Warriors ready to compete in colossal showdown with Crestview

SYCAMORE – There's just something about neat and even numbers.400 wins in 20 seasons.Simple math will say that's a neat and even average of 20 wins per season for Mohawk under coach Eric Hoover.The veteran coach achieved that milestone last week, winning a district championship in the process."When you get to milestones like 20 years and 400 wins, it causes you to look back a bit," Hoover said. "I'm proud of the success we've been able to maintain over such a long period. It takes a lot to make that happen, which makes it pretty rare. I have been fortunate enough to have outstanding assistant coaches, hundreds of hard working and committed players, supportive parents, and a community that takes pride in the quality of its athletic programs."The No. 6 Warriors (25-0) want to continue to build that number when they face No. 5 Crestview (23-2) at 7:30 p.m. Thursday in a Division IV regional semifinal at Elida."The season has gone better than expected," Hoover said. "I don't think 25-0 is something you can really anticipate. Much of the competition we play is really good so it takes an incredible level of consistency from the players to find a way to win every match. The support they give each other through the tough times has made it possible."It's not like Mohawk cruised through an easy league and non-league slate to boost its record. The Warriors topped teams like Clyde, Carey (twice), Buckeye Central (twice), Willard, Columbian, Monroeville and Van Buren during the regular season."We live in an area of the state where volleyball is really strong, so you don't have to go far to find competition to really test you," Hoover said. "Throughout our summer tournaments, preseason scrimmages, and regular season games, we played nine teams from all four divisions who were either district champs or district runner-up. Seeing that many good teams and individual players helps you learn where your weaknesses are to improve as well as how to slow down outstanding individual players."Mohawk had a similar season last year. The Warriors went 21-1 in the regular season, winning the Northern 10 Athletic Conference by three games. But all that work and play didn't result in a district title, as Mohawk fell to Carey after beating the Blue Devils twice during the regular season.The Warriors found themselves in the same position this year, but topped Carey last week to win Mohawk's first district championship since back-to-back titles in 2011 and 2012."Last year, we played tight in that game and it caused us to make a bunch of uncharacteristic mistakes," Hoover said. "This season we were relaxed and able to play confident and aggressive. I don't think it had anything to do with who was on the other side of the net."One of the biggest reasons for the success this year has been the tremendous play of sophomore Biz Klopp. After hitting behind older sister, Emily Klopp, last season, Biz has tallied 462 kills this year, averaging 5.3 kills per set. Her kill percentage and hitting percentage are both up from last year too."She is playing a different position this year," Hoover said. "Last season she always had either Mia (Miller) or Emily in the front row with her whereas this season she is the one drawing all of the attention from the defense. Even with that attention, she's gone out and got more kills in a season than any other player in Mohawk history, so I think she's handled it pretty well. Even more exciting is that I see a lot more room for improvement in her."Miller is one of seven seniors for the Warriors this season, along with Faith Miller, AJ Chevalier, Avery Hoover, Izzy Meyer, Molly Ward, and Gracie Clouse. Miller has lined 294 kills this season while Chevalier has 163 and Hoover has 108. Hoover leads Mohawk with 40 aces, Miller is second on the team behind Klopp with 50 blocks, and Hoover is second on the team behind Allison Russell with 312 digs.Caitlin Ogg has registered 482 assists in the two-setter system for Mohawk while Ward is right behind with 463 assists."Four of the seniors are in their first year on varsity," coach Hoover said. "They all have an individual role and have done it well. Collectively, they have just been amazing leaders. They do things right in the offseason, in practice, and during games, especially during the tough times when it is harder to lead. Hopefully the younger players in the program are paying attention because this is what leadership looks like. There is no question, the senior leadership has been a huge part of our success."The Warriors will have their hands full against Crestview, the team that won the Elida regional last season. The Knights have only lost eight sets the whole season and had a five-set win over No. 2 New Bremen and five-set loss to Division III, No. 2 Coldwater back in late August.Crestview has three players with 230 kills or more this season – Cali Gregory with 310, Adelyn Figley with 272, and Myia Etzler with 230. Gregory also leads the team with 510 assists."We love to compete, so it's very exciting to make it to this level," Hoover said. "We've had a lot of very, very good teams who haven't gotten this opportunity, so I'm really happy for this group. This is always one of the toughest regions in the state, so we are glad to have our name in there. We are going to enjoy the experience, but we aren't just looking to have fun, we are playing to win."