Derrick Webb, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
FRANKFORT — Thirty-Six.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
That’s how many times Adena’s volleyball program has held up a district championship trophy.
It’s almost unreal. It’s almost unfair. It almost seems impossible.
The Warriors’ 36th district championship trophy came in a sweep of Zane Trace on Saturday — a 25-21, 26-24, 25-18 final — at Waverly High School.
The win over the Pioneers’ is Adena’s third this season, completing a clean sweep.
“We’ve always heard that it’s hard to beat a good team three times,” Adena’s Eva Kruger said. “So we came into this match and wanted to live in the moment, focusing on every single point. We were really just focused on winning.”
Kruger was solid all day long, finding holes in ZT’s defense, seemingly at ease, and helping her team go on runs to create separation throughout the match.
Her efforts were alongside that of seniors Sydney Foglesong and Hannah Burns, who combined for 31 kills, and Grace Townsend at the setter position.
“We just needed to come together as a team and play together,” Townsend said. “We didn’t want this to be the seniors’ last game. So we just had to play together and play our hearts out.”
Adena (23-2) never trailed in the first set, taking its first lead at 3-2 and extending it to 13-9 after back-to-back kills from Burns.
PHOTOS: Images from Adena’s district final win over Zane Trace
VIDEO: Watch Adena and Zane Trace’s meeting in a Division III district final
Kruger later made it a 19-13 advantage before Brinlee Preston sent a kill to the floor for a 23-15 count. That’s when the Pioneers (19-5) decided to go on a 5-0 run, cutting the deficit to 23-20.
But the deficit was too big to overcome as Burns gave Adena an opening 25-21 victory.
“They were pretty even-keeled,” Smith said of her girls. “They got excited but not in an overwhelming way. They were happy about what happened and when a mistake was made, they didn’t get way down low, either.”
The Warriors raced out to a 4-0 lead in the second behind a pair of aces from Burns and a kill from Kruger. That was the trend to open the game. The Pioneers tied the game at 4-4, Adena went ahead 8-4 and the game was again tied at 8-8.
Laynie Hill then gave ZT its first lead of the day at 9-8 before Alexis Farley extended that advantage to 13-10. But Burns and company stormed back to take a 15-14 lead and went ahead 21-18 when Foglesong put down a kill.
Later, with Adena leading 24-20, the Pioneers went on a 4-0 run to tie the score behind Farley and Kendra Detillion. But the Warriors took the next point on a hitting error and then closed out the win with an ace from Brooke Bossert.
“We’ve been talking a lot about staying in the moment and keeping our mindsets where they need to be,” Adena coach Laura Smith said. “We’re not looking ahead and we’re not thinking about mistakes we make. When the next serve comes, it’s like playing a whole new game. It’s about staying in the moment and I’m hoping they’re understanding that.”
That second set victory took the wind out of Zane Trace’s sails. Adena opened the third on a 6-0 run before the Pioneers could blink.
To its credit, ZT fought back valiantly and took a 12-11 lead. But an ace from Bossert put the Warriors back in front at 15-14 before Foglesong helped to extend that lead to 21-16. That was enough insurance for Adena to win a 25-18 decision.
Statistically, Foglesong led Adena with 21 kills and two blocks while Burns added 10 kills, 11 digs and a pair of aces. Kruger added eight kills and 14 digs, Bossert had a pair of aces and 14 digs, Brenna McQuiniff also had 14 digs and Townsend added 37 assists.
While Zane Trace ends its season, Adena moves to a Division III regional semifinal at 7:30 p.m., Thursday at Logan High School. The Warriors will meet with Wheelersburg, a straight-set winner over Southeastern on Saturday.
“We have to come in everyday ready to go,” Townsend said. “We can’t let up. We have to come out ready to play.”
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