This Wednesday Olentangy Liberty volleyball will take on cross town rival Olentangy Berlin at Patriot Stadium for playoff round 3 of the varsity volleyball season.
OLENTANGY LIBERTY
The Patriots are on a roll thus far, having big wins in the first and second round, alongside a dominant 15-7 regular season. Liberty is looking to take down the Berlin Bears in this third round of playoffs.
Three key players to look for on the offense this week will be seniors Max Harris, Andrew Mulyadi, and Sophomore Rohil Paruchuri. Paruchuri has been the best server, leading the team with 38 aces. Andrew Mulyadi has been on the rise and plays the Libero. Another player that has been dominant is Harris. He has been the strongest player on Liberty with 8 kills in the 2nd round vs. Reynoldsburg alone. Harris is using his strength to get kills and will be killing Berlin’s defense all night.
The defense has also done its job. Three key players to look for on the defense this week include seniors Will Larkin and Tyler Ozbun. Larkin and Ozbun have been locking down the net, not allowing balls to get behind him. Larkin plays a key role in the defense and helps keep the score low. Ozbun’s ability to read the offense is impeccable and it helps create pressure to get the block.
OLENTANGY BERLIN
Similar to Liberty, Berlin has also been on a roll so far in these playoffs, coming off huge wins against Newark and Pickerington Central in the first couple of rounds, alongside a dominant 17-5 record during the regular season. They did get the best of Liberty in their last matchup, beating Liberty 2-0 on March 21.
Their biggest offensive threat is Junior Kushal Patyam. Patyam is the captain of Berlin volleyball, running the court as the leader of the offense with 3.1 kills per set and had 7 vs Pick Central. He stands at 6 ft 2 inches tall and weighs 155 lbs, and specializes in hitting. He ranks 1st in kills in the OCC this season. He’ll have Sophomore Matthew Klemann passing him the rock. Klemann has been productive with the digs. He leads the team with 265 total digs, and it most certainly doesn’t help to be matched up against the Liberty defense. If Berlin wants to win this one, their offense has to click fast and find a way to get past the Patriots.
On the other side of the ball, Berlin has Senior Ty Cunningham. Cunningham plays middle hitter. At 6 ft 8 in and 190 lbs, he’s one of the tallest players in the Olentangy division, and will definitely play a factor in the game. He had 7 total blocks vs Upper Arlington on 5/1. With this being said, Cunningham has a serious chance to feast at the net. This has potential to be a big night for the Berlin Bears, they just have to play their cards right.
OVERALL
This is a game that could really go either way. Both teams have had very similar offensive struggles paired with defensive dominance. Berlin has athletes that’ll certainly be a key factor in this one, but we believe that Liberty’s got this game in the bag.
MADDOX: PATS 3 BEARS 2
ZAIN: PATS 3 BEARS 1