Regional volleyball: New Lex tops Coshocton, eyeing Final Four

HEATH — It was late in the fourth set and New Lexington's Division II regional semifinal with Coshocton was inching toward a fifth set.

Panthers coach Alyssa Wolfe knew exactly what that meant — the Lady Skins would be in their happy place.

Jerilynn Koehler and the rest of the Panthers' ball smashers made sure to put her worries to rest.

Koehler and Nora DuPerow had 14 kills apiece to lead an impressive hitting effort, and the Panthers scored four of the final six points in the deciding final set to secure a 25-23, 20-25, 25-13, 25-19 win at crowded and sultry Heath High School.

New Lex (22-5) advanced to the final at 2 p.m. on Saturday against Belmont Union Local (25-1), which came back to top Muskingum Valley League-Big School Division champion Sheridan in four sets in the second semifinal. The Panthers and Jets account for two-thirds of the public schools still remaining in the tournament (Bay Village Bay is the other).

It's uncharted waters for Wolfe's squad, but that is nothing new. The Panthers are in their first regional since 1983 and are eyeing their first state tournament.

Wolfe was proud of the way her team handled the frenetic environment and the nerves that often accompany a do-or-die match.

"I'm a little shocked, honestly," Wolfe admitted. "I was worried about that, but I knew that Coshocton hadn't been here either. They hadn't been in this environment (since 2005), so it was going to be up in the air for both of us. We tried to crank the music up as loud as possible in our gym the last couple of days to try and simulate this, and I am glad we did, because I think they would have been completely overwhelmed by what the crowd had."

It marked the third time this season the Panthers topped Coshocton, which won a pair of five-set thrillers in the East District to reach the regional, and had endured plenty of hard fought matches in recent weeks.

When the Lady Skins scored six of eight points in the fourth to cut an 18-12 deficit to 21-19, there were uneasy fans wearing orange and black. For that matter, Wolfe had her own concerns.

"I definitely didn't want to go to a fifth," Wolfe said.

The match turned one point later when the Panthers got a deflection call on a kill from the outside that appeared to easily clear the outstretched arms of Coshocton blockers. The call stayed, despite vehement disagreement from head coach Cari Bahmer and others nearby.

It proved to be Coshocton's last hurrah. DuPerow came up with a kill to make it 23-19 and the Lady Skins never scored again.

"It was hot and there were a couple of long rallies there," Wolfe said. "I considered calling a timeout just to let them get a breather, but they stayed locked in."

That her team fought back came as no surprise to Bahmer, who had witnessed it multiple times during a rugged MVL and postseason campaign.

"That's what those girls are is a bunch of fighters," Bahmer said. "I couldn't be more proud of them. We just came up a little bit short. They could have rolled over after we lost the first set and didn't. They believed in themselves the entire time. We just couldn't put two and two together sometimes."

Wolfe said the team focused on countering the Lady Skins' rallies, something that was put to the test in the first set.

Coshocton got a pair of kills and a block from top hitter Lindsay Bryant in a 6-1 run that erased a 20-15 deficit. The Panthers scored four of the next six, including two straight after Coshocton tied the match at 23. Koehler's kills sealed the set after a Skins kill attempt landed just beyond the back line.

Deficits of 17-11 and 23-16 proved too much for New Lex to overcome in the second, as Bahmer's decision to move standout libero Miyah Davis to the middle aided the back row defense — and helped set up offensive action.

New Lex had nine errors between attacks and serves in that span, leaving the Panthers to answer with adjustments of their own. They paid dividends quickly, as the Panthers scored three of the first four points and led 11-6 after consecutive aces from Koehler in a 6-1 run.

Coshocton had only three kills the rest of the way.

"The third set we tried to adjust our block and run our offense," Wolfe said. "We were so out of (offensive) system that we couldn't run fast, so it was really a defensive adjustment to get our offense going."

That meant plenty of attacking opportunities for the imposing 6-3 Koehler in the middle and ample chances for DuPerow, Abby Wilson and Trinity Cook elsewhere. With diminutive setter Lizzie Ellis setting the wheels in motion, the numbers reflected strong play at the net — that foursome had 50 combined kills and Ellis 42 assists.

Up 17-12 in the third, seven of their final eight points came on kills. Davis said the Panthers effectively attacked the lines more than in their previous two meetings.

Bahmer said it was a matter of struggling with execution.

"We felt good about our game plan," Bahmer said. "We just didn't take care of things on our end. New Lex, tons of credit to them. It's a great team with tons of offensive weapons. It just wasn't our evening."

Wolfe felt her team fed off the fan support.

"And they need it, because they were really tired," Wolfe said. "We were really happy with how the crowd showed out with that."

Bryant finished with 20 kills and classmate Jalynn West had 36 assists, 11 digs and three solo blocks. Davis' usual scrappy play in the back row came in the form of a team-high 28 digs. Kenidi Jackson and Lacey Guthrie combined for 14 kills.

Bryant said her team's offensive struggles for extended stretches in the final two sets was a product of on-court confusion at times and plenty of talent on the other side of the net causing problems.

West agreed.

"We have a lot of respect for them," West said. "We came out ready to play, but at the end of the day they just played better than we did."

Coshocton's 19-7 record fell one short of tying the school record. Six of their losses came to regional teams in New Lex, Meadowbrook and Sheridan.

"Each teammate has impacted me in different ways and I am so grateful that we were able to make it this far my senior year," Bryant said. "And I just feel grateful for Coshocton volleyball. I'm hopeful that the sophomores will kind of take off from here and come back and follow in our footsteps, take Coshocton volleyball and keep it going."

sblackbu@gannett.com; Twitter: @SamBlackburnTR

This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: New Lexington volleyball tops Coshocton in regional, eyeing Final Four