Sports
Ace Nation: Southern outlasts Federal Hocking in 3-0 sweep
By: Charlie Lusk
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) —The Federal Hocking Lancers hosted the undefeated Southern Tornadoes for a non-conference matchup on Thursday night. Federal Hocking, aware of the Tornado’s reputation, welcomed the challenge as conference play begins to ramp up this volleyball season.
After grabbing the first two points of the match, the Lancers would concede a 6-point run. Southern capitalized on this quick counter holding the lead for the rest of the set. The Tornadoes found open court where the Lancers didn’t cover defensively and exploited it to the tune of multi-point runs.
As well as a relentless offense, Southern served Federal Hocking tough. Kiersten Rose picked up four aces in the first set alone. Despite this, there were flashes of excellence in Federal Hocking during the first set. The Lancers picked up 10 kills while the Tornados only had six.
Additionally, Federal Hocking won multiple long, grueling rallies, sending the gymnasium into a frenzy. While the match was not going their way, Federal Hocking planned on sticking around.
The second set was a back-and-forth affair with both sides showing grit. The serve-receive for both teams stepped up as there were only two aces total in the set compared to the seven in the first set. Lancers Olivia Tabler and Megan Reichardt both picked up a pair of crucial hits during this set. Both Tabler and Reichardt were large parts of the Lancer’s attack for all three sets.
After Southern went up 19-13, Federal Hocking dug deep and went blow for blow with the Tornadoes. Unfortunately for the Lancers, Southern was able to match their momentum, and the Federal Hocking crowd was silenced by a smooth kill from Timberlyn Templeton. The Tornadoes took the second set 25-19.
Southern put the nail in the coffin, dominating the final set. The Lancers got a slow start, and the Tornadoes took advantage. Southern picked up three kills and an ace during an 8-1 run.
One of the key upsides of the third set for Federal Hocking was their consistency in the tough attack. Of their 12 points, a third of them came from kills, showing the Lancers’ resilience. But still, the Tornado defense as well as the attacking trio of Lila Cooper, Kass Chaney, and Timberlyn Templeton, overpowered the Lancers in a 25-12 victory to clinch the sweep.
Despite the outcome, Federal Hocking played with a lot of heart and energy. Freshmen Karlee Grimm and Megan Reichardt stepped up and demonstrated their strength throughout the match.
Southern will look to remain undefeated when they host Nelsonville-York on Monday. Federal Hocking will look to bounce back against Chesapeake at home on Saturday.