Sports

Ace Nation: Alexander bounces back with sweep against Jackson

By: Greta Gunderson
Posted on: Wednesday, August 21, 2024

ALBANY, Ohio (WOUB) — The Alexander Spartans hosted the Jackson Ironladies on Tuesday night. With both teams hungry for a win, it was an intense matchup.

The Spartans were looking to bounce back from a five-set loss on Monday night. That is exactly what they did, taking the match in straight sets.

The teams traded points in the first set until the Spartans pulled ahead. This came after an explosive kill from middle hitter Meena Juedes, putting Alexander up ten to five. Juedes was a key player for the Spartans’ offense, she finished with 12 kills on the night. Alexander continued to surge ahead and never looked back, taking the set 25 to 16.

Spartan Meena Juedes attacks at the net [Jillian Sanders | WOUB Public Media]

The Spartans continued to bring the heat in the second set. Jackson kept it close until Alexander scored seven straight points that put them up 23 to 13. Alexanders’ libero Abbi Ohms applied pressure from behind the serving line during the run. Ohms had two aces on the night, both in that stretch. The Spartans took the set 25 to 15.

Alexander was looking to close out the match in the third, but Jackson was not giving up. After going down early the Ironladies came back, capitalizing on Spartan errors. Jackson stayed aggressive behind the serving line despite having their backs against the wall. They went on a four-point run to bring the score to 23 to 24. Alexander head coach Lauren Hill called a crucial timeout.

“We’ve been talking a lot about fear,” Coach Hill said. “We can forget everything and run or face everything and rise”.

The Spartans came out of the timeout ready to rise to the challenge. They got the kill they needed to take the set 25 to 23 and complete the sweep.

Alexander hopes to extend their win streak against the Warren Warriors on Saturday. Jackson will take on the Beaver Eastern Eagles at home on Wednesday.