Loveland Tigers, sophomore McWaters charging into OHSAA postseason
After falling short in the regional tournament a year ago, the Loveland Tigers are storming back as the top seed in Division II, Region 8.
In the Ohio High School Athletic Association boys volleyball postseason a year ago, the Loveland Tigers battled through a Region 8 bracket that was stacked on one side to avoid No. 1 McNicholas. The Tigers and their No.
3 seed beat out the No. 2, 4, 5 and 6 seeds to face McNicholas in the regional final . The Rockets won 25-21, 25-20, 25-21 and went on to win their second-straight Division II title .
Fast forward a year, and despite graduating first-team All-Eastern Cincinnati Conference standouts Colton Baker and Carter Lucas, the Tigers are back even stronger behind sophomore Gavin McWaters. McWaters has over 260 kills this year with a regular-season game to go, leading the Tigers to a 19-2 mark, the ECC championship and the top seed in the regional tournament . "I tell people it's a blessing to coach him," Loveland coach Brett VanCauwenbergh said.
"It's really fun. I feel like there's some times where it feels like he's part of the coaching staff. Super high volleyball IQ on top of being a 6-foot-7 monster as a sophomore.