Sports
Ace Nation: Spartans’ strong front brings victory over Jackson
By: Grace Shipman
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JACKSON, Ohio (WOUB) – The Alexander Spartans won an exciting four set rally against the Jackson Ironladies on Wednesday night, and the Spartans were looking for their second win in a row. But, the Ironladies didn’t make it easy.
Starting off in the first, Alexander took a solid lead by playing to their offensive strong suits, one of those being senior hitter Lexi Grissett. Grissett was a key component in the final outcome of the game. Throughout the first set the two squads has fierce rallies, but the Spartans ran away with it at the end. The score of the first set was 18-25 Alexander.
In the second set, the momentum started to shift in favor of the Ironladies. Sydney Hughes responded to the Spartans’ front line, coming up with a few powerful kills of her own. Jackson’s Rylie Kilgour also contributed a few phenomenal digs, to give the Ironladies the edge when it mattered. Jackson tied the match with a second set score of 25-22 Ironladies.
Going into the third, Alexander head coach Coach Jamie Lutz, knew something had to change to secure the win. “Serve aggressive,” Lutz said. “We are gonna miss serves but the more aggressive we serve the more energy it brings to the floor.”
Lutz also mentioned the pep-talk she gave before the third set began. She said she told the girls to keep their heads up and focus what they could control.
“And what we can control is the ball,” Lutz said.
At the start of the third set it was evident the team took her advice to heart. Macie Swart came in hot and Jackson’s backrow struggled receiving her serves, allowing her to score multiple aces for the Spartans. Alexander ended the third with a comfortable lead of 25-19.
The Spartans only needed one more set to clench the win, and tensions were high going into the fourth. There was still room for talent to shine on both sides of the net. Early on, Grissett tallied a kill and followed it up with two back-to-back aces. Kenzie Davis, the middle hitter for Jackson had a couple of key blocks helping the Ironladies stick with the Spartans until the end. However it wasn’t enough , as Alexander prevailed winning the set 25-22. Grissett had 63 attempts on the night and scored a total of 23 kills.
On Saturday the Spartans will host South Webster and the Ironladies will travel to Logan Elm.