Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WAVERLY — Talent has never been an issue for Zane Trace this season. But at some points, inconsistent play has plagued the Pioneers.
But when push came to shove on Thursday, the Pioneers’ seniors delivered in a massive way to keep their season alive.
The trio of Addison Platt, Laynie Scott and Maddie Mash all delivered big moments in the fourth set, lifting the Pioneers from an early double-digit deficit to a four-set victory — a 25-18, 24-26, 25-20, 25-19 final — over North Adams in a Division V district semifinal.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
“We prepared a lot for North Adams, and one of the things we emphasized a lot was ‘huddle culture,’ and we always say that a team that huddles together plays together,” Zane Trace coach Ashton Ward said. “Being down double digits in the fourth set and somehow figuring out a way to win, you couldn’t ask for more from a group of girls.”
While the group of seniors finished the job, it was the duo of junior Kailee Johnson and freshman Karlee Snavely that gave North Adams (21-3) fits.
The duo’s height, combined with their athleticism, made a recipe for power at the net. It was a concoction the Green Devils’ defense wasn’t quick enough to recover from.
Johnson tallied early kills, alongside Scott, while Snavely served up a pair of aces to put ZT ahead 18-10 in the first set.
Although North Adams went on a small rally, Johnson was too much to contain between kills and blocks, which she got two of each down the stretch, to give ZT the win.
“Kailee has really come a long way this season, and she’s turning into the player I know she can be,” Ward said. “Karlee brings a different energy on the floor, and for just being a freshman, she brings it every time. You couldn’t ask for more from both players.”
North Adams understood it had to come out with a lot more fire and fight if it wanted to keep pace with the Pioneers’ athleticism. There were six ties and four lead changes before NA’s Aulbrea Meade served back-to-back aces, putting the Devils ahead 14-12 in the second.
Katelynn Boerger then joined in on the fun by smashing three kills and ripping an ace, only for Zane Trace to go on a 5-1 run behind Johnson and Reice Grant to tie the set at 22-22. Later tied at 24-24, ZT committed an error, which set up Boerger for a kill to tie the match at 1-1.
PHOTOS: Images from Zane Trace’s win over North Adams
Now that tides were slowly turning, the Pioneers looked towards their upperclassmen and Scott was at the front and center of the attack. She, alongside Emma Houston, were vital at the net as they got out to an 11-6 lead.
The edge grew to as large as 16-10, but North Adams managed to cut the deficit to 17-15, following kills from Boerger and Emma Pistole, alongside a block from Meade.
However, Scott later powered down back-to-back kills to push the lead to 20-15, which was enough to sway momentum back to close out the third.
“Our energy was a huge thing for us, and our bench did a great job of keeping us up,” Scott said. “We knew that they had two main hitters they wanted to get the ball to, and I thought we did a great job of communicating where the ball was going to set up our block. It was all part of slowing them down.”
Understanding what was on the line, the Green Devils came out firing behind Boerger, Meade, Paige Evans and Morgan Wheeler to jump ahead 13-2 in the fourth.
However, the Pioneers were about to showcase how much fight they truly had.
They began to chip away as Kerrigan Hill and Platt were seemingly everywhere defensively, diving for digs and making accurate passes to set up Scott, Snavely and Johnson at the net.
Momentum was shifting, the Green Devils were getting tired and the Pioneers knew it.
That double-digit lead dwindled down from 13-2 to 17-14, and it was time for ZT to make its move. Mash came up with two huge blocks and Scott added a kill as part of a 4-0 run to give ZT the lead at 18-17 before ending on a complete 23-6 run to close the game with a victory in hand.
“I don’t think any of us wanted to go home, and we weren’t ready for our season to be over,” Platt said. “We just wanted it more down the stretch, we worked really well together and it all worked out in the end. Our serving was keeping them off-balance and out of their system, which really helped us a lot since it was causing them trouble and they couldn’t get the ball down.”
Zane Trace returns to action at 5 p.m. on Saturday in a Division V district final at Waverly High School against Huntington, who defeated Westfall to advance.
The Pioneers have lost twice to the Lady Huntsmen, but they feel like this is their golden chance to finally capture a district title — something they haven’t done in the past 12 years.
“We’re very familiar with them and they’re familiar with us. It has to be pedal to the metal the entire game for us,” Scott said. “They’re going to have their good hits just as we will, so we have to make sure we’re on point with our passes, play how we can and come out strong. We haven’t won a district since 2012, so we’re motivated to win it.”
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