SALEM Two superpowers will be colliding Thursday at Stow-Munore Falls High School when Salem meets Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit in a Division II regional semi-final volleyball match at 6 p.m. Salem and Walsh Jesuit have nearly become the New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers of regional volleyball. This will be the third time in four years the two teams meet in Stow. Three of the past four years, it's been Salem or Walsh Jesuit representing the region at the state tournament.

The two have split the last two meetings. In 2007 Salem won a five-game classic against Walsh on their way to a state semi-final appearance. The year before, Walsh got the best of Salem before its way to state.

"There are probably other teams I'd enjoy playing more, but I welcome the challenge," Salem coach Don Conser said. "We've beat them before and they've beat us before that, so it's a toss up really. We really want to beat them and they probably want to beat us just as much."

Walsh enters the game with a 16-10 record, but they've played a schedule that has put them against some of the top teams from all over the state of Ohio, including participating in premier tournaments in each corner of the state. They have been playing their best volleyball at the end of the season and made a convincing run to their district title.

They're lineup features three hitters over six-feet tall, including 6-foot-2 outside hitter Allison Foschia who will play volleyball for Duquesne University next season.

"She likes to hit down the line and we're going to try to stop her from doing that," Conser said. "The problem is that she's 6'2 and can probably jump high and hit the ball over top of our blockers. We're hoping we can stop their hitters with digs and passes and get the ball up and counter their attack with our own attack."

The rosters may not be the same as when they've met in the past, but Conser is aware of the constant stream of talent that Walsh produces.

"That's the problem with parochial schools, they can just recruit new athletes when the other ones leave," Conser said. "The Akron, Cuyahoga Falls, Summit County area has a lot of talent and they can bring in who they want to fill the void. I'm sure they've had great players that have moved on from when they've played against us, but they've just replaced them with ones just as good."

Salem is coming off playing one of its best games of the season in the district final when they beat state second-ranked Hubbard. The challenge for Conser and his team will be trying to repeat that effort to beat another strong opponent.

"We're hoping we could play as well as we did against Hubbard," Conser said. "If we can match that effort then we'll definitely give ourself a good chance of being in the game. Maybe we'll even win the game."

It's no secret that Amy Scullion is the focal point of Salem's team, but in order to get a win, Conser believes the key is how well the rest of the lineup answers the call.

"There are three or four others that have to have the game of their lives to give us a shot at winning," Conser said. "Mariah Halleck, our other outside hitter besides Amy, has been playing really well and has been picking up kills when Amy rotates to the back and we need her to keep doing that."

"Our two middle hitters Olivia Mitchley and Lydia Shivers have to do the best job they possibly can with blocking and playing well at the net, and Taylor Sauerwein is going to be a busy young lady running all over the court making digs."

A team effort will definitely be needed for the Lady Quakers to advance. Last week's big win against Hubbard was just the beginning of a trail of top volleyball programs that Salem must navigate through to get themselves back to the state tournament.

If the Lady Quakers can get past Walsh, the other side of the bracket features Mentor Lake Catholic and Medina Buckeye. Although Buckeye is a relative newcomer to this stage, Mentor Lake Catholic is making their third trip in the past five years including a victory over Salem in last year's regional. The regional final will be played Saturday at 2 p.m.