Ohio
How could the 2025 high school volleyball postseason shake out for Southwest Ohio’s teams?
McNicholas volleyball captains tell which opponents they respect
Nothing but respect: McNicholas volleyball captains Allie Runte, Sarah Hutchinson and Lauren Radtke share the opponents they respect and why.
It’s hard to believe, but there are just over four weeks left in the Ohio high school volleyball season.
With the release of the statewide postseason brackets on Oct. 5, it’s time to analyze each team’s path to the Nutter Center in Fairborn.
Cincinnati could send as many as six teams to this year’s state tournament and there is the possibility for multiple rematches from the 2024 postseason along the way.
No matter which teams emerge out of each district, region and division, there will surely be some exciting volleyball along the way.
Here are the first-round matchups, analysis and regional semifinal predictions for each division.
Division I
First-round matchups: Springboro vs. Springfield, Hamilton vs. Fairfield, Mason vs. Hamilton/ Fairfield winner; Lakota West vs. Little Miami, Lebanon vs. Oak Hills; Sycamore vs. Milford; Seton vs. Western Hills, Lakota East vs. Princeton; Loveland vs. Middletown; St. Ursula vs. Walnut Hills, Colerain vs. West Clermont
Analysis: Having teams in multiple regions opens up the possibility for an all-Cincinnati state semifinal.
Seton, which has only dropped two sets all season, is the overwhelming favorite in Region 4. The Saints could see a regional final rematch with Mason, which has risen to No. 3 in the state in recent weeks. The Comets recently went on a 14-match winning streak but were swept by Seton on Oct. 7.
What are the odds that St. Ursula and Loveland, which played an epic DII regional final in 2024, could face off on the same stage this season after moving up to DI? It’s looking like a reality since both teams are in fairly weak district brackets. Granted, they’d both have to get past a Central district team in the regional semifinals.
My other two picks to make the regional tournament are Lebanon and Milford. District titles would be a pleasant reward for having to endure this year’s Eastern Cincinnati Conference gauntlet.
Regional semifinal predictions: Lebanon vs. Seton, Mason vs. Milford in Region 4; Loveland vs. Pickerington Central, St. Ursula vs. Olentangy Berlin in Region 3
Division II
First-round matchups: Kings vs. Winton Woods; Mount Notre Dame vs. Edgewood; Anderson vs. Harrison
Analysis: Kings and Mount Notre Dame have inside tracks to the regional tournament, as both are the only teams in their respective district brackets with winning records.
Anderson vs. Harrison could be the best district semifinal. The Raptors did beat the Wildcats in four sets on Sept. 13. The winner of that match will most likely face Northmont, which is the only team with a winning record out of the North.
Regional semifinal predictions: Kings vs. Dublin Scioto, Mount Notre Dame vs. Anderson
Division III
First-round matchups: Hughes vs. New Richmond, Mt. Healthy vs. Ursuline; Turpin vs. Northwest, Western Brown vs. Wilmington; Badin vs. Goshen, Withrow vs. Talawanda; Ross vs. Woodward, Monroe vs. Ross/Woodward winner
Analysis: Before the season, many would have seen Ursuline and Turpin playing in a second straight regional final. Instead, they will most likely meet in the regional semifinal.
Don’t be mistaken, the DIII regional tournament will be incredibly talented. Tippecanoe, which pushed Ursuline to five sets last year, is undefeated this season. Ross won its first outright Southwestern Buckeye League title and set a program record for wins.
The most intriguing bracket in DIII, Region 12 involves Badin and Talawanda. The Rams and Brave face off on Oct. 9 and will most likely see each other again in the district semifinal. Talawanda is 14-6 so far. Badin is 8-11 after graduating a talented senior class.
Regional semifinal predictions: Ursuline vs. Turpin, Ross vs. Tippecanoe
Division IV
First-round matchups: DePaul Cristo-Rey vs. North College Hill, McNicholas vs. DPCR/ NCH winner; Gamble Montessori vs. Clinton-Massie; Waynesville vs. Dunbar; Bethel-Tate vs. Purcell Marian; Indian Hill vs. BT/ PM winner, Fenwick vs. Shroder; Taylor vs. Roger Bacon, Mercy McAuley vs. Taft; Batavia vs. Wyoming, CHCA vs. SCPA
Analysis: Cincinnati has four of the top five teams in the state in Division IV (No. 1 McNicholas, No. 2 Fenwick, No. 3 CHCA, No. 5 Taylor). Add in Roger Bacon and Mercy McAuley, who, even with sub-.500 records, will always be competitive in the postseason. One word to describe the regional tournament: electric. No matter which teams will be featured, those three matches will produce some of the best volleyball in the state.
Taylor, Roger Bacon and Mercy McAuley all being in the same district is tough. Whichever team makes it out alive will earn a berth to the district final and should advance to the regional semifinal.
Regional semifinal predictions: McNicholas vs. CHCA, Fenwick vs. Mercy McAuley
Division V
First-round matchups: Georgetown vs. Blanchester, Madeira vs. Georgetown/ Blanchester winner, Seven Hills vs. Norwood; Clermont Northeastern vs. Mariemont, Deer Park vs. Williamsburg; Summit Country Day vs. Clark Montessori, Reading vs. Finneytown
Analysis: Division V is where we start to see a lot of Cincinnati Hills League, Miami Valley Conference and Southern Buckeye Athletic & Academic Conference teams.
Madeira is the highest seed in its portion of the bracket. The Amazons would face either Norwood or Seven Hills in the district semifinal. Those two are a combined 0-5 against the CHL this season.
As for the Clermont Northeastern/ Mariemont/ Deer Park/ Williamsburg sector, you could pick a name out of hat as to who makes the district final. Mariemont and Deer Park split their season series, as did CNE and Williamsburg.
Once the postseason begins, Summit Country Day will be five wins away from its first-ever state tournament. The regional tournament could be the hardest part of the journey as the Silver Knights would probably face either Milford Center Fairbanks or Versailles, which ended SCD’s 2024 campaign in the district final. Both teams appeared in the 2024 DV regional tournament.
Regional semifinal predictions: Versailles vs. Milford Center Fairbanks, Summit Country Day vs. Miami East
Division VI
First-round matchups: MVCA vs. Oyler, Fayetteville-Perry vs. Cincinnati Christian; Cincinnati Country Day vs. St. Bernard-Elmwood Place, East Clinton vs. CCD/ SBEP winner
Analysis: Two teams from The Enquirer’s coverage area are guaranteed to make the district finals. East Clinton (19-2) and MVCA (15-4) are the top two seeds in the South brackets. East Clinton could face North No. 1 seed Arcanum (17-4), which has won three straight Western Ohio Athletic Conference titles but has also only won three postseason games since 2021.
An intriguing early-round possible matchup is MVCA vs. Cincinnati Christian. The Lions won their third Miami Valley Conference title in the last five years, but the Cougars have arguably played a tougher schedule.
Regional semifinalist predictions: St. Henry vs. MVCA, East Clinton vs. Fort Recovery
Division VII
First-round matchups: Felicity-Franklin vs. Spencer, New Miami vs. Felicity-Franklin. Spencer winner; CCPA vs. Lockland, Middletown Christian vs. CCPA/ Lockland winner;
Analysis: Just like in DVI, Southwest Ohio is guaranteed two district finalists. The only problem is, whichever teams make it that far will most likely face state-ranked Russia and Covington.
Middletown Christian and New Miami are the top two seeds in the South and will each only have to win one game to get to the district final.
Regional semifinalist predictions: Russia vs. Leipsic, Covington vs. Fort Loramie
Out of prison, Indiana’s caviar king back on Ohio River to find fishing holes taken
David Cox, of English, Indiana, says once he began setting his nets again after a two-year prison sentence and a three-year ban on commercial fishing, all of his once-secret spots were taken.
Can you eat fish from the Ohio River?
In 1975, future presidential candidate Michael Dukakis, then governor of Massachusetts, bet 20 pounds of New England cod that the Red Sox would defeat the Reds in the World Series. If things went south for Boston, Ohio governor James Rhodes promised to send Dukakis 10 pounds of Lake Erie perch and 10 pounds of Ohio River catfish. The Reds ended up winning and the cod was sent to the Convalescent Home for Children, in Cincinnati.
At the time, people were still eating catfish from the Ohio without too much concern. The fish were also served at several restaurants along the river.
There were warnings in 1977
But two years later, in 1977, The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission released the results of a study of contaminants found in the tissues of Ohio River fish. They warned anglers in cities such as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, Wheeling and Gallipolis that man-made chemicals known as PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, had been discovered in the river fish. Later, high concentrations of mercury were discovered in the fish, too.
Thanks to the Clean Water Act of 1972 and the environmental regulations that followed, the river is now cleaner than it was in the seventies. And it’s still teeming with a variety of fish, including catfish, striped bass, drum and black bass, among other species.
But even though PCBs were banned by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1979, they are still found in fish, since they remain in the sediment in the bottom of the river. “Organisms live in the sediment and fish feed on them,” Rich Cogen, the executive director of the Ohio River Foundation told The Enquirer. Mercury is also a big problem, according to Cogen.
So the question is: Can you eat fish caught in the Ohio River?
The short answer is yes. But it depends on what species you are eating and where along the river you caught it.
There are also very strict limitations on how frequently you should eat them, according to the web site for the Ohio Sport Fish Consumption Advisory, part of the Ohio Department of Health.
In areas of the river between the Belleville Lock, located 204 miles downstream from the river’s origins in Pittsburgh, to the Indiana border, the advisory agency currently recommends consuming Ohio River fish no more than once a month max. That area includes Adams, Brown, Clermont, Gallia, Hamilton, Lawrence, Meigs and Scioto counties.
Here’s where to check
Recommendations change throughout the year, but you can keep up by visiting the Ohio Department of Health’s Sport Fish Consumption Advisory page, which provides updated information on when certain fish, usually bottom feeders such as carp, are deemed too dangerous to eat at all.
Here’s who should take a pass on Ohio River fish
The agency also warns that people who are more likely to have health effects from eating contaminated fish, includingchildren younger than 15 years old, pregnant women and women who are planning to become pregnant to avoid Ohio River fish altogether.
Just because you have to limit the amount of fish you eat, doesn’t mean the river is a bad place for fishing, as long as you limit your intake or do catch-and-release fishing. Just make sure you have a proper fishing license before casting your line.
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It isn’t over until it’s over. That’s the case for both the UCLA Bruins football program recruiting and for quarterback Brady Edmunds. Edmunds is currently committed to head to Ohio State but he took a visit from UCLA offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy earlier this week.
Kennedy met Edmunds on Thursday despite the fact that the quarterback has been committed to the Buckeyes since December of 2024 but could the UCLA Bruins be making a run at flipping the quarterback?
Edmunds has only had an official visit with Ohio State but could UCLA heave a heat check on the 6’5” quarterback? New UCLA head coach Bob Chesney is off to an unbelievable start to his recruiting with the Bruins and flipping a recruit of Edmunds’ caliber would be his most impressive move yet.
247 Sports has Edmunds as the No. 16 quarterback in the class, which would give UCLA a clear predecessor for Nico Iamaleava whenever the Bruins current starting quarterback decides to head to the professional level.
It’d be a full circle moment for the Bruins, as Edmunds was originally recruited to Ohio State by former UCLA head coach Chip Kelly, who bailed on UCLA to go run the Buckeyes offense. Ohio State is a great spot for a developing quarterback, as the Buckeyes produce tons of NFL talent, especially at the wide receiver position, which would help Edmunds put up some gaudy numbers in Columbus.
Chesney and the Bruins have geography on their side, Edmunds attends Huntington Beach High School in Southern California, which could potentially become a factor if Edmunds views UCLA as a program on the rise that’d be much closer to his friends and family than out in Ohio.
Time will tell if Kennedy’s visit will make a difference but UCLA’s recruiting has made waves in the first offseason under Chesney and the new regime.
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