Lady Tomcats win the district championship for the third year in a row
By: Morgan Anderson
Posted on:
GLOUSTER, Ohio (WOUB) – The Trimble Tomcats girls volleyball team won its third district championship in a row Oct. 29 and will compete in the regional semifinals against Newark Catholic tonight with the first serve at 7:30 p.m.
However, the team’s ability for repeated success has been in question. They sustained sizeable losses on their roster, losing a number of key seniors.
“We lost eight seniors from last year, and I think people counted us out for this season,” she shared. “They were all great seniors, too. But I have watched [this year’s team] grow, do their box work, and take things seriously in practice. They go hard over and over. It is their consistency that allows this to happen.”
Lackey brings over 20 years of coaching experience to the Tomcat court, but the most recent three years have been spent directly with the Trimble volleyball team.
“It has been a real blessing being able to coach these last three years here at Trimble with these kids, and watching them win the TVC-Hocking, sectionals, and districts,” she said.
The Lady Tomcats ended the regular season with an undefeated conference record to put all of the doubts to an end. This gave them the first seed in their district and the competitive edge of being No. 1.
Leading the Tomcat pack is senior Jacie Orsborne.
Orsborne etched her name into the Ohio history books as a leader in career assists for the entire state of Ohio. On Oct. 4, Orsborne helped Trimble secure a five-set victory over Southern as she surpassed 3,000 career assists.
Lackey said she is impressed by the talent and skill she brings to the court.
“I have coached volleyball for over 20 years and I can say that Jacie is at the very top of the setters I have coached,” she said. “In my lifetime, I will probably never coach [another] player like Jacie for a setter. She is smart, knows what to do with the ball, and is [intelligent] with her plays.”
Orsborne was quick to thank her teammates.
“It feels unreal,” she said, “but I also have to thank my teammates a lot for that because they work just as hard as I do.”