By Cort Reynolds
ADA - The Ada volleyball team had to battle hard before emerging from its home opener with a four-set win over county rival Kenton on a hot Tuesday evening.
The Lady Bulldogs finished strong in the final two sets to prevail 25-16, 24-26, 25-21, 25-23 and improve to 2-0. The Wildcat loss dropped their mark to 0-1.
"Kenton outplayed us after the first set," said Ada third-year head coach Kyleigh Tabor. "We relaxed and didn't play our game, and Kenton wanted it more. It is early in the season and we have a lot of work to do."
Ada raced to a 5-1 lead to start the match. A Megan Light ace made it 7-2, and two Kenton errors extended the margin to 10-3.
The Wildcats started to get their footing and pulled within 13-8. Light mustered up a block kill, and two Kenton miscues put Ada on top 18-10.
A service winner by Kylie Acheson and a kill by Miranda Wills made it 22-11. Scrappy Kenton rallied within 23-16. But Wills scored a two-handed tip, and junior Lexi White served an ace to close out game one, 25-16.
Ada jumped ahead 6-1 in set two as Wills whistled two aces and Light made a block kill. After an ace by Courtney Sumner, Kenton began to chip away. They inched within 15-12 before Kirsten Poling dealt an ace.
The Wildcats kept coming and six-footer Lindsey Smith tied it 18-18 on a big kill. Ada pulled back in front 20-18, yet Kenton tied it up. An error and a cross-court kill by Wills helped the hosts get back on top, 23-20.
A Light kill advanced Ada to set point, but then they stalled. Kenton reeled off four straight points to tie, then Smith gave them their first lead at 25-24 with a block kill.
Smith then fired an ace to complete the comeback for a 26-24 win to even the match.
"We relaxed after the first set," admitted Tabor. "Then we were tight when it got close."
In set three Ada again raced to early leads of 5-1 and 8-4. A Poling kill and an ace by Sumner built the lead to four points, then a Light tip put the purple and gold ahead 13-7.
Yet once more Kenton rallied midway through the game and tied it 16-all with a 9-3 run. A 'Cat error and two Light aces gave Ada a three-point bulge.
Poling scored a southpaw tip, followed by a tip block from Wills. A sideline smash from Wills extended the lead to 23-17. Acheson fired an ace, but Kenton staved off four set points to creep witin 24-21.
Poling then found the open back corner with a heady two-hand tip to finish the game, 25-21.
Light authored three kills and an ace early in game four, which was tight all the way. But Kenton took a 12-11 lead on a kill by Laney Harpel.
A clean kill and an ace by Smith tied it 18-all. Ada fell behind 21-20 on a serve error, yet Poling knotted it with an ace. After an Ada miscue, Wills tied it again with a clutch kill. Smith put Kenton ahead with her own smash, 23-22.
But Kenton served long and committed another error to advance the Bulldogs to match point, up 24-23. Yet another costly Wildcat error in the net or on a carry - the final call was unclear - ended the hard-fought match in Ada's favor, 25-23.
"I thought at the end of the fourth set we made some energy plays," explained Tabor of the 7-4 closing rush. "Volleyball is a mental game and when we were intense and talking more at the end, we played better."
Versatile senior Wills knocked down a team-high 13 kills, hustled up 16 digs and served three aces to lead Ada.
Junior Poling passed out 23 assists and came up with a dozen digs. Senior middle Light hammered 12 kills, came up with 11 digs, served four aces and managed five blocks.
Senior Acheson added seven kills, 15 digs and a pair of blocks.
Sophomore Sumner came up with 16 digs, and also dealt three aces.
"We missed a lot of serves, and Kenton served pretty well," Tabor noted. Senior Jenna Manz hurt Ada with her line-drive jump serves, as did the hard-hitting Smith.
The Ada junior varsity and freshman teams each won in straight sets preceding the varsity bout. "Both the freshman and JV teams played well," Tabor noted.
The Bulldogs (1-0 road) play at talented MAC foe Coldwater Thursday, August 27. "It will definitely be a tough match," Tabor warned.
