Sports
Ace Nation: Buckeyes sweep Indians in District Semi-Final
By: Grace Shipman
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WELLSTON, Ohio (WOUB) –The Nelsonville-York Buckeyes faced off with the Lucasville Valley Indians for a competitive tournament game on Wednesday Night. Nelsonville-York came out victorious, winning the match in three sets and a chance to play in the district finals.
The first set started off hot for the Buckeyes by sending the front row with Kyleigh Warren and Gianna Dixon slamming some powerful hits down to Valley. The Indians didn’t make it easy, though, as Valley’s Bri Strickland brought some heat as the outside hitter, leaving the Buckeyes scrambling for corner balls. Nelsonville-York’s Delaney Dean took some dives to the floor to defend the back row from cross-court hits. The teams stayed close most of the game with crazy rallies on both sides of the net. The Buckeyes got some easy points from the Indian’s net violations and multiple doubles during the set. At 17 to 12, the Indians called a timeout to regroup after numerous points of Buckeyes Warren’s blocks shutting down their hitting game. Valley tried coming back, but the Buckeyes were on fire with their back row defense, ending the first set 25 to 17 Nelsonville-York.
Going into the second set, the Indians gained some ground by scoring the first three points of the game with Strickland being competitive on the net and Valley’s Abby Harris keeping their serve. Valley started pulling away during the beginning of the game with aces and a powerful kill from Ella Thompson. The Buckeyes were struggling to communicate in the back row with multiple dropped balls and hitting errors. Dixon brought back some energy to her side of the court when she hit a massive swing to the Indian’s side of the court. This boost of energy shifted the momentum of the game in the Buckeyes favor. Warren stepped up to the net hitting three aggressive kills, leading Valley to call two timeouts during the set’s second half. Valley’s Emilee Bar took some good swings at the net, but they were not enough to overcome the Buckeye’s defense. Nelsonville-York went on to take the set 25 to 17.
Nelsonville-York’s Senior Gianna Dixon said this season is a little different now that it’s her last year playing.
“It honestly means a lot more because every game now could be our last, so we just put everything we have on the floor and push as hard as we can.”
Moving into the third set, you could feel the intensity in the gym as the game was winding down, and a spot for the finals was on the line. Nelsonville-York started off aggressively, with Dixon and Chloee Volken hitting back-to-back kills. Their lead start didn’t last long as Thompson took control of the serving line for Valley with two untouchable aces. The Indians kept competitive on the net as they blocked a couple of Dixon’s hits, keeping them at bay. Nelsonville-York’s Megan Booth dumped some of her signature plays to the unprotected parts of Valley’s court. The Buckeyes kept leaving dropped balls on the backside of their court, giving the Indians a little comeback near the end of the game. The Buckeyes took the pressure of the game and turned it into motivation as Warren ended the game with two kills, and Kenzie VanBibber put the nail in the coffin with the winning ace. The Buckeyes took the victory 25 to 19.
The Buckeyes head coach, Wayne Dicken, had a couple of thoughts on what the team could improve on moving forward.
“I thought there were some communication errors on the court there. Luckily, we have a great group that talks things out as soon as a mistake happens, and they figure it out on the floor. It allows me to save my timeouts until I need them at the end of the set.”
The Buckeyes will move on to district finals this Saturday at Wellston and face off with Leesburg Fairfield.