STOW - It was a sad ending for the Salem volleyball team.

For the third time in four years, the Lady Quakers met Cuyahoga Falls Walsh Jesuit in a regional semifinal. Unfortunately for the second time, Salem came up on the short end, falling to the Lady Warriors in five games in its regional semi-final at Stow-Munroe Falls High School, 16-25, 25-12, 25-21, 14-25, 15-9.

The game marked the end of the volleyball careers of a group of seniors that made an impressive run during their time at Salem, winning the district title every year they were there, as well as making the state final four in 2007. It also was the final high school volleyball game for someone that will go down as one of the all-time best volleyball players in Salem history, Amy Scullion. In her last high school match, Scullion had 30 kills, three blocks, two aces and 20 digs.

"Obviously Amy Scullion has meant a lot to the program," Salem coach Don Conser said, but he also recognized the importance of the rest of the girls to the team. Salem also says goodbye to Taylor Sauerwein, Lydia Shivers, Olivia Mitchley, Dana Ackerman, Danielle Kruegel and Shylyn Pittman. "There are some people that feel that Salem is all Amy Scullion, and that's not true. We have some very good defensive players, we have some good spikers other then Amy, and I'll think you'll see some of those spikers next year coming back. Three of our seniors were on the bench, but I think they'd start for any other team back home."

Salem got off to a fast start winning the first game, but Walsh regrouped winning the second and third games. With Walsh going for the match, Salem rallied and rolled to a win in the fourth game.

With the match, and a spot in the regional finals on the line, emotions were running high as the teams took the court. It was Walsh getting out to a fast start due in part to a pair of questionable calls from the line judge, the second of which prompted coach Conser to take off his eyeglasses and offer them to the judge. Walsh took the momentum and jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the final game and held on for a 15-9 fifth game victory to seal the match.

"My mother always told me if I didn't have anything good to say about the officials I shouldn't say it," Conser said. "I thought the up official was good, I thought the down official was good, I thought the line judge needed new glasses."

In the first game, Salem fell behind early 4-2 but rallied for seven of the next eight points to take control of the game. They got up by as many as 10 points and Mitchley had the kill to finish off the game

However, in the next two games Walsh came alive, led by their own verison of Amy Scullion, Allison Foschia. She performed a series of power spikes that brought life into her team. Foschia finished with 23 kills and four aces. Walsh easily won the second game and took what seemed to be a comanding lead in the third game, up 22-13 before Salem rallied back. They scored the next four points until another questionable call put momentum back on Walsh's side and they carried it to the game win.

"I think our problem in the first game I thought we didn't come out and play our game," Walsh coach Missy Sturm said. "We gave them too many points. They need to earn their points and we weren't making them earn them. Amy Scullion, she's going to get her kills, she's an awesome player. We needed to try to keep her underwraps a little bit and dig some of her balls."

In the fourth game, Salem built on the improved play at the end of the third game, taking early control and not lettig up.

"I think the girls in the first game were really excited," Conser said. "I think in the fourth game they thought, 'Gosh if we don't win our season's over.' And in the fifth game, we already talked about the unfortunate blind official."

Mariah Halleck added 13 kills, 10 digs and two aces for the Lady Quakers. Laura Brown had 41 assists and Taylor Sauerwein had nine digs.

Throughout the season, there had been rumors that this season would be coach Conser's last but he quickly put those rumors to rest.

"I haven't planned to retire at all," Conser said. "I had told some people that when Amy Scullion graduates I might, but I have a goal that I want and I can't reach that goal this year. That's 600 wins."