Plain City powerhouse | Shekinah Christian sustaining strong tradition in girls volleyball

With seven returning starters and largely the same roster that took her team to a 17-5 record a year ago, Shekinah Christian girls volleyball coach Colleen Showalter was not surprised that the Flames exceeded that win total with three regular-season matches remaining.

What impresses Showalter is the dominance with which the Flames earned the third seed in the Division IV district tournament, a tie for 13th in the state poll of Oct. 10 and 19 wins in 20 regular-season matches.

Entering an Oct. 13 match at Northside Christian, the Flames — who also were 11-0 in the MOCAL — had won 59 of 63 games this season. Three of the four they lost were in their only setback, 21-25, 25-27, 27-25, 25-22, 15-5 at Division I Hilliard Bradley on Oct. 3.

Girls volleyball state poll:Hartley ranked No. 1 in Division II

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“We have six good hitters, so we can attack from anywhere. That’s a huge benefit,” Showalter said. “I expected to have a good record this year. But what has been a surprise to me is that almost every one of our wins have been in three (games).

“We dropped one (game) earlier in the season (in a 25-15, 24-26, 25-19, 25-21 win at Tree of Life on Sept. 13) when one of our starters was sick right before a game and had to go home. We still won, but dropped one set with the shuffling.”

Showalter typically rotates seven players with three more ready to step in when necessary, but the Flames still have demonstrated depth and versatility despite their small numbers. The Plain City school has 147 students in kindergarten through 12th grade, according to its website.

Sophomore outside hitter Hailey Campagna had a team-best 420 kills through 19 matches and was second in aces (64) and digs (268). Outside hitter Rylee Headings, one of two seniors on the team with setter Savannah Knepp, paced the team in digs (273) and aces (94) and was third in kills (109).

Knepp had 576 of the team’s 728 assists.

“We’re pretty well-rounded, even more so (than in previous seasons). We were better defensively, picking stuff up off the blocks and covering. And Hailey is a great hitter,” said Headings, who is from Plain City. “Our libero (junior Jackie Yoder) is a great passer, and when it comes to our hitters, we move girls around to where they play best just depending on what the play is so we don’t get stuck in certain plays for too long.”

Juniors Ali Giddens (opposite hitter), Taylor Helmuth (middle hitter) and Alinea Slabaugh (middle hitter) round out the returning starters.

“Our coaching staff has told us we have a good amount of potential, we just had to work for it,” said Knepp, who is from London and is on the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s watch list. “It isn’t just naturally happening.”

Campagna, a Dublin resident who took up volleyball in eighth grade, has worked her way onto the AVCA’s phenom list.

“I just like hitting the ball. I like serve-receive a lot. It pushes me to my potential,” Campagna said. “I don’t like to focus on myself and my stats. I like to focus on my team and what they need from me and what they mean to me.”

Shekinah Christian took a first-round bye in the district tournament and will play host to 12th-seeded Berne Union or 15th-seeded Harvest Prep in the second round Oct. 19. The Flames are seeking their first district championship since 2013 and the program’s fifth overall dating to 1995.

“It proves that we deserve to be where we are and we’ve worked hard for what we have,” Headings said. “People have strengths in different areas and we want that to shine.”

dpurpura@thisweeknews.com

@ThisWeekDave