Danbury, SJCC have played six straight five-set matches

The Danbury and Fremont St. Joseph Central Catholic volleyball teams have gone the distance in each of their last six matches. Each team has won three times, which means each team has taken 15 sets off the other. Across the last six matches, Danbury has won 643 points while SJCC has won 606. The tiebreaker happens at 7 p.m. Thursday in Fremont. "We are as close as close can be and have had some epic matches," Danbury coach Keith Diebler said. "The last few seasons, as a coach, I'm not surprised at all by the type of play and results because both teams play hard." Danbury is 3-6 overall this season and 2-2 in the Sandusky Bay Conference River Division. The Crimson Streaks enter at 6-1, 4-1. The Lakers defeated Hopewell-Loudon in four sets Tuesday while SJCC fell to Old Fort in four. "Both teams have always been prepared to play each other and have always played until the end," Danbury co-captains Lauren Bergman and Cali Wunder said. "We always know that they are a good team and will never let down and we know that both teams will play hard. We know both teams have lost multiple players but will still rise to the challenge and give it their all. "We are looking forward to playing them at their house and getting ready for a great match, knowing it could be a long night." The streak started Oct. 11, 2022, at Danbury. Earlier that season, the Lakers swept SJCC, but the Crimson Streaks got revenge. Danbury won the first two sets before SJCC roared back for a reverse sweep. "We've been very close the last three seasons," SJCC coach Paul Grahl said. "All of our matches have been very competitive, so it's turned into a nice little rivalry game." The teams first met in 2023 on Sept. 7 at Danbury. That night, SJCC won the first two sets before fending off a Danbury rally. In the fifth set, the Crimson Streaks won 16-14. Danbury was able to copy SJCC later that season in Fremont. On Oct. 5, the Lakers lost the first two sets before reverse sweeping SJCC, taking the fifth set 15-11 to even the season series. That wasn't the last time the two played in 2023. Danbury placed itself on the Division IV state bracket opposite SJCC and the two met in a sectional final at SJCC. With the season on the line, the Lakers won a wild 28-26 fourth set before winning 15-8 in the fifth to advance to the Fremont Ross district. "These matches and the environments in both schools' gyms have been amazing the last several years, which is what high school sports is all about," Grahl said. Last year, each team won their home court. SJCC came from 2-1 down to win 15-12 in the fifth and top the Lakers. On Oct. 3 at Danbury, the Lakers won the first two sets and fended off SJCC, 15-10, in a fifth to win. Both teams aim for deep postseason runs this year and getting a leg up on the other would be a good start. The two teams rematch Oct. 2 in Lakeside. "Actually, this is high school sports at its best," Diebler said. Danbury vs. SJCC last six meetings: 10/11/22 at Danbury: SJCC won, 17-25, 17-25, 25-22, 26-24, 15-11 9/7/23 at Danbury: SJCC won, 25-22, 25-20, 16-25, 18-25, 16-14 10/5/23 at Fremont: Danbury won, 23-25, 25-27, 25-22, 25-11, 15-11 10/19/23 at Fremont (sectional): Danbury won, 21-25, 25-21, 23-25, 28-26, 15-8 9/5/24 at Fremont: SJCC won, 22-25, 25-20, 16-25, 25-14, 15-12 10/3/24 at Danbury: Danbury won, 25-21, 25-21, 23-25, 21-25, 15-10