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Tigers drop 5-set thriller to Cavaliers in district tourney

By Jay W. Bennett 6 min read

MARIETTA -- Chillicothe's five seniors decided they weren't done playing volleyball after losing two of the first three sets here Thursday night inside Sutton Gymnasium in a Division III Southeast District match versus top-seeded Marietta as the fourth-seeded Cavaliers stormed back for a 23-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-19 and 15-9 victory.

Chillicothe, winners of five straight, were led by Evelyn Hamman's two aces, four blocks, 10 digs and 37 kills. The Cavs will carry an 18-6 record into Tuesday's 6 p.m. match versus No. 2 Sheridan at Logan.

"That's the best part about this team, they like to keep things lively," quipped CHS head coach Leslie Hamman, whose squad needed a fifth set to oust No. 5 Unioto. "We were happy that we got to host the first round. Our district is tough. This is tough. We have multiple league winners in our district. We have tough teams like Marietta in our district and I keep telling the girls we just got to get out of the district.

"This is tournament play and these kinds of games should be happening. We had a long drive to get here and I think we had to shake a little bit of that off. I have five seniors and they're not ready for the season to be over, and so I think they put a little bit of pressure on themselves to continue to win because we're not ready to be done just because we love each other so much, and we're having a great time together."

The Tigers of head coach Ron Kidder, who had won five straight and finished the campaign at 18-5, had an early 3-1 lead in the decisive fifth set after service tallies from Addie Graham and libero Ava Prim.

However, a Marisa Stiteler/Hamman double block of Rylee Wilkinson, who had a team-high 23 downed spikes, tied the set at three before Isabella Witte's dump kill with libero Campbell McAllister serving put the visitors ahead for good at 4-3.

Although a Wilkinson block of Hamman, who entered the fray with 519 kills and a .469 hitting efficiency, closed it to 5-4, Hamman immediately responded with a placement kill as she spotted an open area and flicked it across the net.

Despite two kills by Kendal Stoneking and one from Stiteler, the Tigers still only trailed 9-7, but Kidder called timeout after falling behind 11-7 as Josie Huddleston served up the next two points thanks to a Hamman kill and stuff.

Consecutive kills by Maevery McCombs and Adele McCombs closed it back to a pair at 11-9, but Hamman made it 12-9 after unleashing an attack that Wilkinson was able to dig, but the ball floated back above the net for an easy Hamman finish.

Sydnee Wade served out the final three points as Hamman put two more to the floor to finish things off.

"They are a good team and have nice players," Kidder said. "The longer you let them stay around the harder it's going to be for you. They are well coached. You got to give them credit. They don't have a really nice record for nothing.

"You got to just play and you got to bring it every set to win it. When two good teams play every set matters and you got to play. You think you can take a set off and it's a momentum game. Once their team gets the momentum it's hard sometimes to get it back or you don't get it back."

The Tigers broke a 20-all tie in the opening set and went ahead for good via an Adele McCombs kill as Laylah Bradford's downed spike from one of Graham's 31 assists finished off set point.

MHS appeared to be in good shape in set two with a 14-9 cushion following a Clara Becker ace, but the Cavaliers rallied for a 20-17 advantage thanks in part to a McAllister ace along with two kills and a pair of blocks from Hamman. The hosts closed it to 23-22, but Stiteler got a kill to reach set point, which was earned on an attack error.

In set three, Marietta was doubled up at 12-6 after Izabella Canter had a kill, but the Tigers rallied to square it at 15 with the help of three straight Wilkinson downed spikes. An attack error put the hosts in front to stay at 19-18 as Maevery McCombs' kill gave the Tigers a 2-1 edge.

Back-to-back kills by Wilkinson and Adele McCombs put the Tigers ahead for the final time in set four at 9-8, but a Kiera Blankenship block later put the visitors ahead for good at 12-11.

"Nice group of seniors going out. A really nice team," Kidder added of Prim, the McCombs and Kenzie Farley.

"It's been a pleasure coaching them. A good group of kids. No drama, hard workers and they played hard."

Witte finished with 16 digs to go along with her match-high 63 assists, while Stiteler chipped in 14 kills, Stoneking eight with McAllister posting 34 digs.

"We've had an incredible season. We have a great group of girls. They love each other," added coach Hamman, whose program won the Frontier Athletic Conference. "They have fun together. We''re not ready for it to be over and I felt like they had just put too much pressure on themselves and we were crumbling a little bit from the pressure.

"I told them to have some fun and then they went out there in that fourth and fifth set and got it done. I think anybody could see that they were having more fun."

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com

Division III Southeast District

At Sutton Gymnasium

Chillicothe d. Marietta 23-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-19, 15-9

#4 Chillicothe (18-6) stats: Campbell McAllister 21 pts, 4 aces, 34 D; Evelyn Hamman 5 pts, 2 aces, 37 K, 4 B, 10 D; Josie Huddleston 11 pts, 16 D; Sydnee Wade 8 pts, 1 ace, 3 K, 1 B, 13 D; Isabella Witte 3 pts, 2 K, 63 ASt, 16 D; Marisa Stiteler 6 pts, 1 ace, 14 K, 5 D; Izabella Canter 2 K, 1 D; Kendal Stoneking 8 K, 2 D; Kiera Blankenship 2 K, 2 B, 3 D

#1 Marietta (18-5) stats: Ava Prim 4 pts, 1 ace; Maevery McCombs 11 pts, 9 K; Laylah Bradford 11 pts, 3 aces, 15 AST, 2 K; Rylee Wilkinson 8 pts, 1 ace, 23 K; Clara Becker 5 pts, 1 ace; Addie Graham 8 pts, 31 AST; Adele McCombs 13 K; Addison Clark 1 K

Next match: #1 Chillicothe vs. #2 Sheridan, 6 p.m. Tuesday at Logan.

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