Sports

Ace Nation: Buckeyes claim back to back TVC Ohio titles

By: Mia Sammons
Posted on: Wednesday, October 11, 2023

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ALBANY, Ohio (WOUB)- The Nelsonville-York Buckeyes clinched the TVC Ohio conference title Tuesday night for the second year in a row, defeating the Alexander Spartans in a competitive battle. Nelsonville-York previously swept Alexander in three sets earlier this season, however the Spartans kept this match close the whole night.

Starting off the first set, the Buckeyes demonstrated their strong attacking play, with Chloe Lehman leading the charge. She had six kills just within the first set, and she had 19 kills on the night. The Spartans seniors were celebrated at this game, bringing that high energy and emotion into the first set. The Spartans and the Buckeyes switched off who led, and Alexander’s serve and receive play was on top as they were determined to win this set. This set went into extra points, and the final score of the first set was 27-25, Alexander.

Moving into the second set momentum started to shift in favor of Nelsonville-York. The Buckeyes implemented grit and perseverance after losing in the first set. Alexander’s back row lacked communication which led to multiple Buckeye points. Gianna Dixon carried the front row with strong blocking at the net. Alexander kept the set close, but in the end, Nelsonville-York was able to pull out the win. The second set ended 25-23, Buckeyes.

Spartans’ Lexi Grissett stood out as a leader in the third set. Grissett played her heart out for senior night and was a powerhouse in the front row. She racked up multiple points for her team in the beginning, but the Buckeyes climbed back to the lead in the middle of the third set. Nelsonville-York played scrappy all night, picking up ball after ball that came into their territory extending each rally. Alexander called multiple timeouts throughout the match in hopes of them collecting themselves between serves. At the end of the day, the Spartans rallying attempts were unsuccessful. Nelsonville-York won set three 25-18.

In the fourth set the Buckeyes led right off the bat. Nelsonville-York’s energy was high and that was reflected in their after-point celebrations. The powerful kills and impressive digs kept the Buckeyes student section on their feet the whole set. However, the Spartans would not go down without a fight. Alexander showed determination to make this a 5-set game. But in the end, Nelsonville-York pulled out the win in the final set 25-18.

The Buckeyes were ecstatic after winning the TVC title. Lehman said, “We were so excited to win because this is our second year winning…” Not only was this the second year they won, this win also secured the title to only Nelsonville-York because Alexander had to beat the Buckeyes in order to possibly share the title.

The Buckeyes win on Tuesday sets them at 19-2 in regular season play and 11-0 in the league. The Buckeyes are looking to ride this high through the rest of regular season play and into the tournament.