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Coldwater's Paige Ontrop (18) tips it over the net during Thursday's D-V district final in Bluffton.
BLUFFTON - A little excitement in the postseason can be a good thing.
After two straight sweeps to start the Division V tournament, Coldwater got a challenge from Colonel Crawford in the district volleyball final at Bluffton University.
The Eagles denied the Cavaliers a sweep with a win in the third set, then gave Coldwater a challenge in the fourth set before the Cavaliers finished with a 25-13, 25-19, 20-25, 25-19 win at the Sommer Center on Thursday. The Cavaliers return to the regional tournament after last reaching in 2024.
Coldwater (21-4) travels to Ontario High School next Thursday for an 8 p.m. regional semifinal matchup with Huron (23-3), which swept Archbold to reach the Sweet 16.
"I think it's exciting for this team to (advance), They were freshmen and Paige (Ontrop) was a sophomore (in 2024), but (they) get to earn that step, you know, to really earn it," said Coldwater coach Nikki Etzler. "There's some great competition in the regional, so how will we be able to prepare and make sure that we're going to be our best team when we hit that gym floor next Thursday."
Coldwater used great serving from Mara Riethman and Audrey Diller to pull away for the opening set win, but the Eagles (19-6) began to make some inroads starting in set two, going up 7-3 early thanks to a pair of aces from Sophia Gray. Brylee Knapke used a five-point service run to give Coldwater an 11-10 lead before the Eagles tied it again, but then Diller added four straight points to make it 16-12 and were able to put the Eagles away for the second set.
Coldwater's Audrey Diller (1) passes the ball to a teammate during Thursday's match.
In the third set, it was Colonel Crawford going on a long service run as Reese Redman rattled off four straight to put the Eagles in front 9-5. Coldwater got back into the set and led 15-14 before the Eagles regained the lead at 18-15 and extended the margin down the stretch.
Colonel Crawford stayed hot to start the fourth with three points off the opening serve. Coldwater tied it at 5-all, setting up a battle where the teams would tie seven more times, the last coming at 17-all. Harlow Heyne went back to serve and the Cavs went to work. Riethman got a block to make it 18-17 Cavs, then after the Eagles were called for a hitting violation, Riethman added another block to make it 20-17. Heyne then added an ace followed by a Campbell Etzler kill to make it 22-17. A Crawford hitting error pushed the margin to 23-17 before the Eagles managed a side-out. Crawford got a point back before Riethman got a kill to give Coldwater match point. Ontrop, the lone senior on the squad, got the final kill to close out the match.
Coldwater's Harlow Heyne (8) hits it past Colonel Crawford defenders.
"She also did a great job studying the block. They have 2 great outside hitters," said coach Etzler of Ontrop, who finished with 10 kills and a scoring block. "So to be able to like, take care of the net for us was really important. So proud of Paige."
Heyne finished with 16 kills and an ace. Campbell Etzler and Riethman each had nine kills with Riethman adding four blocks. Diller and Charlotte Hoying each served up four aces.
