Sports
Ace Nation Tournament Preview
By: Molly Kennedy
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Everyone’s favorite season is upon us within the world of volleyball: playoff season. This year, five Athens County teams were covered within Ace Nation, the new high school volleyball coverage group. Alexander, Athens, Federal Hocking, Nelsonville-York, and Trimble were all a part of this coverage, watching the teams as they took on each other, and other schools.
Alexander came out strong, starting the season 6-0 before losing their first match to powerhouse Logan High School. They were led with a strong offense coming from Freshman, Karsyn Raines. Raines is ranked #1 in the TVC-Ohio for hitting. And fellow teammate senior Mackenzie Hawk is ranked #2. Alexander finished their season at 14-8 and will be hosting the Wellston Lady Golden Rockets, who finished 9-10, on October 21st at 4:00 pm.
Athens started out a little rocky, their head coach coming in just before the season started. But that didn’t hold them back. Athens finished their regular season going undefeated in the TVC-Ohio (12-0), with an overall record of 17-5. New coach Haley Dake has had big plans for her team, already accomplishing TVC domination. Next on their agenda is taking on Waverly (13-8) at home on October 18th at 6:00 pm.
Federal Hocking quietly dominated their schedule, finishing 18-4 overall. The team had a well-rounded defense, but have an abundant amount of offense with Libero Taylor Gillian keeping the ball off the ground for her team, pushing it forward to Audrey Blake, setting it up for Jaylen Rogers to knock it over the net. Coach John Young is very proud of how far his ladies have come this season. The ladies are taking a break before getting back on the court October 19th when they host the winner of the South Gallia @ Trimble game at 6:00 pm.
Nelsonville-York (13-8) was a powerhouse of hitters, with Sydney Fick and four of her teammates in the top-10 for kills this season. NY may prove well on the statistical side, but Coach Stephanie Breeze knows they still have some work to do. Her ladies strive independently, they just need to work on communication, which in the end will be the deciding factor this playoff season. The Lady Buckeyes will be playing at home against the 8-14 Lady Pioneers of Zane Trace on October 21st at 4:00 pm.
Trimble is the underdog within the coverage, as there has not been much on them this season. However, they did have a compelling season overall. The Lady Tomcats finished the season 9-13 overall, 8-8 within the conference. Coach Erica North knows her girls have the energy, and looks for that as they host no. 10 South Gallia October 16th at 6:00 pm.