Tiffin Calvert stayed perfect on Thursday, November 12, sweeping Westerville Northside Christian 25-8, 25-12, 25-16 in an Ohio High School Athletic Association Division VII state volleyball semifinal at Wright State University’s Nutter Center, according to The Columbus Dispatch’s state tournament report. The Senecas are 28-0 and will play Fort Loramie for the Division VII state championship at 6 p.m. on Friday, November 13, at the Nutter Center.
There was little suspense in Thursday’s noon semifinal. The Dispatch reported that Calvert dominated throughout, winning the opener 25-8 and never letting Northside Christian — a Westerville school competing in its first state tournament — build any momentum across the three sets. Northside Christian finished its season 25-3, with the loss ending the program’s deepest postseason run.
Calvert is playing in its fourth consecutive state tournament and is seeking its first state title since 2020 and the third in school history, according to The Columbus Dispatch. The Stateline Sports Network, which also covered Thursday’s semifinals, noted that both Division VII semifinals ended in sweeps, setting up a Friday night final between the unbeaten Senecas and a Fort Loramie team that has made a habit of playing for titles.
Fort Loramie, now 24-4, swept Newark Catholic 27-25, 25-18, 25-19 in Thursday’s other semifinal, according to The Columbus Dispatch and the Stateline Sports Network. Press Pros Magazine reported that Fort Loramie trailed 9-1 at the start of that match before rallying to take the first set 27-25, and that the Redskins will play for their third state title overall and their second in three years.
Friday’s final pairs the division’s two standard-bearers. Press Pros Magazine described Tiffin Calvert as the gold standard of Division VII volleyball alongside New Bremen, noting the programs have largely dictated the division’s state finals since 2017. Calvert’s unbeaten record makes the Senecas the favorite, but Fort Loramie’s comeback from an early nine-point hole on Thursday showed a team comfortable in the tournament’s biggest moments.
For Seneca County fans, the championship match is a short-notice road trip worth making: the final is set for 6 p.m. Friday at the Nutter Center in Fairborn, the Friday nightcap of the OHSAA volleyball state finals weekend, according to the Stateline Sports Network. Tickets for OHSAA postseason contests are available through the association’s website.
Whatever Friday brings, Calvert has already authored the finest season in the region this fall — 28 matches, 28 wins, and a state semifinal won by a combined 38 points. One more win would complete a perfect season and return the Division VII trophy to Tiffin for the first time since 2020.
Photo: Tiffin419Ohio, CC BY-SA