Gracie Nees (22) and Ava Francis (24) go up for a block against Highland on Saturday. The top-seeded Lady Pioneers swept the No. 2 Scots to win the Division II district title. (Journal-Tribune photo by Tim Miller)
Any type of athletic tournament contest that pits the top two seeds against each other is bound to go the distance, right?
Fans on both sides of the field or court are supposed to be breathless after a marathon battle, correct?
That’s not how it quite played out on Saturday when the top-seeded Lady Pioneers of Jonathan Alder rolled past No. 2 Highland on the volleyball court.
A lot of fans might have blocked off a trio of hours to determine the Division II district champions, as the match could have been expected to go a full five sets.
“That’s what we thought as well,” said Alder coach Joe Ross.
Instead, the Lady Pioneers (20-0) needed less than 90 minutes to sweep the Scots (21-2) in three games by scores of 25-16, 25-23, 25-19.
The outcome marked JA’s third consecutive district volleyball title.
Ross credited his seniors for their leadership during the match.
“Those girls have been through a lot together,” he said. “They trust in the work they’ve done.”
The match marked the final home contest for fourth-year players Ava Francis, Kennady Izzard, Alexa Kaltenbach, Ellen Kennedy, Gracie Nees, Emma Shepherd and Kate Stroupe.
Highland got out to a 4-1 lead during the opening set, but there was no panic in the Lady Pioneers.
Francis served an ace and Ellie Heisler tallied a kill that tied the set at 8-all.
Kills by Heisler and Francis later upped JA’s margin to 14-9.
At that point, Highland appeared to be greatly rattled.
A number of hitting and passing miscues, plus a block by Francis, advanced Alder’s lead to 18-9.
The closest the Scots got the rest of the game was seven points (22-15) when the Pioneers sent the ball into the net.
The set ended when Shepherd and Nees combined for a block.
The ensuing game was tied at points three and five.
Highland then stayed within a point or two for the next several minutes.
The Scots, however, rallied to notch the game at 9-9 on a kill by Makenna Belcher.
Additional stalemates came at points 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 as neither team could gain much of an advantage.
Highland caught a spark and tallied three unanswered points.
That prompted Alder to call for a sideline summit.
A tip by Nees and another heat-seeking kill from Francis helped as JA tied the set at 23-23.
The Lady Pioneers went to set point – 24-23, when Highland sent a dig sailing out of bounds.
The Scots then couldn’t keep a block in play as Alder tallied its 25th point for a 2-0 lead in sets.
Jonathan Alder got out of the gate quickly during the third game.
Several Scot hitting miscues enabled the Lady Pioneers to climb to a 5-1 advantage.
Shepherd’s kill aided the cause as JA moved to a 9-4 margin.
The Scots stayed within three and four points over the next several minutes.
The momentum then began to firmly shift toward the Lady Pioneers.
A tip by Lizzie Lombardi pushed JA out to a 21-15 spread.
Alder climbed to a 23-17 lead before Francis blasted a rocket over the net for a 24-17 lead.
The Scots tallied a couple of points on Lady Pioneer passing and hitting miscues.
Highland, though, sent a block out of play.
That ended the match for Alder’s three-set sweep.
Ross said he was once again pleased with the team’s serving and passing game.
“The farther you go in the tournament, the more important those two factors are,” he said. “We just have to stay in love with our passing and serving games.”
The Lady Pioneers will travel to Pickerington North High School on Thursday for the regional semifinal match.
They will play Dover High School at 7:30 p.m.