage or even attendance – the Patriots found themselves on the short end.
Still, senior middle hitter Caroline Scott held her head high as she described Liberty’s season. That’s because the Patriots lived up to their mantra of no regrets.
“All the personalities and positive attitudes of all the people are able to contribute to that positive environment,” Scott said.
“I’ll be the first to say that there have been a lot of games where our heart and our hard work have won for us … well above our skill level,” she said. “Our skills are good, but our heart has won us some games.”
Photos by Michael Rich. Story continues below.
Liberty (23-4) entered the state tournament on a 17-match winning streak after losing three of the previous four matches.
The Patriots were down two sets in the regional final before battling back, stamping their ticket to the program’s third state tournament.
Liberty also went 10-0 to win the OCC-Central Division, which includes Olentangy Orange, a state tournament qualifier in 2023 and 2025.
“It was great to see the team push through the battles and get through adversity,” Scott said. “We met that goal and we’re here today. We might not have had the outcome that we wanted – but we’re here. That’s something to be proud of.”
Seton was just better on this night. But the Saints (27-0) have said that many times.
They’ve lost just four sets all year and are 68-0 dating back to Sept. 26, 2024.
Seton plays Cincinnati St. Ursula in the final Nov. 13 at Dayton’s Wright State University, seeking its eighth championship.
Liberty never led in the first or third sets. Some solid service with five aces in the second set made it a back-and-forth battle. But the Patriots couldn’t keep up.
Seton had more kills (42-22), more aces (8-6), more digs (51-35) and more blocks (8-1). The Saints also hit .386 to Liberty’s .031.
Chaley Moeddel had 14 kills, 12 digs and six blocks to lead Seton.
Kenna Meibers added 10 kills and nine digs, Allie MacPherson had 11 digs, Maggie Timmerman had 10 digs and Chloe Poland had four blocks.
“They did a really good job of keeping points alive,” said Meibers, a senior outside hitter. “But I also think we did a good job on our end of keeping points alive. That’s what we worked on in practice, and I think we did it really well.”
Quinn Smith had six kills and Gia Saraullo added five kills on no errors for the Patriots.
Larkin had 12 digs and Sophie Aquillo went for 12 assists and eight digs for Liberty.
Patriots coach Jen Chapman hopes the success of this season carries into the next.
“Reflecting back to the start of the season, the freshmen and sophomore were quiet and shy,” said Larkin, a senior libero. “Looking at them now, they’re right there with us (being) loud and in each other’s faces.
“It’s just great to see how we’ve all come together and just make each other better (people).”
Smith and Saraullo are freshmen, Aquillo is a sophomore and fellow setter Greta Holman is a junior and are all eligible to return next season.
“Being a part of an atmosphere like this and a season like this … it makes you hungry, right? It makes you want more,” Chapman said.
“Hopefully with the leadership (our outgoing seniors) showed, it trickles down to them going forward.”
