Derrick Webb, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — In the most critical moment of Wednesday’s Division II sectional final, and with her team on the ropes, Fairfield Union coach Holly Culver chose not to call a timeout.
It wasn’t a gamble. It wasn’t a mishap.
She just simply had trust that her girls would get the job done.
“We’ve been talking about trust, being trustworthy and doing your job,” Culver said. “It’s making sure that others know you’re going to do your job so they can do theirs. That’s all I did. I put my trust in them. I believe in them. If you give somebody belief, they can do anything they want.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
The Falcons (19-4), who trailed 12-11 in the fifth set after leading 11-8, regrouped without a break in the action to gut out a 15-13 victory over Unioto to advance — a 25-22, 25-20, 22-25, 18-25, 15-13 final.
“I’m beyond proud of these girls and I love every single one of them,” Culver said. “They gave their all every single play. They fought hard, they were selfless … I can’t say enough good things about them.”
The win wasn’t an easy one to come by. No win is easy to come by in the Division II district tournament.
However, having Christian Thompson on your side of the net certainly helps your efforts. The Ohio University-bound junior was a one-man wrecking crew at times, willing her teammates to the finish line with a game-high 36 kills alongside 23 digs, three aces and three blocks.
“She’s a huge asset,” Culver said. “She’s someone we know we can go to when we need the job done. She does it selflessly. She plays any position I ask her to and does anything I ask her to. She goes out to her teammates and gives them some coaching sometimes, and listens to them. She’s just an all-around great player and a great kid.”
Tale of the tape
The Shermans (21-3) took a 4-0 lead out of the gates, thanks to the play of senior Morgan Daniels at the service line. But after Ella Cutright gave Unioto a 5-2 lead with a kill, Fairfield Union stormed back to go ahead 10-7 with back-to-back kills from Thompson.
That lead swelled to counts of 13-8, 18-10 and 24-15 before the Shermans went on a 5-0 run. Thompson, however, gave the Falcons a 1-0 lead in the match with a kill that sealed a 25-20 win.
In the second, more of the same took place.
Daniels helped her team get out to a 7-2 lead but it wasn’t sustainable. Fairfield Union answered with a 7-2 run of its own to tie the score before Zoie Dettwiller and Alli Park teamed up to put the Shermans on top at 15-11.
But that’s the point where Thompson again rotated into the front row and took matters into her own hands. Flanked by both Adelyn Wolfe and Emily Burke, Thompson led the Falcons on a 9-1 run to take a 20-16 lead before closing out a 25-22 victory.
“We were just telling [each other] to be aggressive, but safe with everything we did,” Thompson said. “We’re just confident in our abilities. Everybody on this team can do anything they want. It’s really just knowing our strengths and knowing where to put the ball.”
Down 2-0 and facing elimination, Unioto answered the bell.
After Daniels toed the service line and gave her team another quick start, this time a 5-0 run, Jade Stewart later made it 8-3 with a kill. A kill from Park and an ace from Madelyn Wetzel later extended the lead to 15-9 before back-to-back aces via Cutright made it 19-10.
That was enough momentum to hold off a late Falcon rally and seal a 25-22 victory.
The fourth was completely controlled by Unioto. Dettwiller and Stewart helped power a set-opening 8-3 run before Detwiller put the Shermans ahead 16-10 with three consecutive kills.
A 25-18 tally sent the match into the fifth and final set.
“We knew we had to work hard,” Thompson said. “We knew it, obviously, wasn’t going to be an easy game in the tournament. We felt like we were the better team and we just played our game.”
Thompson put her Falcons ahead 5-1 early in the fifth … a lead that later grew to 10-5. However, Unioto had one last run left in the tank.
A pair of hitting errors, a Cutright kill and a Dettwiller ace cut the deficit to 11-9 before Unioto took a 12-11 lead with yet another ace from Dettwiller.
That’s when Fairfield Union had a choice … fight or throw in the towel. The Falcons chose the former.
Josie Kraft blocked a ball at the net just after a Unioto misfire, putting FU back on top at 13-12. Thompson then, fittingly, sealed the win with consecutive kills to catapult her team into a district semifinal.
Stat book
Following Thompson’s final stat line, Burke added 20 kills, 12 digs and two blocks, and Wolfe had seven kills and seven blocks. Alyssa Tipton also helped out with 54 assists and 22 digs while Cara Miller chipped in defensively with 26 digs.
Unioto was led by Cutright, who had 16 kills and three aces, while Stewart finished with 10 kills. Alli Park helped out with nine kills, Dettwiller had nine kills and two blocks, Daniels ended with 23 digs and four aces, and Wetzel totaled 37 assists and 13 digs.
What’s on tap
While Unioto’s season comes to a close, Fairfield Union advances to a Division II district semifinal.
The Falcons will meet with New Lexington — a five-set winner over Circleville — at 8 p.m., Monday at Southeastern High School.
“We have to keep our energy, keep our trust in each other and keep our belief,” Culver said. “If we do that, we’ll get the job done.”
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