So close, yet so far away. That could sum up the feelings of Adena Warriors volleyball players, coaches and fans after their five-set loss to Tuscarawas Valley in the Division 3 Regional Finals, Saturday at Berne Union High School.
Number five state ranked Adena was up two sets to zero in the match and had match-point at 24-23 in set four, but seeing things slip from their grasp in their (23-25, 23-25, 25-23, 26-24, 15-7) defeat to the #4 state ranked Trojans. The loss ended the Warriors season at (22-2) and regional runner-up, while the (27-1) Trojans head to the Final Four.
Adena blasted out to big leads in each of the first two sets, largely behind their tough serving, but in each case, Tuscarawas Valley battled back, only to see the Warriors pull-out 25-23 wins in each of the sets.
Set #1 had Adena up 12-3 and as late as 22-17, before TV drew to within 24-23, before the Warriors finished it off.
Set #2 was similar, with the Warriors racing ahead 9-3, 12-6, and 19-12. But that's where the Trojans put their foot on the gas with their serves and got back to a 23-23 tie, before the Warriors finished for the 25-23 win.
Set #3 was much closer throughout, but saw Adena trailing 17-16. The Warriors went on a 4-0 run for a 20-17 lead, but Tusky Valley went on a 5-0 run for a 22-21 advantage. The Warriors tied it 22-22, but TV would score 3 of the next 4 points for the 25-23 win to stay alive.
Set #4 was also close, with TV getting leads of 16-13, but Adena answered with a 4-0 run for a 17-16 lead. Both teams traded points until Adena's lead of 23-21 was followed by the Trojans 2-0 run to tie it 23-23. The Warriors scored next and had match-point at 24-23, but Tusky Valley fought that off and scored the last 3 points for a 26-24 win to tied the match at (2-2).
Set #5 was all Tuscarawas Valley as the momentum completely switched to the Trojans, darting to an 11-3 lead. The Warriors trimmed that margin to 11-7, but never got any closer, falling 15-7.
6'2 junior middle hitter Taylor West and 5'7 senior outside hitter Arora Levengood led the Trojans offense with 24 and 22 kills respectively. Ali Shane added 7 and Ashley Merrick had 4. Levengood also had 29 digs.
Adena was led by Ellie Harper's 13 kills, 10 from Makaela Lovely, 7 kills, 2 solos and 3 block assists from Jenna Martin, Hannah Bruns with 7 kills, 6 kills from both Makenna Lovely and Sydney Fogelsong and 2 from Ari DaRif. Burns has 3 block assists.
Both teams had 9 serving aces.
The WKKJ broadcast replay can be heard on our podcast link below....