Tyler Hart, Contributor
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
KINNIKINNICK — You couldn’t have thought of a better start for Zane Trace’s volleyball program this season.
CREDIT: Marissa Spradlin/SOSA
Behind a talented senior group that’s enjoying their final journey on the court, the Pioneers have bursted out of the gates to win their first four matches.
The latest of those wins came on Thursday in a sweep of visiting Miami Trace by a 25-6, 25-18, 25-21 final.
“We have big goals this year and it’s our senior year. We just want to do big things,” senior Lexi Scott said. “We want to come out with as much fire as possible and set the tone. It’s definitely all about the first couple of points for us. That’s how we know how it’s going to go.”
The first couple of points, and the entire first set for that matter, was no problem for the Pioneers.
Zane Trace (4-0) dominated early and, with efficiency, took care of the opening set by a decisive 25-6 final.
Scott had the hot hand early with four kills during an 8-0 run that gave her team a 10-1 lead.
Miami Trace, try as they may, chipped back into things for a brief period but any momentum was nixed away with another kill coming from Scott. She punched a few more powering blows before Zane Trace closed the set and took a 1-0 lead in the match.
While Scott was having her way with the Panthers’ defense, classmate Alexis Farley got into the mix of things.
“We were really excited today and I think that helped a lot,” Farley said. “We all know each other really well and all of our seniors are friends. So we try to push ourselves together.”
When Scott and Farley got rolling, their teammates followed the duo’s lead and that became a scary sight for those on the other side of the net. Zane Trace opened the second with a 3-0 lead, capped by a missile from Farley that stayed in the lines.
Miami Trace (2-1) began to make things interesting, taking its first lead of the night after a Gracey Ferguson spike. Ferguson and Sophia Parsons would keep Miami Trace in a foot race before it ran out of steam later in the set.
Farley was a big part of taking away MT’s rhythm as she continued to find success, picking apart the Panthers’ defense at the net. Eventually, Zane Trace had a 2-0 lead and started to look into its broom closet, preparing for a clean sweep.
The third frame showed more signs of hope for the Panthers, but that effort was too little, too late.
Miami Trace held a 15-14 lead in the set before Scott found the upper hand again with two straight finishing kills. The Panthers then forced a 16-16 tie before Zane Trace grinded their way to the finish line — an effort led by Gracey McCullough at the service line and a pesky back row that continued to keep volleys alive.
“We just want to come out with as much fire as possible and set the tone. We tend to sometimes get down on ourselves and everything kind of snowballs,” Scott said. “[Tonight], as soon as we made a mistake, we shook it off. We just need to make an extra pass here, get a good swing and that’s all it really takes to get going.”
Scott ended the night with 13 kills and nine digs while Farley posted nine kills and a pair of aces. Kinley May helped out with nine digs, four aces and 14 assists, Delaney Berry had 15 assists and six digs, McCullough added 15 digs, and Kendra Detillion finished with eight kills.
Statistics for Miami Trace were not available.
The Pioneers are back in action on Monday at Fisher Catholic while Miami Trace looks to get back on track on Tuesday, hosting McClain in both teams’ Frontier Athletic Conference openers.
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