By Cort Reynolds
ADA - The host Ada volleyball team battled but lost in four sets to scrappy Paulding in a Northwest Conference match on Volley for the Cure night Tuesday.
The Lady Bulldogs dropped to 8-11 overall and 1-5 in the NWC with the 25-22, 21-25, 25-23, 25-19 defeat. The Panthers improved to 11-8 and 4-3 in the NWC with the win on an unseasonably hot evening.
"I feel like Paulding played a cleaner game than us," offered Ada head coach Kyleigh Tabor. "Their back row was more solid. They just had more runs than us, and our defense was not as solid as usual."
Ada authored a good late rally to win set two and tie the match 1-1, but Paulding won a close third set and carried that momentum to a clinching victory in the fourth game.
Early on, Ada senior Josie Poling tied set one with a tip at 7-7. A block kill by Megan Light, and two more kills by the junior standout, helped Ada pull ahead 13-11.
A Light tip made it 14-11 but Paulding rallied with a 5-0 run. Miranda Wills ended the flurry with a kill but the Panthers spurted back ahead 22-15.
A Light kill and two errors edged Ada within 22-18, but the Panthers ran off the final three points to win 25-22.
The hitting of Light and Wills kept the Bulldogs close early in set two, and Kendal Guagenti tied it on an ace at 7-7. Paulding edged ahead 12-9 before the hosts won a long rally.
Wills hit the back line, and a block kill from Light knotted the score at 12-all. The hitting of Panther junior Leigha Egnor helped the visitors grab a 20-14 advantage.
Yet Ada rallied with a 7-1 run to tie it 21-21 on a Guagenti ace. The senior libero served out the last six points with hard, low rockets to cap a furious Ada comeback.
First, the Bulldogs won a long rally to take a 22-21 lead. Then Josie Poling came up with a key block kill. Guagenti closed the set with another ace to even the match, 25-21.
For the third straight game, the teams battled to an early 7-7 tie. Paulding ran off five points but a lefty tip by Poling ended the spurt.
Aubrey Madison later hit the back line to pull within 12-10. The Panthers would not relinquish the lead and extended it to 20-15. Yet once Ada again mounted a late rally.
A well-placed Light kill cut the deficit to 21-19. A Poling kill and a cross-court kill by Light inched Ada within 23-21. Kylie Acheson knocked down a cross-court kill to make it 23-22.
But an Ada serve sailed just long to end the run and give Paulding set point. Light dropped a tip cleanly to the short sideline front to keep the purple and gold alive.
But Egnor came up with a clutch kill off an Ada block that dropped to the floor for a 25-23 Panther win.
Game four was tied 6-6 after a Wills kill. A tip and a block kill from long-armed Kirsten Poling kept Ada close at 9-8. But then Paulding seized control with a 9-1 flurry behind Egnor's hitting, and the strong serves of Kaeli Bustos.
"We couldn't side out in the fourth set," said Tabor. "They had a couple of good servers."
Down 22-12, Ada mustered another mini-rally to scare the Panthers. Kirsten Poling's tip started a 7-2 splurge. She then served four straight points as Light anticipated well for a block kill to inch Ada within 24-19.
But Paulding again went to Egnor for the clincher and she came through with a sideline kill despite a diving Guagenti save to finish it off, 25-19.
Light led the Bulldogs with 18 kills, 13 digs, four blocks and one ace. Hustling Wills knocked down a dozen kills and made 20 digs.
Libero Guagenti came up with 21 digs and served four key aces. Versatile sophomore setter Kirsten Poling passed out 18 assists, hit four kills and added five big blocks.
Josie Poling added a pair of blocks and Madison doled out a dozen assists. Junior Acheson contributed three kills and a pair of aces.
"We blocked well and our hitting was good, too," said Tabor. "We fought hard but made too many errors."
The Lady Bulldog reserves won 2-0, taking game two 27-25.
The community raised $3,214.50 and presented a check for that amount on Volley for the Cure night to Molly Mathewson.
"It was great to see all the community support for the cause, and our student section was very energetic," said Tabor. "We raised quite a bit more money than last year."
Ada (1-6 home) hosts last-place Spencerville (6-10, 0-5 NWC) Thursday, October 3 on Senior Night. Seniors Guagenti, Josie Poling and Kelly Preston will be honored.
