The Tuscarawas Central Catholic volleyball team has answered the call all year long. 

The Saints will hear the bell ringing again Thursday when they play in the Division VII state semifinals. 

Central will take on unbeaten Tiffin Calvert in the late semifinal (8 p.m.) at Butler High School in Vandalia. 

Monroeville (24-2) will play Russia in the early game at 6 p.m. 

The winners will meet Saturday at 4 p.m. in the championship game at the Wright State University Nutter Center. 

“We’re not really nervous, we’re just so excited to play,” said senior Nora Jackson. “I love playing with these girls, and obviously we all love to win.” 

Central (22-5) won the Region 27 championship last weekend, knocking off Reedsville Eastern in the semifinals and then beating Portsmouth Notre Dame in the regional finals. 

“As juniors when we walked into tournaments, they were nervous and you could tell,” said head coach Kristen Trivoli, in her eighth year with the team. “This year, they have maintained their mental toughness. They have stepped up as leaders and players more than I could ever imagine.” 

The Saints have a strong core of seniors on the floor, led by first-team all-Ohio selection Khloe Trivoli. She leads the team with 498 kills, 69 blocks and 370 digs. 

Jackson leads the team with 254 points and has added 187 kills and 331 digs. 

The team’s offense took a hit early in the season when outside hitter Stella Everett went down with a season-ending knee injury. 

“There are definitely moments where it’s been tough, but you get a different perspective,” said Everett, who had surgery early in October. “Our team plays with a lot of energy, so it’s still fun to watch.” 

“When Stella went down, a lot of us thought it was going to be a very short season,” the Central coach said. “She was our primary outside hitter and I have two back row players playing outside, hitting front row for me and they have stepped up immensely. My setter plays outside and she has stepped up immensely.” 

Everett has remained active with the team.

“In timeouts, she’ll tell the girls, this is open … try this,” Coach Trivoli said. “So she has good court awareness since she’s been able to sit and watch. She supports the girls as much as she can.” 

Coach Trivoli said the team solidified after a loss at Buckeye Trail and made the state tournament a main focus. 

“It just seemed that everything kind of snapped together after that, “ she said. “Everybody focused after that game and the focus was state. I thought it was lofty because our district was hard, so I thought if you guys want to set that as your goal, let’s go for it. This group of girls, no matter what, if they say this is the goal, they’re going to go for it.” 

The Saints have a big challenge ahead of them. Calvert, the defending state runners-up, is 27-0. 

“I just keep reminding them that everybody is beatable,” Central’s coach noted. “We have things we’re good at and that’s what we have to focus on. At the end of the day, we just want to focus on the things we’re good at. 

“They hit deep, but our defense is pretty strong this year. I don’t think they’ve seen a scrappy defense like ours. That throws a lot of teams off. The speed of our offense can throw them off.” 

“We trust each other and we do a good job of knowing where we are on the court and having faith that someone is going to be there… like I’ll have faith that Khloe is going to get that ball or she’ll have faith that I’m going to get the ball,” Jackson noted. 

“I just hope that we go down there and have fun and enjoy the experience,” said Trivoli, who enjoyed the state tournament experience when she played at Tusky Valley. “We’re one of four teams in our division and the only team in Tuscarawas County that gets the experience, so I want them to enjoy it.”