Sports
Ace Nation: Buckeyes top Vikings in four sets
By: Joshua Jacob
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NELSONVILLE, Ohio (WOUB) — The Vinton County Vikings traveled to Nelsonville to try to climb up the conference rankings against the Nelsonville-York Buckeyes. Nelsonville won in four sets in a hard-fought matchup against the Vikings.
The Buckeyes started with the ball, but Vinton County scored first. Jordyn Zinn had the first kill of the game, and it would not be her last. She would have a dominant showing as Vinton County’s offensive engine. The first set was close, with the teams tied ten times and four lead changes. Nelsonville-York eventually pulled ahead on a five to two run, with Kyleigh Warren securing the first set 25 to 18.
The second set was just as intense. The offenses were on fire, with aces and kills dropping for both sides. Gianna Dixon looked unstoppable in this set. Setter Megan Booth created easy looks for Dixon, who powered them home, finding the uncovered court. The set was tied up 22 all when back-to-back kills from Warren yet again created enough separation for the Buckeyes. The second set would be capped off for Nelsonville-York with an ace from Delaney Dean, 25 to 22.
Going into the third set, the Buckeyes confidence was evident. Dixon started the set with a kill, but Nelsonville-York’s errors and Viking determination gave Vinton County an early lead. Zinn had an outstanding three kills in that opening run, which put the Vikings up eight to three. This caused the Buckeyes to take a timeout to regroup. However, this didn’t do much, as the Vikings had too much momentum. Vinton County would take this set with Bailey Wellman, making it 25 to 18 with an ace.
With every set being so tight and losing the third set, you would think Nelsonville-York would be worried, but that was not the case. Buckeyes head coach Wayne Dicken told us exactly how they felt in that moment.
“We didn’t panic, and that shows a lot about our leadership with nine seniors on the team. It’s nice when you have a little bit of adversity because you know your seniors are going to come through for you.”
With that confidence, Nelsonville-York came out like they knew they would win. They opened set four with a seven to two run, forcing the Vikings to try and slow it down with a time-out. However, the Buckeyes were all business, taking no chances and walking away with a dominant 25 to 13 win. Out of those 25 points, a staggering 16 were kills. Four were from Chloe Vohlken, four were from Warren, and three were from Booth, with the others dispersed throughout the team.
Nelsonville-York will carry this team win to Meigs in their rematch at the Marauder’s home gym on Tuesday. Vinton County will go home to defend Viking territory against the Eastern Eagles on Monday.