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Ace Nation: The Spartans take down the Bulldogs in a four-set battle

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THE PLAINS, Ohio (WOUB) — The Athens Bulldogs hosted the Alexander Spartans for a TVC-Ohio rivalry matchup. The Spartans battled to a four-set victory over the Bulldogs to inch closer to a TVC-Ohio title. 

Both teams came out fired up in the first set, going point for point early on. An ace from Liza Hartman gave the Bulldogs some separation, up 13 to 10. A kill from Maddy Penrod and two Bulldog errors brought the Spartans right back, tying up the score at 13. An ace from Meena Juedes gave Alexander a two-point lead, 17 to 15. Athens dug deep and rattled off five straight points, forcing the Spartans to call a timeout with the Bulldogs ahead 20 to 17. Alexander responded to the adversity and reached set point, up 24 to 23, but three-straight points from Athens sealed the deal, giving the Bulldogs the first set 26 to 24. 

Alexander senior Lila Moser mentioned what the team emphasized heading into the second set, “We talked about keeping our composure. It was really loud, and we didn’t play our best, but we just had to turn it around.” 

The Spartans did not back down in the second set, jumping out to an early eight to two lead on an ace from Abbi Ohms. Athens slowly crept their way back into the set, a kill from Mabel Monday brought them within one point of the Alexander lead, 14 to 15. Both teams continued to trade points, but the Spartans were too strong and won the set on another kill from Penrod 25 to 22. 

Alexander came out hot again in set three, with another ace from Ohms giving them a four to one lead. The Bulldogs tried to fight back but a kill from Moser forced an Athens timeout, Spartans up eleven to five. Coming out of the timeout, the Bulldogs were still unable to find their footing, and Alexander cruised to a 25 to 13 victory.

Spartan Lila Moser attacks at the net
Spartan Lila Moser attacks at the net [Logan Smutylo | WOUB Public Media]
The Spartans were hungry for the win in set four, pulling ahead eight to three on a huge block from Juedes. Athens was not done yet though and roared back with an ace from Sofia Smith tying the score at 10. A kill from Evie Garland created some separation for the Bulldogs, up 13 to 11, but Alexander bounced right back. Athens was unable to close the gap, and the Spartans kept pushing, winning the set 25 to 18 and the match. 

Alexander Head Coach Lauren Hill was proud of the adversity her team overcame in the match but knows there is more to come, “There was a lot of emotion in our locker room tonight, knowing that our next game is senior night, but it is going to happen. We can either be sad about that and overwhelmed by emotion or make the most of it and go into that game strong. The feeling in the locker room is that we are ready to do this together.” 

Alexander hopes to keep this momentum as they host the Vinton County Vikings for senior night on Thursday. Athens looks to bounce back as they travel to Meigs to take on the Marauders on Thursday as well.