Ontario dug deep, Lexington dug in as the rivals won sectional championships. They'll meet next week in a district semifinal.
LEXINGTON - Natalie Shell started to have flashbacks as Wednesday's Division III sectional championship dramatically shifted after Ontario won the opening two sets.
"We actually had this happen at the end of our regular season," she said. "We got reverse swept and it was not fun."
Almost two weeks earlier at home against Highland, the Warriors saw a two-set lead vanish and end in a five-set loss to stymie what would've gone on to be a six-game win streak to close out the regular season.
And against No. 3 Norwalk, it looked as if history would repeat itself. That is until Annie Weaver caught fire late in the fourth set and carries that into a thrilling fifth helping power the No. 4 Warriors to a 3-2 win (25-20, 25-19, 15-25, 18-25, 15-11) and a sectional title.
"Four-year varsity letterwinner, four-year starter — she played lights out with 28 kills and zero errors," Shell said. "That's the best game she's had in four years. She played like a senior, she led her team, that's all I could ask for."
Having been in that situation before, Weaver knew something had to be done to extend her season another week.
"Sometimes we just fall apart as a team and we need to come together," Weaver said. "I felt like we needed a leader, so I stepped up and reminded everyone that we're a team.
"Me and Sarah (Wharton) have a bond (as seniors). We've played volleyball so long together that we know what our team needs, and I think we just connect."
Connect they did on multiple balls in that fifth set as Wharton sent a few powerful kills out of reach for the Truckers and Weaver made countless acrobatic digs and finished off a number of kills herself to shift momentum late.
"They all contributed," Shell said. "There's six of you on the court at any given time, and I need all six of you to do your job. It's not just one, two, or three players, I needed jobs done from everybody.
"This was a team win."
And it was a culmination of all the progress this Warriors team has made over the course of the season. After starting 2-4 — a trio of state-ranked teams in Willard, Pleasant, Mohawk and rival Lexington the four losses — Ontario went 15-4 in September and October to earn the four-seed in the postseason.
"We started off a little rocky and I think it was mostly them realizing that we are a good team, we are competitive, we have the skills to win big games," Shell said. "Midseason, that kind of flipped for us and we started to believe ... it just happened at the right time when we needed it to."
Perfect timing as Wednesday's win sets up a rematch with Lexington on Monday in a district semifinal at Willard High school.
"We played them at the very beginning of our season when we weren't doing our best," Shell said. "I actually chose that half of the bracket for a reason, we always play well against them. It's a rivalry game, so we're looking forward to playing them again."
Minutemen challenged by Madison in nightcap
Following Ontario's five-set thriller was a third meeting between Ohio Cardinal Conference rivals Lexington and Madison.
The No. 2 Minutemen came in as heavy favorites over the No. 7 Rams, but that ended up playing to Madison's advantage.
"You have nothing to lose," Madison coach Tricia Bernhard told her team. "Nobody expects anything out of you, so let's just go out, have fun, and give it our all. They've done that quite a few times, so it's nice to see."
Even in a decisive 3-0 (25-18, 25-11, 25-15) win, Lexington never had an easy go in any set.
"They were really scrappy ... lots of credit to Madison, they didn't give up and brought a lot of balls back at us," Lexington coach Janelle Wyant said. "They kept playing and kept rallies going.
"They have some great athletes over there like Paityn Butler, so we knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park. It's anyone's game in the postseason, we just have to be ready every single night."
Having lost to Lexington twice in the regular season already, Bernhard wanted to do whatever it took to give her Rams a chance at the upset Wednesday night.
"We got Bertha out — that's what we call our machine that shoots the balls really fast — and we talked about where they're placing their balls and trying to cheat that way," Bernhard said. "Then just did the best we could to try and get the girls in the right position to be able to get the ball up and give us a chance. And aggressive serves, whatever we could do to try and get them out of system."
The loss brought an end to the careers of a special group of seniors at Madison, and Bernhard reflected on what they've meant to the program.
"All six of them have led the team," she said. "They know what I expect ... I'm a big no drama (coach), and they were on top of it staying positive all season. It has been a joy to coach these six seniors."
Wyant's seniors continue on to the district semifinals where she expects another classic with the Warriors.
"It's always a great match because it's Ontario, I know everyone by first name," she said. "But we have to control our side of the court and we have to stay aggressive ... it'll be fun volleyball."
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This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: OHSAA Volleyball: Ontario, Lex set up rematch in district semifinals
Category: General Sports
