Sports
Ace Nation: Lancers gallop past Golden Eagles in the first round of playoffs
By: Joshua Jacob
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STEWART, Ohio (WOUB) — The Federal Hocking Lancers hosted their first playoff matchup against the Belpre Golden Eagles. The Lancers were coming off a sweep against Trimble and were looking to start the playoffs strong. Belpre had a tough matchup against Waterford the week before, losing in three sets. The Golden Eagles looked to turn the page and play their game. Unfortunately for them, strong teamwork, limiting mistakes, and studying the film would lead Federal Hocking to a decisive three to zero win.
The Lancers started with the ball, and Markala Goeglein helped bring in some early points with consecutive aces. However, Belpre did not back down. The two battled for points and stayed even with a slight lead for Federal Hocking. The Lancers took that small lead and ran with it, going from nine to seven to seventeen to seven on an insane eight to nothing run. The charge was led by Megan Reichardt, who had two blocks and a kill, except she was not alone. Goeglein assisted Reichardt on a block and got one of her own as well. Bailey Brunty served during this run, securing an ace to further the Lancers lead. It was difficult for the Golden Eagles to come back from the deficit, but that was not for a lack of trying. Belpre’s Alivia Harrington ended the set with four kills and a block. Still, it was not enough as Federal Hocking would take it 25 to 15.
The second set was a much tighter battle, yet it did not start like that. Belpre got the first point off of a Lancer error. Despite that, Federal Hocking went on a seven to zero run, with Olivia Tabler earning two aces. The Golden Eagles took a timeout to regroup and try to limit mistakes. When they returned, Belpre was able to gain a few more points. Even so, the set looked out of hand when Reichardt got two more blocks and another kill for the Lancers. The Golden Eagles entered their last time out down twelve to four, hoping to find a much-needed change of pace, and they would be granted exactly that. After the timeout, Belpre went on a seven to two run on back-to-back kills from Makayla Carmichael and a kill from Gracie Bills. Harrington would find her first ace of the game to secure a more manageable 14 to 11 score. While still down, spirits for the Golden Eagles were soaring. From there, the scoring alternated with another block and kill from Reichardt, countered by two continuous kills from Carmicheal. The result was a highly contested ending where Federal Hocking went on to win 25 to 20.
The Lancers had the mental advantage going into the third set, which was apparent in the form of errors. Any time Federal Hocking made mistakes, they quickly bounced back with a kill or an ace. Belpre was a different story, however. Every time something went their way, like a kill or an ace, the next play would be an error, and they would give their opponent the opportunity to make a run. This was unsustainable and led to the Lancer’s 25 to 12 victory. Federal Hocking’s performance was partly due to Reichardt ending the night with six kills and seven blocks, Tabler ending the night with four aces and three kills, and Goeglein ending the night with four kills, three blocks, and two aces.
First-year Head Coach Ryan Grimm told us how special his first playoff win was.
“To be their coach when they do it is kind of a surreal thing because you can sit in the stands and appreciate it, but to be on the inside and see how hard they work in practice and see how hard they compete in games, it’s really special.”
Federal Hocking will continue its playoff journey on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. when they face the Southeastern Panthers at Wellston High School.