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Ace Nation: Tomcats sweep Vikings in first game of tournament play

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GLOUSTER, Ohio (WOUB) — The Trimble Tomcats swept the Symmes Valley Vikings for their first tournament win on Tuesday night.  

The Tomcats started off slow, but with a timeout to regroup at zero to five, Trimble gained momentum. A dump-kill from Tomcat Abby Henry started Trimble off for the rest of the first set. Trimble steadily clawed their way back, making it ten to eight after the second timeout. Tomcat Brooklyn Burdette had a staggering three aces in a row to force the Vikings into their final timeout of the set. With back-and-forth errors, the Tomcats won the set 25 to 19. 

Coach Drake communicated to her girls when they were down, “Play our game. Keep our speed up and play how we know how to play. Don’t fall into what they’re doing” 

Burdette sparked the flame in the second set with three kills in a row, and her teammate Rilynn Fouts continued to serve four aces in a row. With their newfound verve, the Tomcats were up seventeen to four in the first timeout. The Vikings collected a few kills but ultimately came up short, twenty-five to eight.

The Tomcats celebrate an ace
The Tomcats celebrate an ace [Logan Smutylo | WOUB Public Media]
The beginning of the third set was a team effort, with multiple Tomcats contributing to end a point. The Vikings were determined to push the game onto further sets with big blocks, but the Tomcat offense overpowered. Alyvia Portier dominated the service line to coincide with Burdette’s dynamic hits. Trimble’s willpower concluded the set with a kill from Fouts and Burdette, 25 to 16. 

Senior Rilynn Fouts spoke about their second game into tournament play against a TVC rival Eastern Eagles, “We got to play faster, clean up our defense, clean up our missed serves, and we’ll be good.” 

Senior Mckenzie Eing added,” We’re making sure we don’t get down by the second set and have each other’s backs.” 

The Trimble Tomcats will continue their tournament run next Tuesday at Southeastern High School against the Eastern Eagles. Congratulations to the Symmes Valley Vikings as they concluded their season 1-21.