By Drew Terhall

Dailyadvocate.com

ARCANUM — On their home floor, the one seed Arcanum Lady Trojans fall to three seed Fort Recovery on Oct. 23 in three sets. in the OHSAA Division VI Volleyball Southwest District Semifinals. The Lady Indians got their revenge after losing at Arcanum in five sets at the beginning of the season.

Head coach Jacie Holman said the team has been dealing with some illnesses and injuries, but it’s not an excuse for not matching the energy Fort Recovery brought in this match.

“We knew Fort Recovery was going to bring the energy tonight. I was hoping we would match it a little bit more. I will give my girls credit, it’s not like we came out and were completely flat. I wish we would’ve come out stronger in that first set and get them a little bit frazzled,” Holman said.

In the first set, Fort Recovery grabbed the lead early and held on. Arcanum was playing well enough to hang around and stay within striking distance of Fort Recovery. But, the Lady Indians got the one point to kill off any momentum Arcanum was trying to build.

Fort Recovery started the match with a 25-17 win.

The Lady Trojans came out in the second set and continued to keep it close. The teams were tied at 11-11 before Fort Recovery found that extra gear to get the lead and hold onto it.

Holman said the team had trouble adjusting to the hard hitters from Fort Recovery. Part of that problem was Arcanum couldn’t gain an advantage with their serving.

Holman said the team has been strong serving this season, but lately they haven’t been playing their game and struggled with their serves. In this match, Arcanum was handing Fort Recovery the ball to start a battle for the point.

“Unfortunately, we have not seen a lot of our good serves lately. Especially in games we are down, we tend to get a little bit less aggressive. That’s the time I want them to be more aggressive and get them out system,” Holman said.

Fort Recovery won the second set 25-18.

Arcanum made a change going into the third set. Sophomore Jordyn Garbig came in to be the libero. But, Fort Recovery was still able to grab the early lead.

Like the last two sets, Arcanum couldn’t get a step on Fort Recovery. Holman said her middle blockers were facing three blockers at the net and her players weren’t communicating and calling them out during the match.

The Lady Trojans went down swinging as the Lady Indians took the third and final set 25-20.

The WOAC champions end the season with a 19-4 record and an 11-0 WOAC record. The team graduates two seniors in Lexi Gibbons and Kenzie Byrne. Holman said both seniors were on her first varsity team when she took over the program and both will be missed tremendously. They both have a bright future ahead of them.

“They are exactly what I want our program to look like. They are leaders on the court. They push themselves to be better and push their team to be better. They’re outstanding girls outside of the court,” Holman said.

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