Sports
Ace Nation: The Alexander Spartans defeated the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes in a four-set thriller
By: Jillian Sanders
Posted on:
BUCHTEL, Ohio (WOUB) —The Alexander Spartans defeated the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes in four sets Tuesday in WOUB’s Game of the Week.
The energy in the Nuthouse was electric to start. Nelsonville-York outside hitter Madi Pidcock helped the Buckeyes jump out early with strong offensive play.
But Alexander middle hitter, Meena Jeudas, responded with a dominant performance, finishing with 18 kills. Libero Abbi Ohms also sparked the Spartans in the opening set, which Alexander won 25-17.
The Spartans then turned up the pressure at the service line. Alexander finished the night with 16 aces.
“If I make one mistake, it’s okay,” Jeudas said. “If we are serving aggressively, then the aces will cancel out our errors.”
The Buckeyes bounced back in the third, led by middle blockers Cat Dixon and Lexi Warren, who helped their team take a 12-9 lead. Alexander kept battling, with outside hitter Lila Moser contributing key points, but Pidcock’s defense at the net sealed a 25-22 Buckeyes win.
Before the fourth set, Alexander head coach Lauren Hill regrouped her team.
“I told them to keep their composure,” Hill said. “We learned more from going to this fourth set than if we would have just ended in a sweep.”
The Spartans executed down the stretch. Jeudas, Moser and outside hitter Maddy Penrod fueled the offense in a 25-19 win to close out the match.
Alexander will travel to Meigs on Thursday, while Nelsonville-York looks to bounce back when it hosts Belpre on Wednesday.