Like two heavyweight boxers, Adena and Zane Trace traded punches and scoring runs throughout their Division 3 Volleyball District Championship Friday, with the Warriors coming away with a (25-19, 25-23, 25-20) win.
The district title for Adena was their second straight against the Pioneers, at times harkening back to the four-set thriller last year.
Each of the three sets saw both teams with leads of at least five points, with the other roaring back to make it close.
Set #1 saw Adena jump out to a lead of 6-1, before the Pioneers fired back with a 9-1 run for a 10-7 lead. Following a Warriors timeout, Adena went on a 6-1 run for a 13-11 lead. After trading points, Adena took off for a 19-14 advantage, with Zane Trace getting to within 21-18 and 22-19, before the Warriors closed the set at 25-19.
Set #2 was the Pioneers' turn to get out early, taking leads of 9-4, 10-6 and 13-9. Trailing 15-12, Adena went on a 4-0 run for a 16-15 lead, but that was short-lived. Before you could blink your eye, ZT was back in the lead at 18-16. Another Adena 3-0 run put them up 19-18 before the Pioneers evened it at 19-19. The score was last tied at 22-22, with the Warriors scoring 3 of the last four points for a slim 25-23 win, but a commanding (2-0) match lead.
Set #3 began with the Warriors holding the momentum and the Pioneers looking dejected, as Adena grabbed an 11-1 lead. But Zane Trace didn't stay down for long, nibbling away at the deficit until they climbed back to within 16-13 and later 19-18, but could not overcome their own errors and Adena's tough service. The Warriors finished on a 6-2 run for the match victory 25-20.
Unofficial stats had Adena led by Ellie Harper's 10 kills and 2 block assists, 7 kills and 3 blocks for Jenna Martin, Hannah Burns with 6 kills, 5 kills from Makaela Lovely along with 14 assists, and 3 kills each for Makenna Lovely and Sydney Fogelsong. Fogelsong also had two blocks assists. Camryn Carroll had 24 digs and 1 ace serve. Brenna McQuiniff had three serve aces and 7 digs, Hope Garrison 13 digs, Ari DaRif 12 digs and 13 assists.
Zane Trace was led by Gracey McCullough's 10 kills, 9 each from Lexi Scott and Alli Bennett, 4 from Hannah Hale and 3 from Laynee Hill. McCullough had three block assists, while Emily Allen had 2 solos and an assist block. The Pioneers defense was led by Alli Bennett with 22 digs, Laynee Hill 17, Lexi Betts 8, McCullough with 6 and Elizabeth Harber with 4. Kinley May had two serving aces with 1 from Delaney Berry.
Adena improves to (21-1) on the season and will face Saturday's Westfall/Alexander winner on Thursday in the regional semis, at a currently unknown location. Long-time Division 3 Regional Volleyball host Logan High School has declined to host this year, due to the COVID pandemic.
Zane Trace concludes their season at (18-7) and the distinction of have beaten two previously unbeaten and state ranked teams in both Adena and Miami Trace.
You can listen to the WKKJ broadcast replay and postgame interview with Adena Coach Laura Smith on our podcast link found below. We caught up with Zane Trace Coach Cyndi Davis after leaving the air, and her interview can be heard on the podcast link below our PBP podcast link...