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TORONTO -- Bob Shansky knows what Lori Lynn Jackson and her team are going through right now.
The Toronto volleyball team finished the regular season 20-0, and the Red Knights earned the No. 1 seed in the annual OVAC Class 2A Tournament. Toronto took on No. 4 seed Southern Local in the semifinals Tuesday night.
The Indians battled, but the Red Knights were too strong as Toronto swept Southern Local, 25-23, 25-12, 25-16, inside the George J. Kunzler Memorial Gymnasium to advance to the tournament final at 5 p.m. Saturday down at Union Local.
The hosts led the first game, 22-19, but a couple of mistakes allowed the visitors to score three straight points to even the score at 22. The girls from the Gem City regrouped following a timeout and scored three of the final four points in the game to win it by two to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Red Knights were in control from that point.
"We got all of our mistakes out," Jackson, Toronto's head coach, said. "After the first set, we came out and caught fire. We made some mental mistakes. Our passing was OK, but our setting and hitting was off.
"We got all of our mistakes and nerves out, and we were on fire after that for sure."
With the win, Toronto improved to 21-0.
"We knew they were a good team," Shansky, Southern Local's head coach, said. "We knew they were 20-0. They are well coached. They have a great hitter. Their libero did a heck of a job.
"The first set was extremely close. In the second set, they did what they do. In the third set, we got down. When you get down to a team like that, it is tough to comeback.
"I give my kids a lot of credit. I was impressed with some of the things we did.
"We don't come down here and play. We did play Catholic Central. It was good for us to come down here and play them. It will help us get ready for next week."
With the win, Toronto will now play No. 2 seed Caldwell for the tournament title. Caldwell defeated No. 3 seed Monroe Central in the other semifinal Tuesday night.
"We played Monroe Central early in the season," Jackson said. "We beat them in four sets on an early Saturday morning. We scouted Caldwell against Monroe Central. Monroe Central did not look like the same team we played that day. Caldwell has some younger players. They look to be a solid team. They have some good blockers and good hitters. We will be ready.
"The match is at 5, so it is around the time we normally play. Last year, we played at 9 a.m. We will head down early. We will head down a little early, and we will watch Wellsville play. We'll move around and get ready."
The loss to Toronto dropped Southern to 17-4 on the season.
Individually for the Knights, Andrea Reeves recorded six points, 34 assists, nine digs, five blocks, three aces and one kill, Hannah Dobbs delivered five points, 27 kills, five blocks, 10 digs and one ace and Ashton Thomas tallied 10 points, nine kills, six blocks, three digs and two aces. Also for the winners, Michelle Anderson collected two points, 19 digs, three assists and one ace, Tatum Derrington delivered five blocks, two kills and one assist, Jayna Reeves contributed five blocks and two kills and Riley Fischer finished with four digs and one ace. Finally, Callie Anderson added 12 points, and Gracee Rex chipped in with three digs.
"Dobbs is a great player," Shansky said. "She's classy. No. 23 (Thomas) and their libero (Michelle Anderson) both did well.
"The difference between them and other teams with one great hitter is that they have a good support staff. They have a good support group. They know their jobs, and they do them.
"I know what our girls are capable of, but they stopped us most of the night. They had some nice blocks.
"We just have to move on. I have to see if I can find someone to play Thursday. If not, we play Leetonia in the sectional tournament Tuesday."
For the visitors from Columbiana County, Rylee Mellott tallied four points, 30 assists and two solo blocks, Hannah Reynolds delivered one point and eight kills and Ashley Schroades tallied two points and 10 kills. Also for the Blue-and-Gold, Esther Forbes finished with eight points and three kills, Kennedy Lewis added eight digs and Aleah Bach contributed two points.
"We scrimmaged them in the summer, and we played them two years ago," Jackson said. "No. 22 (Schroades) is a real good hitter. That is something we did not see in the scrimmage. That was pretty much the only big change that I saw.
"Coach Shansky is doing a good job with their program. He did a good job when he was up at East Liverpool. He's keeping their program going."
The victors had to rally to win the first set, and they shook off a pair of serving errors to do so.
Toronto built a 9-3 lead in the second game and pulled away to win that won by 13 points to take a 2-0 advantage in the match.
"We played a great second set," Jackson said. "We were on fire in the front row. We did a great job in the middle. We had some great blocks. We had 26 blocks tonight.
"Andrea Reeves -- our setter -- played a great game. Michelle played lights out in the back row. She passed the ball. Ashton -- our Bethany commit – did a great job in the middle."
Shansky has experience coaching teams with undefeated records late in the season.
Years ago, when he was the head coach at East Liverpool, the Potters entered the OVAC Tournament, however, Beaver Local defeated them in the semifinals in a match played at Big Red inside the Crimson Center.
"They handle the pressure well," Shansky said about the Red Knights. "They play hard. They are well coached. We had the same thing happen here. We were 22-0. Every night there is stress.
"My kids did the right things some of the time. At other times, they let the ball drop.
"We have seen teams with one great hitter. They have a great hitter, but they also have a support staff. You may think they are a one-person program, but they are not. They're a team."
The Red Knights feel pressure prior to the start of the match, however, once the match starts they are focused on the task at hand.
"I think it disappears once we step onto the court," Dobbs said. "We are family, and we forget about it."
To finish the regular season undefeated was a big deal for Toronto.
"I think the biggest thing was finishing the regular season 20-0," Jackson said.
The Red Knights handle business against the Indians, and now Toronto turns its attention to the tournament final and the upcoming postseason.
"It is like we are 0-0 now," Thomas said.
"It is a brand new season," Dobbs added.