The Chillicothe Lady Hornets volleyball team faced a tough test in the Class 3 District 16 semifinal on Thursday. The host of the district, the Bishop Leblond Golden Eagles stood in the way of the Lady Hornets advancing back to the district finals. Both teams entered the contest as co-champions of the MEC with Leblond winning the regular season matchup in 5 sets.
The first set was extremely tight, featuring several ties and lead changes. Late in the set, Leblond grabbed a slight advantage thanks to the play of senior, Rilyn Conard. The Golden Eagles were able to hang on late and took the first set 25-22.
In the 2nd set the Lady Hornets made it a priority to get their best hitters involved often. Lyla Beetsma on the outside and Emerson Staton in the middle attacked relentlessly. Then with the Lady Hornets leading 10-8, Chillicothe reeled off 7 straight points with Kami Snyder at the service line. Chillicothe kept Leblond at bay to win in the most one sided set of the night, 25-20.
The third set featured another 7-0 run with Snyder serving for Chillicothe, this time it sent the Lady Hornets from down four to up 3 at 11-8. Snyder finished with a team high 4 aces for Chillicothe. Leblond fought back to take a lead but Chillicothe made crucial plays at every turn. Beetsma and Staton were phenomenal throughout, each finishing with 20 plus kills in the match. Ava Leamer stuffed the stat sheet with aces, kills, digs, blocks and assists, and Carman Woodworth had a team high in assists at over 30 on the match, setting her teammates up perfectly. The Lady Hornets also got crucial contributions from underclassmen Mya Oliver and Clara Fisher late in the 3rd set that propelled Chillicothe to a 25-23 win.
The 4th set was as back and forth as possible, with neither team stretching a margin out by more than three points. Leblond was fighting to keep their season alive, but Chillicothe had their sights set on the district final. The senior quartet of Beetsma, Staton, Leamer and Woodworth delivered play after play. Staton in particular was exceptional on the night, coming up with critical points in the games biggest moments. Late in the fourth set, Snyder was shaken up and a fifth senior, Sadie Bonderer entered the match. On match point, Bonderer came up with the biggest play of night, blocking a Leblond attack for the win and sending the Lady Hornets to the district final.
It was a total team effort for Chillicothe in the 4 set come from behind victory. The Lady Hornets are now 30-4 on the season and will play Savannah in the Class 3 District 16 championship on Saturday at 1:00 at Bishop Leblond.