Final four regular Independence ends Fairless' magic-carpet high school volleyball ride

ELYRIA - It has been a long time since the Fairless Falcons reached the state volleyball final four, longer still since Anthony Messina came through high school.

Messina was a Cleveland West senior in 1970, long before Fairless delivered a 1978 regional championship in a sport that wasn't part of his life. He studied at Cleveland State, became a CPA, and discovered volleyball when his daughter played at Parma Padua.

He dipped a toe in the coaching waters and shifted into an 11-year run as Padua's head coach that brought state championships in 2008 and 2009. This is his 11th year at Independence, the team that beat Fairless in the OHSAA Division III district finals Saturday night, 25-21, 25-18, 15-25, 25-19.

"He's been in the game a while," said Emily Richards, who is in her final days with Messina before heading for college to become a lawyer. "He knows what works."

It was the finish of a fantastic year for Fairless, which went from 11 wins across the previous three seasons to 17 wins in the last 2 1/2 months.

During the awards ceremony, the Falcons might not have been quite jubilant, but they definitely had a good time as district runner-up medals were hung on the necks.

"All I ask is for everybody to show up, do your part, play hard and have a good time," said second-year head coach Jennifer Wade. "I think they did that tonight."

The final battle came against a fascinating team.

Messina has guided Independence to the state final four in five of the last six seasons, the only exception being 2022.

There is an aura about Independence as soon as the Blue Devils take the floor. In this case it was long before Saturday's match began, and they had the Lorain Catholic gym to themselves.

Players formed a warmup circle. The 71-year-old Messina parked in the middle and led warmup stretches, which at one point morphed into push-ups, which he also did.

Fairless pushed against the aura. Freshman Ella Wade served the Falcons to a 5-0, first-set lead. All phases seemed sharp as the advantage hit 11-7, when Messina got a timeout, only to watch his team fall behind 15-9.

"I knew it was going to be a battle from watching them previously, the other day," Messina said. "They did a great job taking us out of our game. Their offense is a lot of out-of-system stuff, bump the ball up and it's going all over the place. It's hard to defense that."

Fairless coach Wade called timeout during a rally in which Independence caught the Falcons at 17-17.

Anna Jimasek's winner from the middle and two left-side spikes off sets highlighted Indepedence's surge to a 25-21 set win.

It was a tough district opponent for the Falcons at a distant location. They traveled nearly 80 miles, as opposed to Independence's 32-mile bus trip.

If the game could have been in Barberton, which actually is the site of next week's regionals, it would have been about a 30-mile jaunt for each team.

It was a road trip Fairless people will remember. The immaculate 60-year-old Lorain Catholic gym oozed with atmosphere. Hardwood bleachers formed a rectangle around the action with spectators, some costumed, shouting from every quadrant.

Fairless senior Jaileigh Price kept the second set from getting out of hand early with a smash point from the middle.

Wade worked the sideline in a walking boot, the result of a car accident 10 days earlier, continually clapping and exhorting.

"No way I could have sat down," she said.

A well-placed serve by Lydia Highben and a spike by Ella Wade triggered a Falcons run that became a 17-11 lead in the third set. Wade got a timeout when it shrank to 17-14, after which the Falcons fired on all cylinders and won the set going away.

In the fourth set, senior captain Richards, junior captain Sofia Smotek and sophomore sensation Haley Wilson led the way to an 8-2 lead from which the Falcons made it as close as 19-17.

"They were good at keeping the ball up," Richards said. "They were a challenge."

It was just the second battle against a Stark County team for Independence, which beat Marlington in September. Marlington won a Division II district title Saturday.

In a district semifinal doubleheader Wednesday, Fairless watched Independence eliminate Norwayne in three sets and then won a five-set marathon against Northwestern.

Independence advanced to Thursday's regional semifinals at Barberton against the winner of Saturday's Mineral Ridge-Lake Catholic district final.

Teams winning district titles need four more wins to be state champ. The state tournament for the four OHSAA divisions will be conducted Nov. 9-11 at Wright State University.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Independence ousts Fairless in high school district girls volleyball