Spartans fall to Medina in regional semi
Trending
MENTOR -- Boardman's best season in nearly two decades came to an end Thursday night, as the Spartans fell in 3-1 to Medina Highland in the Division III, Region 9, semifinals at Mentor High School.
"I thought we played decent," Boardman head coach Rebecca Martinez said. "They’re a well-put-together team. We definitely could have beat them on a good night."
Neither the Spartans nor the Hornets managed to create much separation in the first set. After Highland took a 10-6 lead behind a series of kills by Gigi Shank, Boardman, leaning on star outside hitter Maya Flores, won four straight points to tie it.
The Spartans similarly stuck close behind late into the set. However, after Boardman pulled back within a pair of points to make it 22-20 Highland, the Hornets closed the opening set strong, winning three consecutive points to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
Motivated by the first-set defeat, the Spartans charged out to a 5-2 lead to open the second set. Soon after, they extended their advantage with a flurry of six straight points and 11 of 12 to take a commanding 20-8 lead.
Although the Hornets slowed Boardman down and won four of the next five points, the Spartans had little trouble finishing off the set 25-13.
"I thought we rebounded really well," Martinez said. "Our team, we've been cool, calm and collected all season long. And I think that they keep that, as well as bringing energy when needed. I thought that they rebounded really well, and didn’t let the other team see how much it hurt them that they beat them. And then they came back and really beat them. I was impressed."
Nearly a third of the way through the third set, the teams remained tied at 7. Highland, though, then ripped off five points in a row and built a six-point edge by the time Martinez took her first timeout.
The break had a stabilizing effect for the Spartans, but by trading points back and forth, Highland inched closer to a set victory.
After Boardman earned the first consecutive points since the timeout, the teams resumed the seesaw action, even through another Spartan timeout, and the Hornets won the third set 25-20.
With the momentum solidly in Highland's favor, Boardman struggled to find its footing in the fourth and final set.
In a reversal of the second set, the Hornets took control early, building a 14-6 lead and forcing Martinez to use both of her timeouts. The breaks, unfortunately for the Spartans, did little to slow down Highland, which continued to dominate.
Down the stretch of the fourth set, Boardman could not string together more than a pair of points. Meanwhile, the Hornets had no such trouble, and cruised to a 25-12 win.
"I think it was just momentum at that point," Martinez said. "I don’t think we made any more errors than they did at that point."
While Highland will advance to Saturday's regional final, Boardman's season ended with Thursday's loss.
The Spartans, who finished with a 19-7 record, earned the program's first district championship since 2007 last weekend when they defeated Midview.
"This year, I told the girls that we put ourselves on the map with this, making the district championships and coming this far," Martinez said. "People sometimes don’t want to go to Boardman because programs aren’t what they think they are. And now we have a name for ourselves. And I think that’s something that these seniors should be proud of because they’re the ones who led us here."
Martinez, who has now led the Spartans to back-to-back 19-win seasons, viewed 2026, despite a disappointing end, in a positive light.
"We knew it was going to end at some point, so we kind of were preparing for that along the way," Martinez said. "We just wanted to make sure the girls gave 110% every time that they stepped out on that court from point zero to point 25. And I told them that if they can do that, then they should walk with no tears, happy, heads up and be proud of the season that they have."