Brock Netter, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
LYNCHBURG — A 2-0 match lead in volleyball is one the most dangerous spots to be in. The advantage can allow you to relax, get a little too comfortable and take your foot off the gas.
Valley learned that lesson the hard way on Monday.
After taking the first two sets, the Indians hit cruise control. And before they could blink, they found themselves in a fifth set with their season on the line.
But they managed to dodge a bullet, working to overcome Lynchburg-Clay’s rally for a 25-12, 25-16, 23-25, 21-25, 18-16 victory in Division VI district action.
“We came out really strong in the first two sets, and that’s usually how it goes for us,” Valley coach Tracey Vice said. “But it came down to me making subs because we were making too many mistakes, yet I think it lit a fire underneath the girls because they didn’t want to see their season end. Although it wasn’t easy, they managed to get the job done.”
In the first set, Carly Metzger served back-to-back aces, putting Valley (10-9) ahead 3-2 and the Indians never looked back. Between kills from Katelyn Queen, Kendyl Christman, Bri Strickland and Camry Carpenter, the lead continued to grow as it reached 9-5, 13-6 and topped out as large as 13 point at 22-9 before Valley closed out the win.
Much of the same took place in the second.
Once tied 3-3, Valley put things into overdrive and pieced together a 9-0 run, featuring a pair of kills from Strickland to go ahead 12-3. From that point, the lead kept growing as it reached heights of 19-7 before the Indians went ahead 2-0 in the match.
“This is a fairly young team, considering there are only three seniors and the rest of my starters are sophomores. So experience matters,” Vice said. “Our communication was really good and we were covering hitters. We were watching the ball and everything was falling into place.”
However, volleyball can be a funny game. Momentum shifts out of nowhere, and that’s exactly what happened.
The Indians began committing a ton of unforced errors, and found themselves trailing 9-4 in the third. They went on a 6-1 run to tie the game at 10-10, but LC’s Kylie O’Connor notched a kill to keep the Mustangs (16-6) ahead.
Valley later took a 13-12 lead on a kill from Queen, but two blocks from O’Connor gave the Mustangs a 16-15 advantage. The sprint to 25 was officially on, and LC got contributions from Halle Greene and Mattie Magee to go ahead 23-19 and hold on for the win.
The fourth set had eight ties and five lead changes, the final change coming with Lynchburg-Clay taking a 19-18 advantage. At that point, Magee took over for the Mustangs with two blocks and a kill before an unforced Valley error closed the set, forcing a 2-2 tie and a fifth set.
“I flat-out told our girls that we were giving Lynchburg the game. We weren’t earning our points and they wanted it more than we did, which is why they battled back to force a fifth set and they deserve a lot of credit for that,” Vice said. “We had the ability to change that and still win the set, but it was going to take all six players on the court to do so.”
The Mustangs were filled with supreme confidence and built a 10-2 lead in the fifth, behind kills from Greene, Melany Stepenson and Avery Carraher, alongside an ace from Joslyn Rockey.
Valley built a tad of momentum behind Christman and Metzger to cut into the lead, but later found itself facing match point at 14-10. With their season on life support, Strickland powered down back-to-back kills, which was followed by two Mustang errors to tie the game at 14-14.
After ties at 15 and 16, Valley got an edge with a Mustang error that was followed by another error as the ball hit the ground, ending LC’s season and sending the Indians, mercifully, onward.
“We’ve been behind before and came back. That’s nothing new to us since it’s happened multiple times before,” Vice said. “Volleyball is a game of momentum and it swings in the blink of an eye. We’re a hungry group and I think, more than anything, they wanted a chance to prove that they’re just as competitive, no matter how old or young of a team we are.”
While Lynchburg-Clay’s season comes to a close, Valley advances to a Division VI district semifinal at 6 p.m., on Oct. 24 at Wellston High School against No.2 seeded Nelsonville-York.
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