​For the second consecutive year, Southwest Ohio is sending five teams to the Ohio High School Athletic Association volleyball state tournament.All five are regional powers, as Seton, St. Ursula, Kings, McNicholas and Fenwick are, at the very least, making a second trip in the last four years. Collectively, they have won 19 state championships and can add as many as four more this weekend.Seton owes its success to multitude of weaponsWhile Seton has had its standout players on the way to a third consecutive state tournament appearance (Charley Moeddel and Penelope Reisman were named to the All-Ohio first team), the key has been balance. Five different players have had 10 kills in a match this season, six players have served at least 30 aces.Each player has had their time to shine. Leah Nicholas had a career-high 13 kills in a win at McNicholas, freshman Chloe Poland posted four blocks each in wins over Ursuline and Mount Notre Dame, and Makenna Meibers has posted double-digit digs on 10 occasions, six coming in the second half of the season.”We’re full of really good players and especially in the last month, we’ve had a couple kids really pick up the slack as scouting reports get better and better against what you’re trying to do,” Seton head coach Kelly Crowley said.Olentangy Liberty (23-3) is making its second state tournament appearance; the Patriots fell to Cleveland St. Joseph in the 2024 semifinals. They are led by senior defensive specialist Delaney Larkin, who was named first-team All-Ohio. Freshman Quinn Smith leads them with 248 kills, sophomore Sophia Aquillo is the starting setter and Caroline Scott is in the top three in kills and blocks.”Obviously, to make it this far, everybody’s talented and does some things really well. We’ve got some challenges ahead of us but we’re prepared. We feel like we bring a lot of pressure in a lot of different areas, we feel like we’re a really good defensive team and we’re pretty balanced offensively,” Crowley said.The Saints and Bears take the court at 6 p.m. Nov. 12 at Butler High School.With a win, the Saints could help set up an all-Cincinnati state championship match if St. Ursula advances as well. The last time two Girls Greater Catholic League teams played for the state title was 2007, when Mother of Mercy beat Mount Notre Dame.”We’re taking it one game at a time. I’m sure they are too. As the brackets unfolded and people went on the board in certain spots, we obviously knew the chances were there that we could potentially have an all-GGCL final match,” Crowley said. “We’re excited about every opportunity we get. Being a club director too, it would be a lot of fun to see some familiar faces across the net.”St. Ursula has taken a winding road to second state tournament in 3 yearsOn Sept. 25, the Bulldogs had a 9-8 record and had lost five of their last six matches. A month-long Girls Greater Catholic League schedule can do that to a lot of teams. But a five-set win over Mount Notre Dame has prope