Carson Francis, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by Holzer Health System.
CIRCLEVILLE — It wasn’t pretty by any means.
But even with all the mistakes and things to clean up, Circleville found a way to get it done.
After suffering a loss to Bloom-Carroll on Sept. 3, the Tigers (4-2, 2-1 MSL-Buckeye) traveled to Logan Elm on Tuesday and pulled away from the Braves in each set, putting together a 25-19, 25-19, 29-27 sweep.
“That was a total team win. We’ve been taking pride in playing scrappy volleyball and recovering after mistakes, and making sure that when somebody makes a mistake, we pick them up as a teammate,” Circleville head coach Chrystal Thornsley said. “I thought they did an excellent job doing that tonight against a really scrappy Logan Elm team. Keeping our composure was key.”
Though several mistakes put the Tigers behind early in the first set, they got right back up and responded every single time.
CREDIT: Brock Netter/SOSA
Three consecutive attacking errors, followed by a service ace from LE’s Maleah Gardner, put the Tigers in an early 4-0 hole. But Mallory McConnell won the serve back for Circleville by connecting for her first kill of the night before Jocelyn McLaughlin and Kaylee West cashed in. A Braves’ attacking error put things back at 4-4.
Circleville slowly began to take advantage of Logan Elm’s mistakes throughout the set, building the lead to 14-8. But the Braves (5-4, 2-1 MSL-Buckeye) weren’t going to make things easy on its opponent.
Another set of three straight errors against the Tigers gave LE new life, and the Braves took advantage from there. They would ride that momentum to an 8-0 run, going ahead 16-14.
The Tigers quickly put a stop to that, however.
Following a timeout, McConnell tied the game with back-to-back kills that led to an 11-3 Circleville run. Thornsley then powered a kill, allowing the Tigers to close out a 25-19 first-set win.
“[Ally] has worked so much on her game. She didn’t get to hit last year because of a back injury,” Thornsley said. “She’s getting her wheels back under her, and I think, ultimately, she just wants to do well for her team. She believes in them, they believe in her, and she just competes.”
Circleville quickly built a 5-1 lead in the second set, thanks to four LE attacking errors and a Gianna Zabani kill. But again, Logan Elm made the Tigers work throughout the set, rallying to 7-7, 9-9, 10-10, 11-11, 13-13 and 15-15 ties.
The Tigers then briefly built an 18-15 lead before Liggins and Nyah McCully cashed in for Logan Elm kills, and a Circleville attacking error brought things back to a tie at 18-18.
Deja vu for Circleville.
And, just like in the first set, the Tigers stayed composed and took matters into their own hands.
After an LE service error, Jocelyn McLaughlin delivered three straight aces, and four in five volleys, to build a 24-18 lead for Circleville.
Thornsley would again close the set off an assist from Kaylee West for a 25-19 second-set victory, giving Circleville a 2-0 match lead.
“Mallory and Gianna both have just worked their tails off in the middle. It’s a new position for both of them, but they take pride in it, and I think they’re both driven and want to be as good as they can be for their team,” Thornsley said. “Kaylee is new to the front row. She’s worked on her attack and just learning the position, and there’s a lot of overtime going on outside of practice that I’m just super proud of.”
After the Tigers went on a 5-1 run to begin the third, the Braves once again rallied with their backs against the wall and fought to a 10-9 lead, following a kill from Savage. The Braves led 16-12 before Circleville tied things at 17-17, and the two squads kept exchanging leads from there.
Circleville looked to close things out with a 22-20 lead. Maggie Arnett would halt that for LE after logging a block for a kill. That led to the Braves finding themselves serving set point, up 24-22.
Still, however, the Tigers stayed calm and ensured there would be no fourth set.
An LE attacking error was followed by a kill from West, knotting things at 24-24. Then, with Circleville trailing 26-25, Thornsley connected for a kill before West served up an ace to give the Tigers match point at 27-26.
The Tigers then committed an error that tied it back at 27-27. However, it was that same mistake the Braves would commit on the following two volleys, giving Circleville a 29-27 victory in the third set to wrap up a straight-set win.
“I feel like whenever we play Logan Elm, we always know we’re going to get their best,” McConnell said. “Obviously, we were prepared for that and practice always prepares us for that. But we just came in with our whole team and played together.”
“Everybody gave everything they had. It wasn’t just two people or four people, it was a whole team effort. We all put in so much energy and effort,” Zabani added. “I feel like we do need to play at our level and make sure we’re not dropping down.”
Both teams will be back in MSL-Buckeye action on Thursday evening. For Circleville, it will be a trip to Hamilton Township, while Logan Elm hits the road to take on Liberty Union.
“We have to keep growing in the positions we’re inexperienced at and do the work we need to do,” Thornsley said. “Continue to be smart hitters, find ways to score, and continue working on our blocking. In our whole game, just continue to work hard.”
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