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Ace Nation: Tornadoes Storm Past Lancers for Home Victory

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RACINE, Ohio (WOUB) — On Thursday night, the Southern Tornadoes defended their home court against the Federal Hocking Lancers, battling through a competitive matchup before closing it out with a straight-set victory. 

The game began evenly, with both teams trading points and neither able to pull away. Federal Hocking grabbed some momentum midway through the set, taking advantage of four straight Southern errors to go up seven to five. That run forced the Tornadoes to call a timeout. 

Southern quickly responded. Out of the break, Jaylynn Hupp fired a kill down the line to swing momentum back in their favor. The Tornadoes kept the pressure on, with Hupp and Taylor Roberts each recording aces to push their team ahead 19 to 15. 

Tornado Jaylynn Hupp blocks at the net
Tornado Jaylynn Hupp blocks at the net [Jillian Sanders | WOUB Public Media]
From there, Southern’s energy carried them to the finish. Federal Hocking couldn’t find an answer to the serving and strong attack, and the Tornadoes secured the opening set, 25 to 20. 

Set two mirrored much of the first, with both teams trading points and momentum swinging back and forth. An early kill from Federal Hocking’s Karlee Grimm gave the Lancers some early energy and kept the score close. 

The set stayed tight, as each side put together short runs but couldn’t pull away. Grimm came through again with two back-to-back kills to bring the Lancers within one, 12 to 11. 

Southern, however, had an answer. Kiersten Rose powered down two consecutive kills to give the Tornadoes a slim 19 to 18 lead. From there, a series of Lancer errors opened the door, and Southern capitalized, closing out set two with a 25 to 21 victory. 

The final set opened with Federal Hocking jumping out to a four to one lead, but two missed serves allowed Southern to tie it quickly. From there, the Tornadoes took control. Rose added a pair of kills to fuel the momentum, and Southern built a commanding sixteen to six vantage. 

Federal Hocking struggled to recover, as errors continued to pile up and widened the gap to 22 to 10. Southern’s Ali Norris sealed the match in style with back-to-back kills, securing the sweep for the Tornadoes with a final score of 25 to 12.  

After the game, Federal Hocking head coach Ryan Grimm reflected on his team’s effort: “We knew it would be a fight when we came in here, and I think we were up for the task. Those first two sets we gave them what they wanted.” 

Looking ahead, Southern will host Miller on Saturday, while Federal Hocking hits the road to face South Gallia on Tuesday.