Sports
Ace Nation: Buckeyes fall to Colts in Regional Semi-Final
By: Greta Gunderson
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Logan, Ohio (WOUB) — The Nelsonville-York Buckeyes traveled to Logan High School to face off against the Meadowbrook Colts in the Division III Regional Semi-final on Thursday. The Buckeyes were looking to continue their historic season after securing victory in a five-set thriller over the Southeastern Panthers in the District Final.
The first set was all Buckeyes. They jumped out to an early three-point lead and never gave up. The Buckeyes led for the entire first set, by as many as nine points. Many of these were scored with the offensive fire power from Senior Chloe Lehman and Junior Kyleigh Warren. The duo was fierce from the pins throughout the match. They tallied up 10 combined kills in the first set and 28 in the match. Behind their offense, the Buckeyes took the first set 25-16.
Even after an impressive first set from the Buckeyes, the Colts were prepared for battle in the second. The set began with difficult, long rallies. The Buckeyes never led but kept close. With the Colts up 14-12 Senior Avery Black settled in behind the service line. Black went on an 11-point run to close out the set, including two aces and seven in the match. With that, the Colts took the second set 25-12 and the match was tied 1-1.
The Buckeyes were looking to bounce back from set two but found themselves down early in the third. They used their first timeout after going down 2-7. The Colts offense came alive and forced the Buckeyes to use their second timeout after a kill from Senior Taylor Sichina, extending the Colts lead to 16-9. Despite the Colts momentum, the Buckeyes found a new spark coming out of the timeout. Behind aggressive serving from Junior Megan Booth, the Buckeyes forced a Colts timeout and came within one, 18-19. After trading intense points, the Colts ran away with the set on another service run from Black, 25-19.
With their backs against the wall, the Buckeyes were looking to come together in the fourth set and fight for a spot in the Regional Final. After trading the first few points though, the Colts lead began to grow. Their offense held strong, tallying up 12 kills in the set and 38 in the match. They stayed aggressive behind the service line as well, with 7 aces in the set and 18 in the match. After building a comfortable lead, the Colts cruised to victory taking the fourth set 25-10.
Meadowbrook took the match 3-1 and will go on to play the South Webster Jeeps in the Regional Final on Saturday at Logan High School at 2:00pm. The Buckeyes ended the season with a record of 23-3, and with TVC-Ohio, Sectional, and District Championships.