Sports
Ace Nation: Lancers steal a five-set win from the Golden Eagles
By: Jillian Sanders
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STEWART, Ohio (WOUB) — The Federal Hocking Lancers defeated the Belpre Golden Eagles in a five-set thriller on Tuesday night.
At the beginning of the game neither team wanted to let up. Lancers Middle Karlee Grimm had a kill then an ace to tie the set up four to four. Leads were traded back and forth the entire set. Belpre’s Outside Haley Alloway dominated on the net; she had two huge swings for the Golden Eagles. Belpre looked like they were going to pull away with the win until Federal Hocking claimed their court with multiple kills from their offense. Lancers Libero Brenlee Cottrill had a huge play out of the back row leading her team to a 29 to 27 victory to end the first.
The second set was playing out exactly like the first. It was a dogfight in the beginning until Alloway had massive plays at the net to put the Golden Eagles up 12 to eight. The Lancers called a timeout in hopes of regaining some momentum late in the second set. Defensive Specialist Bailey Brunty went on a four-point service run for the Lancers and forced the Golden Eagles to call a timeout of their own. Belpre responded with big plays from multiple offensive players. They ended up taking the set 25 to 20.
Heading into the third, the Lancers were looking to reclaim their court. Grimm was a wall at the net and started the set off with a block. Belpre’s Alloway had three out of her 18 kills in this set. The Lancers needed to find a spark. A massive block from Lancers Middle Megan Reichardt was exactly what they needed. This forced the Golden Eagles to call a timeout. Out of the timeout, there was just no stopping Federal Hocking. Outside Ellie Barnhart and Setter Olivia Tabler had back-to-back kills to secure the set win for the Lancers, 25 to 17.
In the fourth, the momentum started to switch. Belpre knew that they needed to win this set in order to stay in the game. The Golden Eagles came out on fire with multiple kills from Outside Alivia Harrington. She had 12 kills on the night. Lancers Grimm started to come alive late in the fourth in hopes of gaining momentum for her team. That spark continued into an eight-point service run from Lancers Defensive Specialist Audree Chapman. The Lancers were close behind the Golden Eagles until the very end, but Middle Makayla Carmichael for Belpre sealed the deal, leading them to a 25 to 20 set win.
These two teams had everyone on the edge of their seat heading into the fifth set. Federal Hocking grabbed a quick four-to-nothing lead, forcing Belpre to call a timeout. Out of the timeout Belpre’s Harrington brought them right back into the set with back-to-back kills. The Golden Eagles would then go on a seven-point service run to put them up nine to seven, but the Lancers did not give up. Cottrill was not allowing anything to drop in the back row for the Lancers and Reichardt was a wall at the net. It was neck and neck until the very last point and Lancer’s Tabler was at the service line in hopes of closing out the set. She served the ball, and the Golden Eagles could not respond. Lancers won the match three sets to two and took the fifth set 16 to 14.
Federal Hocking comes storming onto the court making this a moment these players will always remember.
“It meant a lot, you know, for Federal Hocking volleyball, but also for the girls.” Head Coach Ryan Grimm shares. “Some of these girls have not had great seasons like this or got to experience it.”
Federal Hocking hosts the Eastern Eagles on Thursday night, and Lancers Cottrill says they have a lot to take from this match tonight.
“We’re going to rest up a little bit, and then we’re going to be ready to play on Thursday,” Cottrill said. “Be scrappy. You know who wants it more? We want it more than them.”
The Belpre Golden Eagles host the Southern Tornadoes on Thursday night as well.