Local Sports

Senior duo lands on All-Ohio volleyball

COLUMBIANA -- Two stalwarts of their respective volleyball teams bowed out as All-Ohioans.

Columbiana senior middle hitter Landry Smith and Crestview senior libero and defensive specialist Kerrigan Miller were named to the Div. V All-Ohio third team by the Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association.

Smith led her team with 259 kills and a 52-percent kill rate. She added 19 aces, 32 blocks and 43 digs. For her career, she had 838 kills, 111 aces, 138 blocks and 115 digs.

Smith started all four years for the Clippers.

“She brings a powerful swing, an impressive vertical and a dominant presence as a blocker,” said Clipper coach Jennifer Martin. “As a freshman, Landry was on the team that won Columbiana’s first league title in many years, and she has spent the remainder of her career working to uphold that standard of excellence.”

As a leader, Smith served as the Clipper captain the last two season. She was the only returning starter as a junior as well.

“Landry embraced the challenge of leading a team with all new faces in the lineup and helped set the tone for the season,” Martin said. “Watching her grow into the leader she is today has been incredibly rewarding.”

The Clippers managed to get to the district final this season where they lost to Lakeview.

“Landry keeps her teammates focused, encourages them after mistakes and leads by example,” Martin said. “She thrives on competition and isn’t afraid to step up in the big moments during matches. Whether offensively with her attacks or defensively with her blocks, Landry consistently finds ways to make an impact on the court. As the team captain this year, she had high expectations for the 2026 team and played a significant role in helping lead the team to the district finals.”

Miller was sharp on defense for the Rebels as she had 477 digs, an average of 5.5 a set. She also led in serve reception with 554 (6.4 per set). She added 67 aces.

Kerrigan has been a big part of our success over the past few seasons,” Crestview coach Alisha Auer said. “Her love of the game as well as her ability to lead on the court are what drove our success this year. She has been a lot of fun to watch as well as coach. She is a very talented athlete who puts the work in to be extraordinary.”

Miller helped lead Crestview to its 11th consecutive lead title as well.

For her career, Miller recorded 881 digs, 932 serve receptions and 156 aces.

Also in Div. V, South Range coach T.J. Irons was given a Coaching Achievement Award for leading the Raiders to the state tournament for the first time.