Thomas Worthington sweeps Jerome for OHSAA volleyball regional title

After winning an opening-set marathon, the Thomas Worthington boys volleyball team went on to sweep Dublin Jerome 33-31, 25-14, 25-19 in the Division I, Region 3 final May 22 at Grove City, earning a return trip to the state tournament.

The Cardinals, who lost in last year's state final, will play Cincinnati Moeller or Cincinnati St. Xavier in a state semifinal at 2 p.m. May 29 at Wittenberg University.

“This one is very sweet,” Thomas coach Brian Lawless said. “We lost a lot of guys – we graduated a lot of guys – and the expectations around the state were maybe we wouldn’t be able to compete at the same level again. To be back in the same situation again is tremendous. I’m super proud of this team.”

In the Region 1 final, top-seeded Olentangy Berlin (21-5) defeated third-seeded Gahanna Lincoln (18-8) 25-20, 25-21, 20-25, 25-20 on May 22 at home. The Bears will play Cleveland St. Ignatius or Hudson in the other state semifinal at noon May 29.

The state final is at noon May 30 at Wittenberg.

Last season, Thomas lost to St. Ignatius 25-17, 25-23, 17-25, 20-25, 16-14 in the state title match.

The top-seeded Cardinals (23-3) locked up their return trip to state by beating OCC-Cardinal rival Jerome (22-4). The teams split two league meetings, with Thomas (9-1) finishing first and Jerome (8-2) second.

The second-seeded Celtics led for most of the opening set before Thomas rallied, taking its first lead at 18-17. Alex Ondo’s assist to Micah Johnson for a kill and Ondo’s kill closed out the set.

Jerome again had a lead in the second set before Thomas rallied behind Ondo, Jacob Pitts and Drew Barnes. Ondo’s ace capped the set win.

The Cardinals never trailed in the third set, with Ondo securing the regional title with two kills.

“We had our opportunities and we didn’t capitalize,” Jerome coach Phil Cagnoli said. “Sometimes that's just how the game goes. You have to give them a lot of credit.”

Barnes finished with 12 digs, while Ondo had 11 kills, Pitts had nine and Johnson added seven.

High school sports reporter Frank DiRenna can be reached at fdirenna@dispatch.com and at @DispatchFrank on X.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Thomas Worthington boys volleyball earns return trip to state