News Archive
Volleyball to Face Elder Thursday in Regional Semi-Finals
SETTING THE SCENE: Milford’s boys volleyball team has advanced to the Regional Semi-Finals of the OHSBVA State Tournament for the first time since 2012, following a convincing 3-0 defeat of No. 12 Colerain in round one. The Eagles swept the Cardinals Tues., May 22 in three games; 25-10, 25-5, and 25-12.
That victory earned No. 5 Milford the District title and a date with No. 3 Elder on Thurs., May 24. The Eagles will take the court in a Regional Semi-Final round to face the Panthers at 6:00 pm at St. Xavier High School.
A LOOK AHEAD AT ELDER: Elder, a member of the Greater Catholic League, advanced to the second round with a 3-0 win over No. 13 Sycamore. The Panthers finished the regular season 18-5 overall and third in the GCL standings at 3-3, behind Moeller and St. Xavier. Elder’s five losses were to Moeller (2), St. Xavier (2), and Olentangy.
Milford last met Elder in 2012, in the second round of the State Tournament where they lost to the Panthers, 0-3.
Elder has a rich history in boys volleyball, and the Panthers last won the Division I State Championship in 2016 by defeating Moeller for the title. They claimed their first championship was in 1999, and have won six total state titles out of nine trips to the finals. The Panthers ended 2018 third in both the final State Poll for OHSBVA and the Cincinnati Enquirer area coaches’ poll.
The winner of the Elder-Milford matchup is slated to meet the winner of Thursday’s other Regional Semi-Final, No. 2 St. Xavier vs. No. 7 Mason. The Regional Final will be played at 7:00 pm on Sat., May 26 at St. Xavier High School.
INSIDE THE ECC: Milford and Loveland are the only ECC teams to remain alive in the postseason: Loveland defeated Walnut Hills, and Mason knocked out West Clermont in first round action. No. 4 Loveland will play No. 6 Oak Hills (May 24, 6:30 pm at Moeller).
POLL WATCH: Milford entered the top ten in the final Cincinnati Enquirer area coaches’ poll released May 14. St. Xavier replaced Moeller at the top of the poll, while Moeller fell to second Elder remained in third. Lakota East rose to fourth and Alter fell to fifth. Fenwick will end the year in sixth followed by the ECC’s Loveland and Milford in seventh and eighth respectively. Carroll is ninth, with Hamilton, LaSalle and Oak Hills all tied for tenth. Walnut Hills received one vote in the final poll.
The final OHSBVA’s South Region poll was released on May 22, and Milford will end the year at number five. The top five remained the same from the previous week; Moeller, St. Xavier, Elder, Loveland and Milford, followed by Oak Hills and LaSalle. Mason moved up to eighth, replacing Fairfield who fell out of the top ten following a loss to Milford. McNicholas and Sycamore round out the top ten.
