VANDALIA —Shelby’s storybook postseason run came to an end Thursday evening, but the Whippets went down swinging.
Unranked Shelby gave No. 4 Marlington all it could handle but came up short in a 3-1 loss in the Division IV state semifinals at Butler High School, just outside Dayton.
The Dukes ran their winning streak to 25 matches with a 25-21, 23-25, 25-18, 25-12 decision. Marlington (27-1) will play No. 3 St. Bernard Roger Bacon for the state title at 1 p.m. Saturday at Wright State University’s Nutter Center. Roger Bacon beat No. 7 Vincent Warren 3-0 in Thursday’s early semifinal game.
Shelby (24-4) spent most of the evening playing catch-up as the Dukes built comfortable advantages in all four sets. The Whippets never led in the first, third or fourth and didn’t take their first lead until late in the second.
“Marlington is definitely a heck of a team,” Shelby coach Katelyn Olewiler said. “They did a great job of getting us out of system.”
Making its third straight state tournament appearance, Marlington stormed out of the gates in in the first set. The Dukes built a 16-3 lead before Shelby cut it to 21-17 courtesy of an Alex Lay kill. Three straight kills by Marlington’s Layne Graffice gave the Dukes a 24-17 lead. Shelby made things interesting by trimming Marlington’s lead to 24-21, but Graffice closed it out with her sixth kill of the first set.
Marlington raced out to a 10-2 lead in the second set before the Whippets rallied. Shelby pulled even at 18-18 on a Marlington attack error and took its first lead at 19-18 on Kendra Walp’s ace. The Whippets closed it out on Lexi Mohn’s kill.
“I’m extremely proud of them. They never gave up,” Olewiler said. “They’re relentless.
“It was never a lack of effort or a lack of caring.”
Marlington built an 18-9 lead in the third on Giana Bogunovich’s ace and never looked back. An Ava Bowman ace made it 23-18, but that is as close as Shelby would get in the third set.
The Dukes jumped out to a big lead again in the fourth set, but Shelby trimmed Marlington’s lead to 14-10 on a Mohn kill off a Baylie Hoffbauer assist. The Dukes responded with an 11-2 run and closed it with a service ace by Claire Battershell.
“There were a lot of times where we could have (folded), but they stepped up and rose to the challenge,” Olewiler said. “They trusted each other and did the best they could.”
Shelby was making its first state tournament appearance since 1990.
“They have nothing to hang their heads about,” Olewiler said. “I love those girls so much.”