Sports
Ace Nation: Bulldogs sweep Spartans in rivalry matchup
By: Greta Gunderson
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ALBANY, Ohio (WOUB) — The Alexander Spartans hosted the Athens Bulldogs on Thursday night. The Bulldogs pulled off a three-set sweep over their rivals on the Spartans senior night and grabbed a share of the TVC-Ohio title.
Athens opened the first set with a five-point run. This was spear-headed by the aggressive serving of Alexa Reed who tallied three aces. Alexander slowly clawed their way back into the set with multiple kills from Lila Mosier, cutting the Bulldog lead to one. The two teams went back-and-forth until Athens Caitlyn Hayes had three kills in a row giving the Bulldogs an 18 to 14 lead. The Spartans pulled within two points of Athens, but the Bulldogs surged ahead, winning the first set 25 to 19 on a block from Hayes.
The second set had no seperation as both teams battled relentlessly. Back-to-back aces from Alexanders Meena Juedes gave the Spartans an early seven to four lead. Both offenses were not backing down. Bulldog Hayes and Spartan Mosier traded kills back-and-forth trying to put their team ahead. An ace from Sophia Smith gave Athens their biggest lead of the set, putting the Bulldogs up 21 to 17. It was all Athens from there as the Bulldogs won the second set 25 to 18 with another ace from Reed.
The third set was a must win for Alexander, but Athens started fast. Three aces in a row from Rylee Toadvine put the Bulldogs up eight to five. The Spartans responded with two aces from Jade Seaman and another kill from Mosier. This gave Alexander a nine to eight lead, forcing the Bulldogs to call their first timeout of the match.
Hayes said Athens talked about communication during that timeout, “A lot of it came down to talking. We’re at our lowest when we don’t talk to each other on the court. Hailee brought us together and reminded us that we need to be a team.”
The Bulldogs did not get their communication back up right away. The Spartans pulled ahead to a 16 to 11 lead on an ace from Marissa Beach. Athens fought back, tying the score at 19 after another Hayes block. Alexander regained their lead on a kill from Beach 21 to 20. Both teams went point for point until the Bulldogs were able to find separation, going on a four-point run to take the set 25 to 22. This not only gave Athens the win over Alexander but solidified their spot as TVC-Ohio champions, sharing the title with the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes, for the first time in seven years.
Head Coach Hailee Hart said the feeling is surreal, “It hasn’t really sunk in yet, but I am so proud of the girls. I’m so excited for each of them to be able to say they had a hand in it.”
This was the last game of the regular season for both teams as they head into tournament play next week. Athens will host the Unioto Shermans on Monday and Alexander will host the Jackson Ironladies on Monday as well.