The Zane Trace Pioneers put together probably their best performance of the season to take down Adena (3-1) in a 25-18, 25-21, 18-25, 26-24 at Adena High School, Thursday.
The loss was #3 state ranked (11-1/16-1) Adena's first of the year, and creates a virtual tie with Westfall, as both teams have one SVC loss.
(9-3/13-5) Zane Trace stays mathematically in the race, with Adena and ZT having two conference matches remaining, but Westfall has four, after postponing matches against Piketon and Huntington.
The Pioneers controlled the first two sets, getting numerous blocker touches on Adena attacks, creating difficulty for the Warriors with ZT's tough serves, and also keeping many rallies alive with a "never-say-die" defensive effort out of their back row.
In Set 1, Zane Trace broke away from an 8-8 tie, building leads of 15-8, 18-11 and the final of 25-18.
Set 2 saw the Pioneers build advantages of 7-3 and 9-5, with Adena getting to within a couple of points as late as 22-20. Following a ZT timeout, the Pioneers went on a 3-1 run for a 25-21 in and a (2-0) lead.
Adena fell behind 5-1 and 11-7 in Set 3, but broke away from a 17-17 tie to win 25-18 to cut ZT's ad to (2-1).
Set 4 was close most of the way, until the Warriors built a lead of 19-15, 20-16, 21-17 and 23-18. Adena had set-point at 24-22, but the Pioneers closed on a 4-0 run for the 26-24 win to take the match.
The stats showed Zane Trace led by Lexi Scott with 14 kills, 3 block assists and one solo, Hannah Hale and Abbi Bennett each with 10, with Bennett adding 16 assists, Gracey McCullough 9 kills and 3 block assists, Laynee Hill with 6 kils and Emily Allen 3 kills. Lexi Betts had 18 digs, Hill with 18, Bennett 14, Elizabeth Harbor 12 digs and Kinley May with 10 digs and 19 assists.
Adena was led by Ellie Harper with 14 kills, Makenna Lovely 13, Jenna Martin 12, Makaela Lovely 9, Sydney Fogelsong 4 and Hannah Burns 3. Defensive leaders for Adena were Camryn Carroll 23 digs, Hope Garrison with 18 digs, and Brenna McQuiniff with 14 and Ari DaRif 12. The Warriors committed 25 hitting errors in the match.
The Pioneers had 8 serving aces to 6 for Adena.
Now, the big question mark is what becomes of the rest of the SVC Volleyball season?
Westfall has adopted a policy not to play any school sports vs teams from a county that is listed as a "Red Level 3" on the state health department's COVID Map. The Pickaway County Health Board told iHeart Media Sports Thursday afternoon, that this is a "recommendation" the ODH has made, but leaves the final decision to each school.
iHeart Media has been told Westfall will resume play against “red” county schools beginning October 12th, but that has not been officially confirmed by the SVC, following a special meeting Friday to discuss how to move forward with volleyball, and possibly cross country, which are the only two fall sports that have not yet determined a champion.
You can hear the WKKJ replay of the the match, including post-match interview with Zane Trace Coach Cyndi Davis in our podcast link found below...