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WELLSTON — For it being its their time in a district final, the Fairfield Lions certainly proved the stage wasn’t too big for them.
In fact, the Lions took Saturday’s first set and had all every ounce of momentum.
However, when push came to shove, Nelsonville-York simply had too much firepower for the Lions to keep up with.
Behind the attack of Gianna Dixon and Kyleigh Warren, alongside outstanding senior leadership, the Buckeyes stormed back to take a four-set victory — 22-25, 25-16, 25-21 and 25-16 — and claim back-to-back district championships.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
“These girls are so close with one another, and I think that friendship on and off the court pushes them to be better,” Nelsonville-York coach Wayne Dicken said. “They put in the work to have this type of success and they’re a great group to coach. It’s been a special ride for them. Most of these girls are three-year starters and to see them win a second straight district title and make it back to regional play is something we’re incredibly thrilled about.”
Unquestionably, this senior class will go down in Nelsonville-York history as the best to ever grace the court.
In four years, they have amassed a 86-12 record that includes three TVC titles, four sectional crowns and now two of the school’s three district championships.
And the story is still being written.
“It’s a different feeling this year. Last year we cared a lot, but this year it means so much more to us since we’re all seniors,” Dixon said. “We made it to regionals last season, but it feels like there’s less pressure now since we know what it’s like to play on this stage. I believe that as long as we continue to try our hardest, we can make it further.”
Early on, though, the Buckeyes (22-2) had some issues figuring out how to stop the Lions’ attack. There were 11 ties and eight lead changes as both teams jockeyed for position, but a pair of kills from Fairfield’s Remi Moon put the Lions ahead 19-18.
Mackenzie Anderson smashed back-to-back kills to go ahead 22-18, and the Lions (18-7) kept that momentum until Jobey Hattan ripped the final kill for a first set win.
“It was definitely a reality check losing that first set,” Dixon said. “We realized that we had to wake up, start communicating better, putting balls down and play smarter. We’re basically all seniors, so we had to pick it up.”
PHOTOS: Images from Nelsonville-York’s district title win over Fairfield
Early on in the second, Chloe Vohlken made her presence felt with back-to-back kills, followed by an ace to put the Buckeyes ahead 8-4. The Lions fought back, cutting the lead to 13-12, but that’s when Dixon began to take over.
The 6-foot senior middle hitter tallied three kills as part of a 6-0 run to go ahead 19-12, and registered two more before a final kill from Madi Pidcock closed the set to tie the match.
Dixon showcased her power in the second, but the third was all about Warren.
She ripped four early kills to give her Buckeyes a 9-6 lead. And, as she racked up four more kills, the Buckeyes later went ahead 16-11. But Fairfield wasn’t going away quietly.
Hattan went back on the attack with a pair of kills and a block, and alongside a kill from McKinley Cox, helped cut the deficit to 22-19. However, Dixon and Warren each answered with kills of their own to retake momentum and power the Buckeyes to victory.
“Fairfield has some really nice hitters, and targeting in on them was key. We have a really good block, but we also had to position ourselves around the block,” Nelsonville-York’s Delaney Dean said. “Our defense was much better in the second set, and we just carried that for the rest of the night.”
Dixon was TVC’s Defensive Player of the Year, and she went back on the attack with an opening block followed by three additional kills in the third. Vohlken then served up a pair of aces, getting NY out to a 9-2 lead and it was over from there.
Warren came down with two more kills, as did Dixon, before Delaney Dean ripped an ace for the final, and most important, point to keep a district plaque in Nelsonville.
“We lost some really big players last year, but this year has felt like all of us being on that freshman team again working together to make it to this point,” Dean said. “We’ve all clicked really well together, the seniors have really stepped up and it’s been an amazing year.”
While Fairfield’s season comes to a close, Nelsonville-York advances to a Division VI regional semifinal at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Heath High School against Marion Pleasant.
“We want to make school history and win a regional,” Dean said. “It’ll take working harder than last year to do it, but we can come together and do it.”
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