GALION — As the 2019 high school volleyball season officially comes to a close with the state championship matches held on Saturday, November 9, many postseason honors have already been awarded.
Among those awards are the District VI honors for players representing teams in the Northwest District, including members of the Galion Lady Tigers, the Colonel Crawford Lady Eagles and the Crestline Lady Bulldogs. The Northwest District includes schools across all Divisions I-IV.
Karli Shepherd, a junior at Ashland, took home Player of the Year honors in Division I while her coach, Jenise Vaughn earned Coach of the Year. In Division II, Bellevue senior, Molly Bullion was tabbed Player of the Year with Karen Irons (Bellevue) and Sarah Kipp (Norwalk) being named Coaches of the Year.
In the Division III portion of the Northwest District, the Galion Lady Tigers would see three players earn first-team honors in the likes of senior Taylor Keeran and juniors Kayla Hardy and Samantha Comer. Senior Nicole Thomas and junior Jaden Ivy found themselves named to the second-team while senior Kerrigan Myers played her way to a District VI honorable mention nod. Galion’s head coach, Jaime Valentine, alongside Huron’s Don Wood were named Coaches of the Year.
The Lady Tigers had a superb season that came to an abrupt end with a loss to Ottawa-Glandorf in the Regional Semifinals but not after posting a 24-2 overall record on the season that saw a 21-match winning streak and a perfect season in Mid-Ohio Athletic Conference play (12-0) en route to their third consecutive conference title.
Joining Galion’s representatives on the Division III honors board were Alyssa Sallee and Allison Teglovic from Colonel Crawford. Sallee and Teglovic, both juniors for the Lady Eagles, were named to the second-team and honorable mention teams, respectively.
Lauryn Tadda was the lone member of the Crestline Lady Bulldogs to earn a spot on the district’s Division IV squads, receiving an honorable mention nod. Zoe Meyer, a senior from Tiffin Calvert, was awarded Player of the Year honors while Calvert coach, Lori Rombach, alongside Kendra Snook from Monroeville, were named Coaches of the Year.
All athletes will be recognized on Wednesday, November 13th at 7:00 at Norwalk High School. Admission will be $5 for adults and $3 for students or senior citizens. Family admission will be capped at $10 (this is immediate family members only).
In addition to the District VI awards, four members of the Galion Lady Tigers also received acknowledgement for their work in 2019 by being named to All-Ohio teams in Division III.
Both Hardy and Keeran earned second-team, All-Ohio honors while Comer found herself named to the DIII third-team. Additionally, coach Valentine earned one of three Coaches Achievement Awards issued by the Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association (OHSVCA).
