By Cort Reynolds
The Ada High School volleyball team surged late to grind out a four-set bout over visiting Columbus Grove in a Northwest Conference battle Thursday evening, September 15.
The hard-fought 25-21, 23-25, 25-23, 25-23 victory upped the Ada Bulldog record to 7-4 overall and 1-2 in the NWC. CG dropped to 2-7 and 0-2 in the NWC with the tough loss.
"I am very proud of how we played; I don't remember the last time we beat Grove, probably five years ago," said Ada head coach Kyleigh Woodruff. "We played with a lot of hustle and energy. We didn't give up when things did not go our way in the fifth set."
Ada won the first set 25-21.
CG edged ahead 6-3 in set two before serving long. Two Grove errors tied it, followed by a tip block. Ada edged ahead yet Grove knotted it 9-9. An ace put the visitors ahead before Ada reeled off the next four points.
CG rallied to tie it 15-all and edged in front 17-16 after a long rally. A Grove block was in the net, and Ada senior Emilee Huffer executed a block kill to tie it.
Daicy Robinson served Ada in front 20-17 before a CG timeout. Two Grove kills and a purple and gold hit off the pole tied it. A block off the line put CG on top 21-20. The host Bulldogs hit wide and then called timeout.
The stoppage iced the server, who hit into the net. Sumner's two-hand push found the open corner to tie it again. An Ada pass sailed long for a 23-22 deficit. But they tied it on a passing miscue.
The host Bulldogs hit long to give CG set point. A running tip to the open short spot by Chloe Buckley gave Grove the second game, 25-23. Ada tied set three 3-3 when sophomore Lily Baumgartner hit the line on a cross-court attack. Courtney Sumner painted the sideline with an ace as the hosts built an 8-4 lead.
CG ran off three points before freshman Anna Conley powered a kill off the net to the floor. Grove tied it at 10, but setter Autumn Andreasen hit to the open corner. CG tied it 13-all before a block by Robinson put Ada back in front. Grove authored a 5-0 flurry, capped by a southpaw tip from Kylee Longworth.
Ada sided out for 18-16, but then hit long. CG served long and a good serve by Jenna Bassitt tied it 19-19. Grove surged back in front 22-19 after a Jaylen Sautter dink shot.
A mis-hit by CG stopped their 3-0 spurt. A good serve by Huffer, who then hustled for a nice save, cut it to 22-21. Grove hit wide to tie it 22-22. CG then spiked into the net for 23-22. A Robinson kill advanced Ada to set point. A Grove tip hit the net tape and fell back on their side to clinch it. Ada scored the last five points on Huffer's serve to pull off a 25-23 comeback win.
Ada jumped out to a 6-1 lead in set four before Grove rallied to tie it at six-apiece and again at 13-13. Ada edged in front 18-15, prompting a CG timeout. Robinson found the corner with a clean kill and a four-point cushion. A good save made it 20-15. Tessa Griffith's serve off the net was returned wide.
CG won a rally to stay alive at 21-16. An Ada miscue, a Grove tip and another red and white rally winner cut the lead to 21-19. Woodruff signaled for timeout. Robinson's spike appeared to be tipped out, but was called long.
Sautter's kill tied it 21-21 as Grove continued to rally. A block kill by Sautter extended the run to 7-0, giving CG the lead. Ada hit just wide to fall behind by two and a fifth set appeared imminent. But Grove hit long to stop their eight-point momentum.
Robinson came up with a key play on a clean block kill to tie it 23-all. Sautter found the open middle to reach set point. But CG was in the net to tie it up, 24-24.
Longworth hammered a clean kill to put CG back at game point, but they then served wide to tie it 25-25. Griffith's two-hand push down the sideline moved Ada to match point.
The teams then battled through the longest rally of the match, and the tense point ended on another well-placed Griffith two-hander when the return sailed out of bounds to win it for the purple and gold.
Ada finished the match on a clutch 5-1 run.
"We didn't give up," summed up Woodruff. "The fact that we overcame adversity in the fifth set and finished strong was big."
- Senior libero Sumner mustered 24 digs and served three aces.
- Junior hitter Robinson hammered 11 kills and came up with three blocks.
- Junior setter Andreasen passed out 28 assists and made 19 digs.
- Sophomore Baumgartner drilled several kills.
- Griffith hit for seven kills, and Conley contributed six kills.
- Sophomore defensive specialists Josie Phillips and Jenna Bassitt came up with 11 and 10 digs, respectively.
The Bulldog reserves won in two sets to improve to 8-2.
Ada plays in the eight-team Cory-Rawson Invitational Saturday. The Bulldogs are seeded third and will play North Baltimore (2-7) in the first round. Temple Christian (9-2) was seeded first, and Van Buren (5-3) is the second seed.
