With one match to play in the regular season, Buckeye Central and Mohawk are tied atop the Northern 10 — win Thursday, and the title is shared.
NEW WASHINGTON — Missy McDougal couldn't have been happier with how the opening set against state-ranked Mohawk.
"We passed really well and we were able to attack," the Buckeye Central coach said. "After that, we really struggled to get the ball to our setter."
After taking the first set 25-16, the Buckettes proceeded to drop the next three (25-20, 25-19, 25-22) to their Northern 10 rival and saw the outright league title slip out of reach.
"We just couldn't attack," McDougal said. "We were just giving them free balls, tipping balls over, and a team like Mohawk you can't afford to give them easy balls because they're big.
"(And) we had a lot of dropped balls tonight, uncharacteristic ... and serve-receive was off. When we got down that second set, they just really couldn't pull themselves out of it. But kudos to Mohawk, they come out swinging and put us on our heels — we just didn't respond tonight."
The Warriors came in a game back of the Buckettes with two league matches to play knowing a win was their only shot at securing a fourth-consecutive N10 championship. And with the teams level heading into Thursday's regular season finale, Mohawk hosts an Upper Sandusky team at the bottom of the league while Buckeye Central welcomes a tricky Seneca East Tigers squad with notable wins over Carey and Colonel Crawford earlier in the fall.
Both teams win, both teams share the N10 which would mark the first time in 12 years volleyball had co-champs.
"Yes, we're obviously very disappointed because we wanted to win it outright," McDougal said. "But we have a tough game on Thursday, Seneca East is going to come over here and it's going to be a dog fight. There's nothing to hang your head about if we can pull off a co-championship with Mohawk.
"That's our goal still, and it's within reach."
And for senior Maren McDougal, it's a chance to join an exclusive club her older sister's Mia and Mara are in.
"I've never won the N10," she said. "So the fact that we get a shot at sharing it, I'm still pretty proud of that, even after a big loss. My sisters won it freshman and sophomore year, but this is a big thing for me and hopefully a big thing for my teammates, too."
[email protected] | 419-617-6018 | Twitter/X: @Zachary_Holden
This article originally appeared on Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum: Mohawk spoils Buckeye Central's outright volleyball N10 bid
Category: General Sports
