A BRIEF REVIEW OF OHIO VOLLEYBALL AND THE OHSVCA
1972
Title IX becomes national law; Dolores “Dee” Billhardt becomes the first female assistant commissioner to the OHSAA.
1973
The first Girls’ Volleyball Advisory Committee to the OHSAA is named: Coordinator, Diana Ford, Bexley HS; Central District rep, Ethel Drake, Walnut Ridge HS; Eastern District rep, Marge Bricker, Zanesville HS; Northeast District rep, Mary Jo Kaufmann, Akron St. Vincent-St.Mary HS; Northwest District rep, Barbara Hocking, Malabar HS; Southeast District rep, Sharon Myers, Waverly HS; and Southwest District rep, Louise Darling, West Liberty-Salem JHS. The GVAC’s main purpose was to make recommendations to the OHSAA for the improvement of volleyball in Ohio. Twelve contests are permitted to be played in high school volleyball.
1974
The GVAC organizes the first State Volleyball Coaches Clinic. It is held at St. John Arena and Doug Beal and Sue Collins of OSU are the main speakers. It is a one day clinic that includes lunch and the state rules interpretation meeting for volleyball. Cost is an overwhelming $4.00! The OHSAA switches from DGWS Rules to the present National Federation Rules.
1975
The first state volleyball tournament is held In November at the Rike Center, Otterbein College in Westerville. All matches are played in one day. Champions crowned are Class A: Frankfort Adena; Class AA: Cincinnati Ursuline Academy; Class AAA: Stow. The Men’s National Volleyball Team begins training at a fulltime site - Wright State University. Sports Imports, Inc. locates in Columbus and begins selling Senoh volleyball equipment.
1976
Girls’ are now allowed to play fifteen matches in volleyball. Mary Jo Peppler is the featured clinician at the State Volleyball Coaches Clinic.
1979
Contest number allowed rises to twenty-two. Sue Gozansky is the main speaker at the State Volleyball Coaches Clinic held at Bexley HS.
1980
Ruth Nelson and Ken Preston are the featured speakers at the new two-day State Coaches Clinic. Cost is $15.00.
1981
The State Volleyball Tournament starts on Friday night for the first time. Eventual champions include Archbold in Class A; Medina Highland in Class AA, and Stow in Class AAA.
1983
In January, Upper Arlington HS hosts the first meeting of the newly formed Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association. Thirty-eight coaches are present as Rod Ebright handles the agenda. In April, the newly elected officers are Rod Ebright, president; Chuck Braden, vice- president, Jenny Young, recording secretary; Madge Klingensmith, secretary-treasurer; and Cathy Seipel, (acting) past-president . In August, Dee Billhardt honors the GVAC at their last clinic as they will disband in November due to the OHSVCA. The OHSVCA ratifies its first constitution at their general meeting. In September, the first statewide coaches poll is released by Chuck Braden. Recognized as the number one teams in Ohio are Newark Catholic in Class A; River View in Class AA; and Mother of Mercy in Class AAA. In October, the charter OHSVCA NEWSLETTER is sent to the membership. There are three newsletters in the first volume due to the hard work of Rod Ebright and Jenny Young. In November, our first poll champs are named with Newark Catholic winning Class A; Bellevue, Class AA,; and Canton McKinley winning Class AAA. The state champions are Newark Catholic, Springfield Northwestern in Class AA and Canton McKinley. Also in November, the first All-Ohio teams are announced, the first All-Star matches are held at Grandview HS, and Coaches of the Year are named. Char Sharp wins in Class A, Bill Cramer in Class AA, and Sue Davis in Class AAA.
1984
The OHSVCA takes over the State Volleyball Coaches Clinic and it moves to Upper Arlington HS with a May date. Clinicians are Carol Dewey and Mike Hebert.
1985
New officers began their terms for the OHSVCA. They include Rod Ebright as past-president, Chuck Braden as president, Grace Hutchinson as vice-president, Tim Zerull as treasurer, and Jenny Young as recording secretary. The State Volleyball Tournament moves to St. John Arena at OSU. Champions that year are St. Henry in Class A; Fairview Park Fairview in Class AA; and Cincinnati Seton in Class AAA. The first Scholarship Award winner is Sallie Mertler of Norwalk HS.
1986
Charlotte Basnett is hired as the Executive Secretary of the OHSVCA. Char takes over the newsletter (now five per year ), the membership information, and clinic registration. The State Volleyball Tournament moves once again, but this time to the Univ. of Dayton. Canal Winchester wins the Class A crown, Springfield Northwestern wins the Class AA crown, and Cincinnati Seton repeats in Class AAA.
1987
Grace Hutchinson becomes the new president, Chuck Braden the past-president, Sonny Lewls is elected as the new vice-president, and our treasurer, secretary, and executive secretary stay the same. The OHSVCA offers a lifetime membership to coaches, the junior high volleyball advisory board is added to the association with Dave Pallenik as coordinator. They take on the task of the OHSVCA DRILL BOOK.
1988
In the spring, the OHSVCA honors its players with a Scholar/Athlete Award for maintaining a 3.500 GPA or higher. It also honors teams maintaining a 3.000 GPA. Boys volleyball, college coaches, sad officials are now part of the advisory boards to the OHSVCA. Cathy Ames becomes the new recording secretary and Carolyn Rammel becomes the new treasurer. In September, Dolores Billhardt passes away due to injuries sustained in an automobile accident. The state tournament finally becomes a complete two-day affair with the semifinals played on Friday and the finals on Saturday. Newark Catholic wins in Class A; Fairview Park Fairview wins in Class AA; and Cincinnati Seton wins in Class AAA. Final Four pins are given by the OHSVCA to all the teams competing in the state tournament. The OHSVCA Hall of Fame inducts its first members, Char Sharp and Bob MacFarland. Scholarship Awards go to three winners of the $100.00 honor.
1989
The OHSVCA undergoes major restructuring with Grace Hutchinson as president. New offices include vice-president of the clinic, vice-president of the all-star matches, and the awards/poll secretary. In April, Dr. Deborah Moore is amed the new female assistant commissioner to the OHSAA.
1990
Officers with the restructuring in place include Sonny Lewls as president, Cheryl Laws as vice-president: clinic, Cathie Kindler as vice-president: all-star matches, Cathy Ames as recording secretary, Carolyn Rammel as treasurer, Chuck Braden es awards/poll secretary, and Char Basnett as executive secretary. The OHSAA cuts volleyball back to twenty matches in the regular season. Volleyball goes to four divisions and the state tournament begins on Thursday night. The Division I crown goes to Stow, Division II to Akron Hoban, Division III to St. Henry, and Division IV goes to Ft. Recovery.
1991
The State Volleyball Tournament moves to Wright State University as Canton McKinley takes home the Division I championship, Akron Hoban wins the Division II championship, Loudonville wins the Division III championship, and West Unity Hiltop wins the Division IV championship. The Media Award is given for the first time to the News-Herald Sports Dept., Willoughby; Mike Reinhart of WSRWR Radio and Chuck Ridenour of the Shelby Globe, Shelby; WCSM Radio Sports, St. Mary’s; Christy Zempter of the Portsmouth Daily Times; Brian Rapp of the Suburban News Publication, Columbus. The College Scholarship Award goes to four winners and is increased to $300.00 per winner. Pam Witzmann is named to the OHSAA Sports, Ethics, and Integrity Committee to represent volleyball. The first Elite Camp for players is held at Bowling Green State University with Grace Hutchinson as its director
1992
As the OHSVCA continues to grow, So do the responsibilities. Alan Swank is named as vice-president and Cathy Ames is named as Historian.
1993
The OHSVCA celebrated its 10th year! The membership grew to 900 members strong. Clinician at the Coaches Clinic was Cecile Reynaud of Florida Statue University. Winners of the OHSAA State Tourney were Cinc. Ursuline Academy in Div. I, Cinc. St. Ursula in Div. II, Eastwood in Div. III, and Buckeye Central in Div. IV. Buckeye Central not only was undefeated, but never lost a game during the entire season! The State All-Star Match was held at Baldwin-Wallace in Berea.
1994
The Clinic was held in August (a change from June) at Westerville South HS with Bob Price taking over as our Clinic Vice-President (Cheryl Laws retired from that office). Head clinician was Sheldon Collier. After eight years of service as our executive secretary, Charlotte Basnett retired and Laura Smith assumed the responsibilities of that office. We neared 1000 in our membership. OHSVCA Scholarship winners were: Amy VandenEynden of Cinc. Ursuline Academy, Div. I; Jamie Dearth of Marlington HS, Div. II; Stacie Bahmer of Ridgewood, Div. III; and Hollie Borton of Hilltop HS, Div. IV. The State All-Star Match moved to Athens at Ohio University.
1995
Schools are now allowed to play 22 matches over 18 playing dates. The net for Junior High/Middle schools is lowered to 7 feet, and high school teams in Ohio experiment with the receiving team rotating on the first side out. St. Henry wins their second straight state tourney and Cinc. St. Ursula makes it three in a row in Div. II. Canton McKinley hosts the All-Star Match in November.
1996
Archbold’s Char Sharp was selected as Ohio’s NFICA Coach of the Year. The All-Star Match moved to Ada, Ohio and Ohio Northern Universtiy. ONU also hosted the Elite Camp. Sue Thomas of Rossford HS was the Volleyball SEI Award winner. Coaches of the Year were as follows: Div. I – Anita Jorney-Gifford of Wooster HS; Div. II – Julie Thoman_perry of Cinc. St. Ursula HS; Div. III – Char Sharp of Archbold HS; and Div. IV – Lori Schwieterman of St. Henry. Sue Brady was our Hall of Fame Inductee.
1997
The State Coaches Clinic featured Linda Grensing of Duke University as the head clinician while Barry Stebbins, drill book coordinator, put together the “Best of the Best” edition for the clinic. The two day regional was voted down once again by the OHSAA Board of Control despite the fact the state’s principals and athletic directors voted in favor of the two day regional. Chuck Braden retired as the Awards/Poll Coordinator and Tom Kohl (Awards) and Cathie Kindler (Polls) stepped in to those positions. Char Sharp and Bob MacFarland were honored at the clinic for reaching the 500 Victories Milestone (our first). Carolyn Balis from Cuyahoga Heights HS was honored with the SEI Award. The OHSVCA Hospitality Room continues to be a success at the State Tournament. Diana Ford, Judy Gregory, and Mary Howard were inducted into the OHSVCA Hall of Fame at the State All-Star Match.
1998
National Federation rules eliminated the block or attack of a serve. Spalding was selected as the official match ball for all OHSAA sponsored tournaments. Greg Giovanzzi of the University of Michigan was the head speaker at the State Coaches Clinic. The OHSVCA began establishing a web site and worked on a new honor – the Lifetime Achievement Award. Cinc. St. Ursula won the Div. II State Tourney for an unprecedented sixth time in a row! The All-Star Match moved to Wooster HS, and Agnes Timmons was the SEI Award winner. Hall of Fame inductees included Dolores Billhardt, Beth Elwood, Joyce Hall, and Carol Russo.
1999
Over 400 coaches pre-registered for the August clinic – this was the largest pre-registration ever. Mike Sweitzer of the University of Akron replace Teri Clemens as the main speaker at the Coaches Clinic (this was due to illness). Nancy Hanger of Clyde HS was the SEI Award winner and Char Sharp was a finalist for the NHSACA Coach of the Year Award. Hall of Fame rings were made available for qualifying coaches to purchase, and Don Conser of Salem HS was inducted into the Hall of Fame. OHSVCA membership goes over 800 with 350 lifetime members. Jayne Klingel of Marion River Valley ran the website, and Elite camp participants received a pin instead of a t-shirt at the camp. Poll voters could mail, fax, or e-mail the ballots to Cathie Kindler.
2000
Finally! The OHSAA tourneys included a two day regional format! Officials had to wear a while “polo” style shirt. New officials must go through adult education training. Schools were permitted five scrimmages and a preview. Ohio experimented with a rule that permitted unlimited individual entries with a team limit of 18 substitutions. Multiple contacts were permitted on the first teamhit, provided there was no finger action. Cecile Reynaud of Florida State University was the main speaker for the second time (1993 was the first). SEI Award winner was Lorna Miller. Sonny Lewis retired from the OHSVCA presidency and became our past president. Carol Russo was selected as our president and Kaye Keller becomes the new treasurer.