Sports
Ace Nation: Spartans fall to Falcons in four-set battle
By: Greta Gunderson
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LANCASTER, Ohio (WOUB) — The Alexander Spartans traveled to Fairfield Union High School to take on the Falcons in the second round of tournament play. The Spartans showed grit throughout the match, but it was not enough to cage the Falcons as Fairfield Union won the match in four sets.
In the first set the competition was fierce until the Falcons jumped out to a twelve to five lead after an ace from Payton Rhymer. Alexander called a timeout to regroup and came storming back. An ace from Spartan Jade Seaman brought Alexander within two points of the Fairfield Union lead, 12 to 14. Both teams fought hard from there with multiple kills from Falcon Christian Thompson and Spartan Lila Moser. Ultimately Alexander could not overcome the Fairfield Union lead and the Falcons took the set on a kill from Thompson, 25 to 20.
The second set opened with a quick scoring run from Fairfield Union. With the Falcons up seven to one, Alexander called timeout. Coming out of the timeout Meena Juedes had three kills for the Spartans bringing them back into the set. A kill from Molly Brown gave Fairfield Union the side out they needed, and it was all Falcons from there. Fairfield Union powered to a 25 to 11 set two victory, on an ace from Madison Collins.
The third set was a must-win for Alexander to avoid the sweep and continue the match to a fourth set. The Spartans came alive on offense with kills from Juedes and Moser, both ended the match with 19 kills apiece. A kill from Moser gave Alexander a fourteen to nine lead. The Falcons called timeout, but the Spartans kept pushing. Despite Alexander extending their lead to seven, sixteen to nine, Fairfield Union would not back down. Thompson brought the Falcons back into the set with four kills. The game was neck-and-neck from there, which led to extra points. With the score tied at 27, Marissa Beach went back to serve for the Spartans. She served an ace and then another handing the set to Alexander, 29 to 27.
After dropping the third set Fairfield Union turned things around in the fourth. The Falcons jumped out to an eleven to five lead on an ace from Thompson. The Spartans called a timeout trying to stop the Fairfield Union spark, but the Falcons held onto a seven-point lead, 17 to 10. Alexander did their best to switch the momentum. A kill from Juedes brought the score to 17 to 21 and Fairfield Union called a timeout. Despite the Spartans’ efforts, the Falcons came out of the timeout fired up. Fairfield Union won the set 25 to 19 and the match on another kill from Thompson who tallied 35 total.
Alexander ended their season with a 13 and 11 record, eight and four in the TVC-Ohio. Fairfield Union will continue their tournament run at Southeastern High School as they take on the Circleville Tigers on Wednesday.