Tag Archive for: Grace Auer

AUER REIGNS AS 2023 YSN MOST VALUABLE PLAYER

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COLUMBIANA OH- Anyone who watches volleyball in the tri county area understands how talented Crestview is. The roster is loaded with high level volleyball players. But even with all the talent in the world, you still need a leader. For the Rebels that has been senior Grace Auer. Grace is arguably the most well rounded volleyball player that’s ever come through the area.  Have there been better hitters? Maybe. Have there been better setters? Perhaps. Could you find better passers in the long past of area volleyball? Probably.  However good luck finding someone who is elite at all three skills.  Grace in her career at Crestview has amassed 1,000 kills, 1,000 assists, and 1,000 digs.  Our research suggests that she’s the only volleyball player to come through our area to do that.

Grace has meant the world to her team because of her versatility.  Whether it’s putting balls away, setting up the other good hitters, or getting the Rebels in system there is so much that Rebels would not be able to do without Auer’s help.

On the season Grace has finished with 370 kills, and averaged 4.5 per set.  On the setting side she gathered 473 assists.  When it comes to defense, Grace dug up 281 digs. She only made 2 digging errors all season. She is also Crestview’s Ace Queen owning every record you could own in the serving category. This year she finished with 87 assists.

Congratulations to the 2023 YSN Most Valuable Player, Crestview’s Grace Auer!

ALL THE AUERS IN A DAY

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COLUMBIANA OH- Crestview volleyball is the last remaining undefeated volleyball team in the YSN family, and a huge reason why is Grace Auer. Grace has found a way to put her hands in every state category the game has to offer. Auer is one of the most dynamic players that you’ll find in the area. She has put together multiple triple doubles in her career. When she’s in the back row she sets the offense up with precision. When she’s in the front row, she can swing with enough power to put a ball through a brick wall.

Alisha Auer as head coach, Grace Auer as a statistical leader, and now Lainy Auer as a new shiny tool in the chest, Crestview has plenty of AUERS in a day to beat you. Looking at Grace’s numbers this season you’ll see what we are talking about. Grace is currently sitting second on the team in kills with 215. She averages 4.1 kills per set.  Then you flip the page to her assist numbers and you’ll see she leads the team with 279 assists, and averages 5.4 per set.  Then, if you take a look at her dig numbers you’ll find she’s first on the team with 203 averaging 3.9 per set.

Grace took the time to join Anthony Hartwig and talk about her fantastic career. They discuss what makes this Rebels program so special, her family connections, and so much more. Check out the latest Crestview Player Profile only on YSN!

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YSN VOLLEYBALL REGIONAL PREVIEW

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EAST PALESTINE OH- The OHSAA Volleyball tournament is Down to its sweet 16 and we have 3 teams in the YSN family hoping to keep advancing the in the regional rounds. All regional  semifinal matches are slated for Thursday night and we have all you need to know about each team’s matchups with our regional preview.

Division IV

Wellsville vs Monroeville 5:30 at Uniontown Lake High School

The Tigers are coming off a decisive district championship victory over Western Reserve. They swept a good Blue Devils team that beat them in five sets earlier in the season. Emma Smith was a big reason why. She led the team with 13 kills and 4 blocks. Smith is the player to watch as the Tigers continue in the tournament. She leads the team in kills with 305. The Tigers gave other options that will need to step up. Teams can have to have multiple reliable hitters to advance at this level. The Tigers have 3 other players with over 100 kills. The 6-2 rotation lends itself to always having hitters available in the front row. And the Tigers have two setters that both do a great job moving the ball around. The biggest thing to watch for the Tigers success is their block. They blocked very well against Western Reserve and as the level of play gets higher, their front row will need to prove they can consistently get hands on balls. That will force attack errors trying to avoid the block.

The Tigers opponent Monroeville comes in to the match undefeated, and have yet to lose a set in tournament play. Their strength is their middle blocker Kylee Brooks who has 319 kills on the season. That is a big matchup between her and the blockers of the Tigers. It won’t be easy. Brooks hitting percentage is .404 which tells me she hasn’t been challenged too much in the block.

For me, the Tigers key to victory is moving their outsides and spreading the ball around. They have a more spread out offense by the numbers. They have to make Brooks run across the net. If they let her stay stationary, or become predictable on offense they will have a tough time.

Mineral Ridge vs Dalton 7:30 at Uniontown Lake High School

The Rams come into regionals with a record of 22-2 and won their district championship in four sets over Columbiana.

Katelyn Lesko is the heart and soul of the Ridge offense. If she finds a rhythm, the other hitters will as well. Katelyn demands so much attention from the opponent’s block that the other hitters usually end up with either an open net, or a one on one situation. The question for the Rams is will they be able to capitalize on those opportunities.  The Rams have arguably the best setter in the area in Danielle Aulet. Her volleyball IQ and instincts are at the highest level.

For the Rams, their biggest challenge will be consistently passing and getting in to system. They struggled with serve receive at times against Columbiana and they need to sure that up. With the size disadvantage they have, they cannot afford to be consistently out of system and become easy to block. I think the player to watch outside of the obvious for Ridge is Morgan Sigley. Not only is her serve deadly, but she fills in the front row while Lesko rotates to the back. Sigley has to stay aggressive and put the pressure on the opponents outsides.

Ridge’s opponent Dalton doesn’t have the best record in the world, coming in to the match with a 16-8 record, but don’t let that fool you, Dalton plays a very tough schedule. Smithville who is the Division III regional semifinal pops up on their schedule twice, along with volleyball powerhouse Orrville. The Bulldogs have a deadly 1-2 punch in middle blocker Brennah Arnold, and outside Tess Denning. Arnold has 320 kills, and Denning has 229. This will make it very tough for Ridge to key in on one of them. Dalton hits pretty efficiently with an impressive team hitting percentage of .256, so I expect the Rams will have to match that and try to stay away from unforced errors.

Division III

Crestview Vs Smithville 8:00 at Barberton High School

The Rebels are making their second trip to Barberton for a regional semifinal in two years. However, this team looks a lot different than last year’s. Eight seniors gone, no problem for the Rebels. They have introduced the amazing 1-2 punch of Grace Auer and Lucy Montgomery, who both have multiple triple doubles on the season. Watching this Rebels team, it’s hard to pick out a glaring weakness. They pass well, they have two great setters, who double as strong hitters. They have a pair of strong muddled in Shelby Rambo, and Molly Emch. Montgomery is one of unique hitters at this level that hits better down the line than cross court. A lot of teams are not used to a hitters first option be down the line. It will be interesting to see how Smithville decides to come out initially on defense, and then what kind of adjustments they make if Montgomery consistently hits line.

 

Smithville is a solid team in a tough conference. They come in with a record of 23-1. Smithville is led by a dominant 5’11 outside hitter in Brooke Fatzinger, she is just 4 kills away from 400 on the season. The Rebels also can’t sleep on Brooke Karlen who has 236 kills herself. The Smithies are another efficient team hitting at a percentage of .268. The Rebels have a higher percentage though hitting .279. This could be a very clean volleyball match, which is always fun to watch. Smithville only have 38 blocks on the season so the Rebels may have an advantage in the middle with Emch and Rambo.

Stay tuned to YSN’s twitter account for score updates throughout the night for all three of the matchups.

-Anthony Hartwig

REBELS CLINCH BACK TO BACK DISTRICT TITLES

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COLUMBIANA OH- Crestview went in to Saturday’s district championship with the opportunity to repeat as champions. Standing in their way was a Mooney team who was on an upset tour in the bracket as the 16 seed. It was a tough battle, but eventually the Rebels were too much to overcome and they took the title in four sets (25-17 21-25 25-19 26-24).

Both Grace Auer and Lucy Montgomery collected triple doubles for the Rebels. Montgomery finished with 16 kills, 28 digs, and 16 assists. Auer finished with 16 kills, 21 digs, and 19 assists. Molly Emch Player well out of the middle with 7 kills, and 2 blocks. Kendra Greaves collected 22 digs.

The Rebels advance to the regional semifinals where they’ll travel to Barberton to take on Smithville. That match will be on Thursday at 8:00

REBELS PUNCH TICKET TO TITLE MATCH

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COLUMBIANA OH- Crestview is heading to their second district championship in a row as they made quick work of Pymatuning Valley on Wednesday in a straight set victory (25-13 25-8 25-12).

Lucy Montgomery added another double double to her collection with 12 kills, and 13 assists. She also served up 6 aces. Molly Emch had a good night in the front row with 6 kills, and 4 blocks. Grace Auer had 4 kills, and 13 assists on the night. Hannah Cope led the defense with 8 digs.

Crestview will now host the district championship Saturday as they welcome in a Mooney team that has upset their way into the title match. That match is set to begin at 1:00.

CRESTVIEW STRIDES TO DISTRICTS

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COLUMBIANA OH- The number one seed in Division III Crestview has no trouble on Thursday in the sectional finals. The Rebels swept their way past Osborne and on to the district semifinals (25-13 25-6 25-16).

Lucy Montgomery narrowly missed a double double with 13 kills and 9 assists. She also finished with 6 digs. Molly Emch was also in double digit kills with 10. Grace Auer did produce a double double with 15 assists, and 14 digs. Kendra Greaves led the team in digs with 15.

Crestview advances to host the winner of Pymatuning Valley vs Lake Center Christian. That match will start at 6:00.

REBELS WRECK EAST CANTON

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COLUMBIANA OH- Crestview made quick work of their first round matchup against East Canton on Tuesday night. They advanced to the sectional final with a sweep (25-15 25-11 25-10).

Molly Emch led the offense out of the middle with 8 kills. She also blocked a pair. Lucy Montgomery had 7 kills, and 10 assists. Grace Auer also finished with 7 kills, and she collected 14 assists. Grace also played great defense with 8 digs, and she served 5 aces.

Crestview advances to the sectional final on Thursday where they’ll host 19th seeded Osborne.

CRESTVIEW COMPLETES SWEEP OF MVAC

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WARREN OH- Crestview completed their season sweep of the MVAC with a dominating straight set victory over Champion (25-3 25-5 25-2). Crestview finishes the conference schedule with a 12-0 record.

Lucy Montgomery led the offense with 16 kills, 6 assists, and 4 digs. Grace Auer has 22 assists, 6 aces, and 5 kills. Molly Emch had 8 kills and 2 blocks on the night. Kendra Greaves led the defense with 12 digs,

Crestview moves on to host East Canton in the first round of the OHSAA tournament. The Rebels are the 1 seed in the Northeast 2 Bracket.

CRESTVIEW CROWNED MVAC CHAMPIONS

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NEWTON FALLS OH- Crestview capped off their conference season with a four set victory over Newton Falls on Tuesday to secure the MVAC Gray Championship. It is the Rebels third consecutive conference victory. (25-21 25-22 28-30 25-15).

Lucy Montgomery finished with yet another dazzling triple double with 20 kills, 23 digs, and 19 assists. Not to be outdone, Grace Auer also collected another triple double with 27 assists, 17 digs, and 12 kills. Molly Emch finished with 14 kills, and 4 blocks. Kendra Greaves shares the team lead in digs with 23. Shelby Rambo has 11 kills.

Crestview closes out their regular season schedule on Thursday as they host Champion.

REBELS CONTINUE LAKEVIEW’S WOES

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COLUMBIANA OH- Lakeview came into Wednesday’s matchup against Crestview trying to recover from their first loss of the season, and their first NE8 loss in over 2 years. However the Rebels made sure the Bulldogs continued to struggle with a dominating win in straight sets (25-16 25-22 25-15).

The Crestview game plan was simple, yet effective. They attacked Lakeview’s setter Maggie Pavlansky, making her take the first touch, and they added on fantastic play from their middle blockers. Executing that plan to perfection the Rebels made it very difficult for Lakeview to get into system. The Bulldogs were definitely dealing with confidence issues. All season other players would step up and move the ball wonderfully when teams would attack Pavlansky. It simply wasn’t happening against the Rebels, and that was a key factor to their struggles.

The Rebels were led by Lucy Montgomery who barely missed another triple double with 16 kills, 10 assists, and 9 digs. Grace Auer was right behind her with 16 assists, 15 digs, and 9 kills. Shelby Rambo played wonderfully in the middle finishing with 8 kills, and 3 blocks.

Lakeview was led by Tara Lytle who finished with 10 kills on the day. 6 of them came in the first set. Brooke Schneider played good defense and had a match-high 21 digs. Pavlansky set up 19 assists.

Crestview heads on to another test as they play Heartland on Saturday. Lakeview will look to change their fortunes as they return home to host South Range.