In Ohio's hotbed of volleyball, arguably Greater Cincinnati's best
team ever was the unbeaten St. Ursula team of 2003.
Julie Perry, a LaRosa's Hall of Fame coach, guided this team through
a perfect 29-0 season and a national championship. In fact, her team
was rated No. 1 in the nation the entire year and never wavered from
that spot.
This team featured another LaRosa's Hall of Famer in Bryn Kehoe, who
was one of four seniors who went on to play collegiately. Kehoe went
on to Stanford, while Beth Shelton played for Virginia, Beth Gillming
starred at Maryland and Erin Schroeder played at Dayton.
Perry knew she had the makings of a special team right from the
start. In fact, as she is quick to point out – she knew this was a
team of destiny because of the last game of the previous season.
"When we lost to Ursuline Academy in the fifth game of the 2002 state
championship by two points, that was the moment that proved to be the
motivating factor," Perry says. "I could tell they were going to be
strong from the first day … The team made our coaches work harder than
ever – each of us pushing each other to leave it all on the court."
St. Ursula’s drive to the title was relentless throughout the season
and was probably best demonstrated in the Ohio Division I state title
game when they again met rival Ursuline Academy. The Lions delivered a
crushing result with a 15-10, 15-7 victory.
"It has been an honor to coach every one of my student athletes over
the years whether we won state or ended the season in the earlier
tournament round," Perry said. "It is all about the journey and what a
journey the 2003 team, the coaches, the players' families and our
school community had."
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