By Cort Reynolds
ADA - Despite a record-setting performance by senior Melina Woods, the Ada volleyball team lost a tough four-setter to visiting Ben Logan Monday evening.
The Lady Bulldogs dropped to 3-3 with the 29-27, 18-25, 25-16, 25-14 non-league defeat. Traditional power BL improved to 3-1 with the win.
Woods broke her own school single-match record for kills with 38 vs. the Raiders. She had set the previous mark of 35 last year against rival Allen East in only three sets.
"Melina was phenomenal, but somebody else has to step up (hitting-wise)," said veteran Ada head coach Melissa Gossard. "She can't carry everything against good teams.
"We did not gel as a team, and we don't usually serve the ball out as much as we did," she added.
The long first set was tight all the way, with Ada opening up a 13-10 lead. BL rallied to go ahead 15-14, and neither team led by more than a point the rest of the set until the final point.
The clubs were tied 11 more times throughout the seesaw set. A kill and a block kill by Woods earned Ada a 23-23 tie, and an error for being in the net by BL earned the hosts set point.
But BL freshman Molly Vance saved game point for the Raiders with a hit off an Ada block to tie it 24-24. Senior teammate Stanleigh Archer then served an ace.
Yet twice in a row Woods staved off game point with a clutch kill to tie it 26-all. A Raider serve into the net knotted it one last time at 27-27.
The Bulldogs then hit wide and Woods made a rare hitting error into the net to clinch the hard-fought set for BL, 29-27. Ironically, Ada lost the first set of their match against the Raiders last year by the same 29-27 count en route to a three-set defeat.
Energized Ada jumped in front 7-3 in set two behind three Woods kills. The Bulldogs extended the margin to 14-6 and then 17-9 as Woods knocked down four more clean kills.
"We started out sluggish, then woke up in the second game," noted Gossard.
After a timeout tongue-lashing from coach Allison Ruhle, BL began to come back. They crept within 18-12 on a Sarah VanDyke cross-court smash. A Vance ace and later a block kill from VanDyke helped cut the deficit to 22-17.
But after an Ada timeout, BL served into the net to kill their momentum. Bulldog Sidney Gossard dealt an ace and then Raina England found the open back spot with a well-placed, clean hit to tie the match, 25-18.
Four smashes by Woods and one by Nikki Lehsten helped the Bulldogs seize a 6-4 lead in set three. BL surged ahead 9-7 yet Woods hit Ada back in front, 11-10.
The Raiders reeled off the next four points to hold a 17-13 edge. Woods came up with a clean kill and then hammered another down the sideline to keep Ada within 20-16.
But then BL ran off the last five points of the set, winning two long rallies to close the game on top, 25-16.
BL rode that momentum into a 6-1 edge starting the fourth set. Ada crept within 8-5 after an England kill and two attacks by Woods. The visitors pulled back in front 12-7 after a block kill from Archer.
Ada then won a long rally and a pair of huge kills from Woods got the Bulldogs within 14-11. BL then stretched their lead to 19-13, prompting a timeout.
However, after an error the Raiders finished the match on a 6-0 flurry aided by two Archer aces. On match point a kill dropped to the floor off a block between three Bulldogs to clinch the victory, 25-14.
The Raiders ended the final set again on a strong run, this time with an 11-3 clinching spurt.
Woods also contributed 17 digs, two blocks and an ace to her record hitting total. Senior setter Maddie Gossard passed out 24 assists and made eight digs.
Senior libero Olivia Alexander hustled up 21 digs. Sidney Gossard contributed five aces, 16 assists and nine digs. Lehsten added five kills.
"Olivia Alexander really dug the ball well, she played well defensively," Gossard noted.
Ada also lost the JV match 25-10, 25-23.
The Bulldogs host a tough tri-match Saturday morning at 10 a.m. They entertain Arlington and county rival Hardin Northern. Ada (2-3 at home) lost to both last season but avenged the defeat to the Polar Bears at Dola in the sectional finals.
"Right now, our confidence level needs to rise," said HN alum Gossard, whose club has lost three of its last four matches, all to fine teams. "I told the girls we are in the exact same spot we were last season at this time."
Ada finished 2016 on a 15-2 run after starting out 3-5.
