Sports
Ace Nation: Buckeyes cage Lions in District Championship
By: Greta Gunderson
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WELLSTON, Ohio (WOUB) — The Nelsonville-York Buckeyes took on the Fairfield Lions in the Division-Six District Championship on Saturday. The Buckeyes took down the Lions in four sets to become back-to-back District Champions.
Both teams came out hot at the net in the first set. Nelsonville-York started slow on defense but their offense made up for it with Kyleigh Warren and Gianna Dixon racking up ten kills combined in the first set and 41 in the match. On the other side of the net Fairfield was not backing down with hitters Remi Moon and Jobey Hattan combining for 11 kills of their own. After going point-for-point the whole set, the Lions finally found separation. A kill from Moon gave Fairfield the lead 20 to 18 forcing a Buckeye timeout. The Lions kept the pressure on despite a kill from Dixon bringing Nelsonville-York within one. Fairfield went on to take the set 25 to 22 with a kill from Hattan.
The Buckeyes were looking for redemption in set two, and that is exactly what they got. An ace from Charlie Fisk put Nelsonville-York ahead ten to six and they did not stop there. An explosive kill from Dixon brought the score to 17 to 12 and the Lions called timeout. Out of that timeout the Buckeyes lead continued to grow. Fairfield only scored four more points in the set, not enough to stop Nelsonville-York, who won the set 25 to 16 on a kill from Madi Pidcock.
The third set started a lot like the first with back-and-forth scoring from both teams. An ace from Delaney Dean gave the Buckeyes their largest lead of the set, 15 to 10. The Lions came roaring back but could only come within two points of the Nelsonville-York lead. Warren and Dixon continued their dominance at the net leading the Buckeyes to a set three victory, 25 to 21.
The fourth set was make or break for Fairfield, but Nelsonville-York continued to take care of business. A kill from Warren extended the Buckeyes’ early lead to twelve to three. The Lions were not discouraged and Kelsey Clack brought Fairfield closer to the Nelsonville-York lead, 15 to 11. Both teams traded points from then on, which was not enough for the Lions to catch up. Dean sealed the deal for the Buckeyes with an ace to win the set 25 to 16 and the match. Dean mentioned that she was the one behind the service line on the last point of the District Championship last season and how that compared to this year.
“I did not get an ace last year so my goal this time was to go back and hopefully get an ace. When I did, I felt so overjoyed, it felt great to come back and repeat that.”
Nelsonville-York is now District Champions for the third time in school history. When asked about the win head coach Wayne Dicken said he told his team they have more work to do.
“This was one of our big goals this season, repeating as district champions but the girls are not satisfied yet. They want to continue this run as long as they can.”
Nelsonville-York hopes to do just that as they travel to Heath High School on Thursday to take on Pleasant in the Regional Semi-Final.