By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

UNION CITY — In a battle between undefeated WOAC teams, the Lady Trojans and the Lady Blackhawks delivered a great game in front of a big crowd at Mississinawa Valley on September 17.

Arcanum came through in the end and won 3-0 over Mississinawa Valley in three close sets. Arcanum head coach Jacie Holman said she has talked about how her team has a target on their back since they won the WOAC last season. They enjoy having that target and getting everyone’s best shot, even when the team was struggling a little bit leading into this one.

“We went through a rut a little bit. This was a game we needed to get back into the swing of things. First two sets were not our strongest. I’m proud of us for still winning. That tells a lot about what our team is. Third set, we are truly starting to show that we’re a force to be reckoned with,” Holman said.

In a match close like this one, the little mistakes turn out to be the difference in how long the match goes or the outcome. Mississinawa Valley head coach Nancy Whitted said Arcanum is a great team led by a great coach in Holman, but they beat themselves at times.

“Our serving killed us tonight. We lost because of our serving period. Silly mistakes is what lost that game. All three sets,” Whitted said. “I knew it was going to be a good competition. I knew we would give them some good competition. But, I was hoping to go at least five sets, four. I didn’t expect them to beat us in three.”

The first set was a back and forth affair. Despite starting off slow in their matches, the Lady Blackhawks came out firing. They knew this was a big game and the team was prepared to compete against one of the best teams in the conference.

“They were ready. They were wanting to get into this game. This was a big one for them. They really cared about it. I think they’re pretty disappointed in themselves,” Whitted said.

The set was tied 19-19 as both teams used their timeouts effectively and made adjustments to get back into the set.

The Lady Trojans were able to get the last run in the set and won it 25-21. A few hitting errors by Mississinawa Valley put them behind in the set.

As the second set went on, Arcanum started to gain steam and looked like they were pulling away with it. The Lady Trojans, led by their serving and strong hitting, led 20-16 lead.

Mississinawa Valley went right to work and started to chip into the deficit. They never let Arcanum get too comfortable with the lead.

Arcanum held them off and took the second set, 25-22.

In the third set, Mississinawa Valley was playing from behind for most of it. Arcanum grabbed a lead early and were able to keep it for the remainder of the set.

The serving from the Lady Trojans was the difference. They were able to move the Lady Blackhawks around on defense and let their hitters clean up. Holman said they were aggressive at the net and at the serving line in this match. They want to be the aggressor and get teams out of system.

“We don’t just have one or two servers. Our whole team can go back there and really serve well. It’s just not being able to serve to different positions, it’s being able to go seams. Do a drop, where it floats then drops. It’s hard defensively to do anything with that,” Holman said.

Arcanum built up a 20-12 lead and looked like it would be one of the easier wins in the match. However, the Lady Blackhawks kept their heads in the game and started to mount a comeback.

Mississinawa Valley showed off their hitting power throughout the match. When Arcanum seemed to be running away with the set, the Lady Blackhawks stepped up and started to go on a little run.

But, Arcanum kept strong and closed out the third set, 25-20, to seal the win and remain undefeated in conference play.

After struggling a bit against Houston on September 14, the team fought through some adversity to remain at the top of the WOAC standings.

Arcanum has their sights on more than a conference title. Holman said the team still respects their upcoming opponents and want to play their best game each match. But, they are doing their best to prepare for the postseason and make a deep run.

“We need to get mentally tough. Right now, our focus is not just on the conference. Moving forward into tournament time, we want a good seed. We want to go far in the tournament. Our goal is not just winning one or two games in the tournament, we want to go to districts and we want to win districts,” Holman said.

Arcanum is now 11-0 with a 6-0 WOAC record. They will host National Trail on September 19 at 5:30 p.m. and then host Kenton Ridge on September 21 at 10 a.m.

Mississinawa Valley is now 9-4 with a 5-1 WOAC record. They will be at Twin Valley South on September 19 at 5:30 p.m.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected].