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WAVERLY — With his team’s season hanging by a thread, Nelsonville-York coach Wayne Dicken gave his team a much-needed reminder.
“I told them that in this tournament, so far, a lot of teams have come back from 2-0 down to win the next three sets,” Dicken said.
He was onto something.
After dropping the first two sets to on Saturday in a Division III district championship, Dicken’s Buckeyes (23-2) rolled off three straight wins in thrilling fashion to stun Southeastern and win their first district crown since 2012 — the school’s second-ever.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
“It’s a credit to our team that they never fold,” Dicken said. “We felt like we played well in the first and second sets, well enough to win even, but they just didn’t go our way. So we definitely thought it was possible that we could win the next three.”
Statistically, Chloe Lehman has been NY’s leader. The senior entered Saturday’s match with a team-high 360 kills.
Lehman eventually made her mark on the win. However, early on, Kyleigh Warren was the unquestioned hot hand.
While the Buckeyes indeed dropped the first two sets, Warren let the Panthers know from the get-go that they’d have to silence both of NY’s smoking guns if they were going to walk out with a win.
“Kyleigh has put a lot of teams on notice this season,” Dicken said. “She’s been flying under the radar. She was one of our outsides last year but she really worked hard during the offseason and she swings hard and with confidence. Those things together make her a very dangerous hitter.”
Tale of the tape
After Southeastern (19-5) took a 7-6 lead in the first set, Jessie Higley led the Panthers on a 4-0 burst from the service line to push the edge to 11-6. Lehman later tied the score at 15-15 but Morgan Ware and Braylee Rebman teamed up to give the Panthers breathing room at 21-17.
A hitting error and two kills from Ware made it a 24-19 ballgame before Lehman and Warren spearheaded a 5-0 run to tie the score again. But two more NY errors handed Southeastern a 26-24 win and a 1-0 match lead.
In the second, the two went back and forth until Jozy Lougheed powered SE to a 10-7 lead. Nelsonville-York answered with a 9-0 run, one paced by Megan Booth at the service line.
Booth logged three consecutive aces and later added two more to put the Buckeyes up 16-10.
“Megan watches more film than I do,” Dicken said, with a smile. “She’s a student of the game and so cerebral. I call her my floor general because she’s so smart. She sets the ball well, the girls love hitting those sets and we wouldn’t be where we are without her.”
Once the Panthers chased Booth from the line, they went on a run of their own. Lougheed and Ware, alongside Chloe Wills, answered with an 8-0 run, forcing a 21-21 tie. Ware then logged an ace, followed by a Lougheed block, and SE stole a win to go ahead 2-0.
“We just couldn’t let up,” Warren said. “We just had to keep going, even though we were down 2-0. We just had to keep up our intensity, maybe even more.”
Backed into a corner, the Buckeyes came out in the third swinging — literally.
After Southeastern took a 4-1 lead, NY battled back to tie the game at 7-7.
Kenzie VanBibber then gave them a lead with an ace, which was the start of a 7-0 run to put them ahead 12-7. That lead swelled to 17-10 before Lehman and company fought off a late comeback bid to win 25-23.
The fourth was nip and tuck all the way through.
Southeastern took a 15-14 lead with a kill from Lougheed, one that gave Wills her 1,000th career assist, before Ware made it 21-19 with an ace. But Lehman wouldn’t be denied. She tied the game at 23-23 before Booth served the Buckeyes to a two-point win, forcing a fifth.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
Quickly, the Buckeyes took a 4-0 lead in the fifth and held a 7-3 edge after the first 10 serves. The Panthers, again, battled to tie it late as Rebman logged a kill to make it 13-13 late.
Five ties later, at 18-18, Warren sent a ball to the floor for a 19-18 lead just before the Buckeyes finished off a thrilling 20-18 victory.
“I’m just very proud of these girls and the way they kept fighting throughout the night,” Dicken said. “To win it in that fashion, in that close of a game, it’s just super exciting.”
Stat book
Southeastern was led statistically by Lougheed, who had 25 kills, while Ware and Rebman had 13 and seven, respectively.
Lehman logged a match-high 27 kills while Warren followed closely with 25. Gianna Dixon also helped out with 10 kills.
What’s on tap
While Southeastern’s comes to an end, Nelsonville-York advances to a Division III regional semifinal at 6 p.m., Thursday at Logan High School.
The Buckeyes will meet with Byesville Meadobrook, who swept Belmont Union Local to advance and will be looking to defend their regional crown.
“It’s going to take hard work,” Dicken said. “We know that Meadowbrook is fundamentally sound. They’re a great team and they’re well-coached. So we’re going to have to get after it, have three good days of practice and play it point by point. Hopefully, we come out on top.”
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