Sun staff
For the ninth consecutive year, the University of Cincinnati – Clermont Lady Cougars volleyball team has earned a trip to the United States Collegiate Athletic Association national championship tournament.
The 15-5 Cougars, led by a number of local Clermont County athletes, will begin pool play on Thursday, Oct. 30 with the hopes of reaching the Elite Eight knock out round later Friday evening and into Saturday.
“It’s very special, obviously, not only getting selected this year, but also extending the streak to nine years in a row,” head coach Joe Harpring said. “This team faced a lot of hurdles early on. We have a smaller number of players than we usually do, but this group was able to really bond together and get along well. This is really a reward for them for all the work that they’ve put in. This is really, I think, one of the hardest working teams that I’ve had, so I’m really pleased they were recognized and rewarded for that.”
Harpring said a slow start out of the gate was a veiled blessing because the team’s 3-2 mark allowed his team to get a good feel for how to play together, while also getting a few wins.
“A 3-2 record in the first five games doesn’t necessarily sound like a struggle, but at that point, we were just learning to play together, plus (junior outside hitter) Kaitlyn Miller was just getting back from her knee surgery from a year ago,” Harpring expounded.
“We took some losses to a couple of USCAA teams early on — Marygrove and Berea. Once we hit the end of September and into October, the kids were really getting on a roll and were really fun to watch.”
The Lady Cougars won nine of their next 10 matches to get to 12-3 with the home stretch and a possible national championship bids on the horizon. It was during that stretch that a pair of former local high school standouts received national acclaim for their play. Alex Robb, a junior setter from Amelia, and Amber Lawrence, a sophomore middle hitter from Felicity-Franklin, were honored by the USCAA as Setter of the Week and Player of the Week, respectively.
“Alex has really matured and gained a lot of confidence this year. She’s actually running the offense herself,” Harpring said of the former Lady Baron. “At just 5-foot-4, she’s really stepped up and is setting a very consistent offense, making some good decisions, plus she’s actually blocking a little bit, which you wouldn’t expect.
“(Amber) has had to make the transition from being an outside hitter last year where she was an Honorable Mention All-American to middle hitter this year because of some of the losses we had (personnel wise). And actually, I think she’s probably better at that middle hitter. She’s also scored a lot of aces with her jump serve, which has helped us out.”
Harpring pointed to Taylor Hermann (Glen Este), Ashely Dundes (Loveland) and Kiley Collins (Goshen) as others who have stepped up to help the Lady Cougars gel into a national championship caliber squad.
Having no conference affiliation this season, Clermont hasn’t had the same number of matches as year’s past, but they have played a slightly bulked up schedule, which Harpring believes can only help going into the pressure cooker this weekend.
Given the No. 6 overall seed, third in Pool B, the Lady Cougars will have to come in the top-four of the five-team pool to advance to the knockout rounds.
“Each player knows what they need to do to help us be successful. We’ve played a tough schedule, so they’ve gotten used to playing the level of team that we’ll see at nationals,” Harpring said. “To be honest, they’re really not afraid of anybody and that might be key. They’re embracing the challenge.
“The first expectation is to get out of our pool and into the Elite Eight, which I think is doable. The seeding in our pool is pretty accurate and I expect challenges from all four teams.”
Harpring said each team provides its own set of challenges. In their first game against Concordia, UC Clermont needs to play around some big blockers; game two against Rochester, a traditional powerhouse, will test the Lady Cougars defensively; game three versus SUNY Canton has Clermont playing a team with home court advantage; and finally, game four pits them against Penn State – Fayette, the Lady Cougars’ most comparable matchup as year-in and year-out both are among the top USCAA Division II programs.
“I’m hoping to get at least third (in the pool) and maybe knock off one of the top two seeds to get second,” Harpring said. “We’ll just go from there.”
UC Clermont traveled to Canton, N.Y. overnight Tuesday and practiced on site on Wednesday. The annual tournament banquet took place Wednesday night where All-American distinctions were announced and the games begin Thursday afternoon with the Lady Cougars first serve coming at 1 p.m.
For more information on the tournament, including brackets, live stats and streaming video and radio, log on to the USCAA website at theuscaa.com.