Regional heartbreak: Slow starts doom New Lex in Elite 8

HEATH — Comebacks were not on the lunchtime menu for volleyball fans on Saturday at Heath High School.

Belmont Union Local and New Lexington proved to be excellent frontrunners in their Division II regional final, as neither team won a set after losing the first point.

Ironically, it was a late comeback that sealed the Jets' 25-20, 25-21, 15-25, 25-22 win that punched their ticket to the state tournament at Wright State's Nutter Center.

Still trailing by a set, the Panthers turned a 15-9 deficit in the fourth into a 20-18 lead on the strength of five kills and a solo block from star middle hitter Jerilynn Koehler. Valuable momentum had clearly turned, as it appeared New Lex would complete a two-set comeback and force a deciding fifth.

Almost as quickly, Union Local and its own star, Torre Kildow, turned the tables.

A Jets kill and a Panther hitting error tied the match at 20. It was still tied at 22 after New Lex got a kill from the outside from Abby Wilson, but the Jets scored the final three points to seal the match.

"They were getting kills and we were trying to get out of serve-receive, but we were getting too anxious and made some mistakes," Koehler said. "We knew we had to keep composed by the crowd was loud and the pressure was on, so we kind of fell underneath that pressure a little bit."

Kildow and Koehler, both Division I hitting recruits, had 25 kills apiece to lead their respective teams. Koehler's blocking presence at 6-3 also played a vital role — she had five to go with four digs.

It still wasn't enough to get the Panthers over the hump in a match it trailed 7-2 in the first and second sets, then fell behind 6-1 in the fourth.

They followed that formula to their own benefit in the third, scoring 10 of the first 15 points and the final seven to break open an 18-15 lead.

"We just didn't start executing our game plan until it was a little bit too late," New Lex coach Alyssa Board said. "We really fought to pull ourselves back in, but we just didn't quite have it and Union Local had a lot of power. We tried to counter, but it just took us too long to be able to counter. They were able to maintain their lead against us."

Koehler said the plan against the 6-2 Kildow, a two-sport star who will play volleyball at Ohio University, was to stop her early and frustrate her, with an effort to take her out of her rhythm.

While she didn't dominate the match in the same fashion as her 41 kills in the semifinals against Sheridan, Kildow still matched Koehler's output overall. She had three kills in the first six points to start the match to set the tone for the Jets' offense.

Unlike the Sheridan match, when she carried the load, especially as the match progressed, she also got help from her friends on this occasion — Olivia Wortman added eight kills and Ella Pietranton seven, while Emma Yager served up four of the team's 10 aces.

"She's a great hitter," Koehler said of Kildow. "I mean, that's why she is committed (to OU). It was nice to play against someone who was going to smash the ball, and I was all for it. They're a good fighting team and they've only lost 10 sets the whole season. They deserve to go to state and won that game."

Wilson added nine kills, Nora DuPerow seven, Chloe Dick six and Trinity Cook five, while Cook and Gracie Newlon had three aces and Lizzie Ellis 47 assists. Cook added three blocks and six digs; Newlon had five digs and Koehler four.

The Panthers wrapped up a 22-6 season that included its first regional final in school history and its first district title since 1983. It started with a senior class that entered when the program had three wins the year prior. Brick by brick, coach Alyssa Board built the sort of program that could compete with most anyone statewide.

That made walking away from this season an emotional experience, as she struggled to the find the words to describe her feelings.

"It's hard," Board said. "I didn't want to go in the locker room. I just have a hard time leaving such a great group of kids. They have been a joy to be around and it has been a joy to be their coach. I'm trying not to think about not being able to coach those seniors again, because they left their mark and left their legacy on what they are capable of doing."

Koehler and the 5-foot Ellis were linchpins in the program as it began the long trek back to respectability as freshmen. Koehler molded herself into arguably the top hitter in the Muskingum Valley League, while Ellis was one of its most productive distributors.

But key complementary pieces such as hitters Cook, DuPerow and Wilson, and back row standouts like Newlon, helped take the team to a different level with some of the best hitting depth in the league.

"We chipped away and chipped away, kept getting a little further each year in the tournament," Board said. "We didn't change what we were doing. It just took time to accumulate all of the things they were capable of doing. I'm just super proud of them. I told them not to hang their heads, because they have so much to be proud of. It showed the community what we're able to do and why we do the things that we do."

They had full support of said community in the stands during both matches, even as the game was played during Ohio State's football game at Northwestern on Saturday.

The players fed off of the energy, Koehler said.

"As people know, New Lex has never done this," Koehler said. "I've never felt this either. Coming as freshmen with only three wins, and not ever winning a sectional, it became our mission to be here. Now that we got here and got to experience it, it's just a blessing. Just coming into the gym every day, everyone was ready to win. We knew that we could get here and that's what we did."

She appreciated the fan support.

"It was awesome," Koehler said. "We had lines down the streets, five fire trucks leading us away and so many people coming to support us. Usually everyone knows us for other sports, other than girls sports, but now that we're here and made a name for ourselves it will help us in the future."

Union Local (26-1) advanced to play Parma Heights Notre Dame-Cathedral Latin (18-7) at noon on Friday for a berth in the state finals against either Gates Mills Gilmour Academy (20-8) or Hamilton Badin (27-1).

sblackbu@gannett.com; Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: Slow starts doom New Lex volleyball against Union Local in Elite 8