A Mechanicsburg player bends the net antenna while Fairbanks’ Megan King (left) and Abbey Hubbs go up for a block attempt. The Lady Panthers extended their record to 20-0 with a five-set victory on Thursday.
(Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
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The Fairbanks High School volleyball team put the finishing touches on a special day with their victory over Mechanicsburg on Thursday.
The evening was memorable for a number of reasons, namely:
-The Lady Panthers honored their current seniors (Megan King, Mikayla Mansfield, Abbey Hubbs, Brooklyn Kleiber, Jenay Kocsis and Hunter Johnson);
-They remained unbeaten on the regular season with their 20th victory.
-They were acknowledged for winning the Ohio Heritage Conference championship.
-They recognized members of the school’s 1977 state championship volleyball squad on their 40th anniversary.
What also made the evening a bit memorable and maybe a little uncomfortable is the fact the Lady Panthers needed five sets to finish off an Indian squad that went into the match with only four victories on the season.
Mechanicsburg was sharper on the court during the first two sets, winning by scores of 25-19 and 25-21.
The Lady Panthers are a squad that very easily handles its front line duties, piling up numerous kills each match.
The Indians, though, came up with a great many digs and basically matched the Panthers hit-for-hit.
The opening set wasn’t as close as the final score would indicate.
Megan King came up with a monster kill midway through the game, but that still left FHS down 12-5.
An errant Fairbanks block doubled the Indians’ lead at 18-9 and the home team could not get any closer than five points the rest of the way.
The second game was tied at several early points, the last being 6-6 when Hubbs and Kaidie Carstensen combined for a block.
Mechanicsburg took the lead and held margins from one to three points.
The Lady Panthers could not keep the ball in play on two occasions. As a result, the Indians went on top 23-21.
The visitors went to set point on a kill and won the game when FHS sent a block sailing out of bounds.
The third game saw the Lady Panthers of old take the floor.
A kill from Carstensen gave FHS a 4-2 lead.
From that point on, the Lady Panthers were on a roll.
A kill from Hubbs pushed the lead to 13-6 and another five-point run was capped by Carstensen’s ace serve.
Fairbanks controlled the front line over the next several minutes to win 25-9.
Kelsey Thorbahn notched a couple of kills as once again, Fairbanks was not truly challenged during the fourth game.
Hubbs came up with a kill and later put an ace serve in the book as the Lady Panthers climbed to an 18-9 lead.
King tipped the ball over the net for a 23-10 margin.
A pair of Indian hitting errors then concluded Fairbanks’ 25-11 victory.
The fifth set of any volleyball game is played to 15 points with the winner still needing a two-point margin of victory.
Once King’s rocket over the net gave Fairbanks a 10-5 lead, Panther Nation could begin to relax.
Kasey Carstensen’s kill pushed Fairbanks (which will travel to West Liberty-Salem on Tuesday) up 12-5.
The Indians committed a handful of hitting errors down the stretch to give FHS a 15-6 triumph during the deciding set.