Moeller and Fenwick are no strangers to the Ohio boys volleyball state tournament. Both of them reached the (pre-Ohio High School Athletic Association) state tourney in 2021 and both walked away as state champions.
The Crusaders and the Falcons will have the opportunity to do it again in 2026.
Advertisement
Moeller took down Greater Catholic League-South rival St. Xavier in four sets for the Division I, Region 4 title, following up Fenwick’s reverse sweep win over Loveland in the Division II, Region 8 final.
Moeller and Fenwick advanced to the OHSAA state tournament at Wittenberg University on May 29 and May 30.
In the regional semifinals on May 20, the Loveland Tigers, the top seed in the Region 8 bracket, had a two-set lead over two-time defending champion McNicholas. The Rockets won the next two sets, forcing a winner-take-all set five that Loveland won 15-7.
Advertisement
Three days later against Fenwick with a state tournament appearance on the line, Loveland again took a two-set lead, but was forced into a fifth set. This time, the Falcons won out, taking the match 15-25, 22-25, 25-14, 25-18, 18-6.
“It sucks to lose in five,” Loveland head coach Brett VanCauwenbergh said. “Obviously that’s a very good Bishop Fenwick team, a very talented Bishop Fenwick team. That’s how volleyball is that it comes down to a couple points. We weren’t able to get the points today.”
Loveland and Fenwick met on the first day of the regular season in a tri-match with Mason. Loveland swept the Falcons, but Fenwick used the game as a building block to a better season.
“We were in a 5-1 offense, completely different (from now),” Fenwick head coach Tina Gustely said. “We also just had Will Lenz (come back) from basketball. Literally the first time he stepped on the court was that match. That was the first high school match for Ray Overbeck, our middle that’s a freshman so a lot is different.”
Lenz led the Falcons with 20 kills against Loveland. Kian O’Connell had 14 kills and Gabe Armstrong had 23 assists with Parker Povse adding 22 assists and four blocks. Overbeck had five service aces.
Advertisement
Loveland (22-4) reached the regional finals for the second-consecutive season. The Tigers graduate eight seniors in Clay Bebout, James Dickman, Andrew Dostal, Jacob Drown, Miles Ewald, Simon Keldsen, Tyler McCaleb and Ty Stokes.
“Only one of them plays club volleyball versus on Bishop Fenwick’s roster I think there’s one kid that doesn’t play club volleyball,” VanCauwenbergh said. “They’re really hard-working kids that have played a lot of years of JV volleyball to prepare us to try and fight in that game.”
Fenwick (20-6) has won 15 of its last 16 matches, only falling to St. Charles in a sweep on May 2. St. Charles, which beat Carroll for the Region 5 title, will be Fenwick’s opponent in the state semifinals at 4 p.m. on May 29.
Advertisement
For the last two seasons, the St. Xavier Bombers have been the Region 4 champions, including their 2024 Division I state championship season. That victory broke a streak of three consecutive Moeller Division I state titles.
The Bombers and the Crusaders met for the fourth time in 2026 in the regional final. Moeller held off St. Xavier, beating the Bombers 27-25, 26-24, 25-27, 25-22 to get back to the OHSAA state tournament.
“You can’t expect to play a team or any team in the GCL and get out of it easy,” Moeller head coach Casey Pieper said. “Getting to play those guys four times is tough and I’m really proud of our guys for sticking with it and just finishing a job. They didn’t back down this time.”
St. Xavier was a point away multiple times from taking the opening set, but Moeller fought back to win it and the next set for a 2-0 lead. Pieper, whose team had just watched Loveland lose after a 2-0 lead, reminded the Crusaders of it in the game.
Advertisement
“When you’re in a 2-0 situation, the pressure’s on them,” Pieper said. “If you don’t keep it up, then they can come back and make that play.”
The Bombers (18-7) tried to take each set point-by-point, turning around the game just like they turned around their season game-by-game. St. Xavier started the season 5-5, losing more in 10 games than they had the last two seasons combined.
At 5-5, though, the Bombers faced Moeller in the final round of the Centerville Elite, beating them in a two-out-of-three match. The Bombers went 12-2 from that point, losing just to Louisville St. Xavier and Moeller again on May 23.
“The guys knew that sticking with the program, sticking with the process will show results,” St. Xavier head coach Bill Ferris said. “That’s kind of what we talked about. We were right there.”
The Bombers graduated seven seniors in Ben Adkins, Michael Fortman, Rece Hausfeld, Henry Kane, Jacob Kreuzer, Luke Sorce and Joe Taggart. Taggart, last season’s Division I Player of the Year and a first-team All-Ohio pick again this year, had his 1,000th kill in the match.
Advertisement
“It’s not always easy when you have someone that good on your team,” Ferris said. “People look to him and some people feel slighted, some don’t quite get the attention they deserve because he takes so much of it, deservedly so. He’s probably the greatest physical player we’ve had come through this team.”
Pieper added about Taggart: “Joe is probably the best player in the state that I’ve ever seen. He is an incredible athlete.”
Dealing with Taggart’s attacks fell on Moeller senior libero Tyler Wong, the only Crusader left that was on the 2023 state winner.
“(Taggart) was hitting around him at the start of the game,” Pieper said. “Then (Wong) started to get just a couple touches because you’re never going to stop a guy like that or (St. Xavier freshman) Ben (Ferris) or any of those guys.
“He did an incredible job just getting the touches we needed to get through that game.”
Advertisement
Moeller (19-4) has only lost to Elder, St. Xavier (twice) and Kentucky state champion Louisville St. Xavier. The Crusaders will face Region 3 winner Thomas Worthington in the state semifinals at 2 p.m. on May 29.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Moeller, Fenwick win OHSAA boys volleyball regional championships
