John Bruce, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
CHILLICOTHE — For a moment on Saturday, it looked as if Eastern Meigs had reached the end of the line.
The Eagles found themselves trailing 2-0 in a Division VII district championship match at Southeastern, staring at elimination.
But unbeknownst to everyone but the Eagles (19-5), they felt they were in the perfect position to come from behind and flip the script on the Tornadoes.
They were right, too, as they stormed back to shock their TVC-Hocking rival in five sets, winning a thriller by a 22-25, 24-26, 25-21, 25-21, 15-10 final.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
“We split the TVC championship, so that showed us how closely matched we were,” Eastern’s Braelyn Simpson said. “Today, we earned this game, we were the better team, we played better and had better energy.I feel like we were the most consistent.”
After the two teams split the TVC-Hocking championship, it was evident that the rubber match had the makings of a classic with the two Meigs County rivals playing for a district title.
However, with Southern taking each of the first two sets, the classic part of the match was seemingly up in the air.
The Tornadoes (20-3) were led by Kiersten Rose and Ali Norris at the net, with freshman Lyddia Smith playing extremely well all-around. Sydney Stout and Jaylynn Hupp guided the offense with precision and Hupp also came up with some monster swings to help the Tornadoes storm out to the early two-set advantage.
Even though the Eagles were trailing, one thing was for certain — they were not lacking confidence and had full belief in their ability to come back.
“We knew after the second set that we were already in their heads,” Eastern’s Makenzie Robertson said. “Our coach talked about remaining in their heads, and to stay focused and disciplined. That’s been our motto all year. So we knew that once we were in their heads, we were going up from there.”
The third set opened with a slight advantage for Southern, but Simpson, a sophomore, began to heat up at the net for the Eagles, taking big swings to help grab momentum for the green and white.
An ace from freshman Emeri Lloyd grabbed an early lead that Eastern never relinquished. Consecutive kills from Simpson built the lead before a big block from Brooklyn Barkey sent shockwaves of energy through the Eastern faithful.
PHOTOS: Images from Eastern’s district title win over Southern
“The atmosphere was amazing,” Robertson said. “We knew coming in that Southern was going to have a great crowd, so we told a lot of people to come to that game. We knew if the atmosphere was better that we would play better.”
Southern didn’t go away throughout the third, staying within range to at least make the Eagles remember that they were close. A late kill from Hupp forced a timeout with the lead cut to 22-20. But Eastern’s Peyton Bailey closed out the third with a pair of kills to get the Eagles their first win.
The fourth began with Simpson and Norris trading swings to open the proceedings but, eventually, Smith got going for the Tornadoes as they built an 11-7 lead over Eastern.
However, Eastern regrouped before beginning an extended run led first by freshman Addy Atha at the net. Then, Simpson completely caught fire to put the Eagles ahead 19-12.
“When I have that much momentum, I just tell myself that there is nothing to lose,” Simpson said. “Either you hit the crap out of it, or you just don’t get a kill. So that’s what I think in my head.”
When Simpson got going, it appeared the whole squad was going as well.
Atha found her groove even more so and aces from Robertson and Ashlynn Thomas pushed the lead even further. A mini-run from Rose and Norris cut the lead to 21-19 late but it didn’t phase the Eagles, who finished off the set with a kill from Robertson to force a fifth.
In the race to 15, Robertson and Hupp traded big plays to keep the score tied at 4-4, but Simpson absolutely caught fire — again — with four kills over the next six points to give the Eagles a 9-5 edge.
“[Eastern setter Kinslie Well] is very important,” Simpson said. “We have a wonderful setter and she gives us what we want and what we need especially, so that played a huge part in today’s game.”
Southern showed the heart of a champion in an attempt to stay in the match after falling behind 11-5 after consecutive kills from Robertson. Rose put down three consecutive kills herself, along with a late ace. But, that effort was too little, too late, as a kill from Robertson set up match-point. Then, a block from Atha sent the Eagles to the Sweet 16.
“It’s the ultimate motivation honestly,” Robertson said of Simpson’s late-match heroics. “Watching her hit the 10-foot line was the peak of the game and we were really hyped about that. Our team is one where if one person is hot, the rest of the team feels hot. That’s just how we are as a team.”
Southern closes their season as the TVC-Hocking co-champion, along with Eastern, and will have to replace several outstanding seniors — including Rose and Hupp, who recently recorded her 2,000th career assist.
The Eagles now advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the 2015 season, without a senior on the roster.
Eastern gets back to action against Tuscarawas Central Catholic in a Division VII regional semifinal at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Zanesville High School. The Saints beat Conotton Valley to advance.
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