By Cort Reynolds
ADA - The Ada volleyball team swept a non-league match over visiting Hardin County rival Kenton Monday night.
The Lady Bulldog spikers improved to 10-7 with the 25-17, 25-22, 25-17 home win. Kenton fell to 3-7 with the loss.
"Our serve receive was solid," said Ada head coach Kyleigh Tabor. "We did not make as many errors as we did against LCC."
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 10-5 lead in set one. Ensuing kills by Megan Light and Raina England then sparked a 7-2 Ada run. Kenton inched within 20-11, but Rilan Conley hammered a kill off a Wildcat block.
Kenton continued to rally and crept within 23-16. A passing error stopped their spurt, and Light ended the first set at 25-17 with a clean kill cross-court to the open short side.
"We started off strong," Tabor noted.
The Wildcats raced to a 4-0 lead in set two behind good jump serving. But aces by Sidney Gossard and Kendal Guagenti, plus two clean kills by Light, earned a 6-6 tie.
Kenton spurted back in front 9-6, but a Miranda Wills ace and two kills by Conley pulled Ada within 10-9. A lunging Conley save trickled over the net and fell near the sideline to tie it.
England later hit to the open middle and followed that with a short scoring tip. Light knocked down a kill to tie it once again, 15-15. Two points later, another Light smash caught the sideline at 16-all.
Ada then pulled ahead on consecutive Wildcat errors and a clean ace from Guagenti that capped a key 6-1 spurt. Kenton edged within 19-18, but Light came up with a kill and Conley found the open back with another attack for a 21-18 Ada cushion.
Two hitting errors by the Bulldogs kept Kenton alive at 21-20. The Wildcats then hit into the net and misplayed a serve that appeared to be slicing out wide to give Ada a 23-20 lead.
Gossard then faked a set and quick tipped it two-handed to the open middle for a 24-21 lead. "Those two points there were a big momentum change," Tabor noted.
After an Ada serving error, Kenton returned the favor with a serve into the net on set point to provide the capper to a 25-22 Bulldog comeback triumph.
"We relaxed a bit at the end of the first set and it carried over into the second game," observed Tabor. "Then we started to eliminate the errors and to be be smarter in placement."
With top server Gossard starting out set three strongly, Ada carried over the momentum from the end of game two and ran out to a 4-0 lead. Kenton rallied within 7-5, yet the Bulldogs reeled off a 6-1 flurry aided by Wildcat miscues to take command at 13-6.
Later on, two clean kills by Light helped extend the lead to 19-11. Kenton managed to get within 21-14 before Conley stopped their momentum with a big kill.
Yet the visitors tallied the next three points to stay alive, down 22-17. But a Wildcat error and a clean kill to the open back by England advanced Ada to match point.
The Bulldogs finished it off when Kenton could not get the ball over on four hits, 25-17.
Sophomore middle Light knocked down nine kills and added one block to lead the Ada offense.
Junior setter Gossard passed out 24 assists, made 18 digs and served a pair of aces. Senior libero Morgan Swick compiled 22 digs and dealt two aces.
Senior hitter Conley contributed six kills and added nine digs. Guagenti hustled up nine digs and served two aces. Senior England hammered six kills.
Sophomore Wills amassed nine digs and one block. Ada committed 17 hitting errors vs. the Wildcats.
Ada (3-0 NWC, 4-1 home) puts its 19-match conference win streak on the line when they host perennial power Crestview (8-3, 3-1 NWC) Tuesday, Sept. 25.
"We have to play hard, they have good defense and a couple of good hitters," said Tabor. "We have to keep the ball alive and play good defense."
It will be the fifth Bulldog match in four days. They then make the long trip to first-place Paulding (4-0 NWC) Thursday night.
"We have some big NWC matches coming up against the best teams in the league," Tabor added.
