Unioto Outlasts Adena in Thriller for SVC Volleyball Lead

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Tuesday night’s SVC Volleyball marathon slugfest between Adena and Unioto was typical of how these two long-time rivals have battled each other over the decades. This time, it was the Shermans turn to take the win in a five-set thriller (10-25, 25-19, 25-22, 26-28, 16-14), giving Unioto sole possession of the conference standings lead at (8-1) with Adena slipping to (7-2).

Set #1 saw Adena break away early for an 8-3 lead, only to see Unioto cut that deficit to 8-7, before the Warriors 8-0 run gave them a 16-7 advantage. The Warriors continued their roll winning 25-10.

The Shermans came right back in Set #2, darting out to an 8-1 lead. The Warriors were able to claw their way back into the fight, tying the Set at 15-15, only to see Unioto’s 6-0 run give them a lead that took them out of jeopardy for a 25-19 win and even the match (1-1).

The critical Set #3 again saw Unioto get out of the gate quickly for a 5-0 lead. The Warriors got to within one to two points on a few occasions and later cut a 22-16 deficit to 24-22, before the Tanks grabbed command of the match with a 25-22 victory and a (2-1) match lead.

Both teams stayed close to each other in Set #4, until Adena built leads of 14-9 and 22-16. The Shermans got on a run to within 24-21, with Adena serving for Set point. The Shermans kept battling and eventually pulled even at 24-24. The Warriors had another Set point opportunity at 25-24, but Unioto scored two unanswered points for a match point lead of 26-25. The Warriors responded with a 3-0 close to take Set #4 28-26 and force a fifth and deciding set.

It looked like the Shermans were going to run away with the fifth set on leads of 8-1 and match point 14-7. But the Warriors put on a furious rally to tie it 14-14, before Unioto used an Ella Cutright kill, followed by an Adena hitting error to win the Set 16-14 and the match (3-2). The Shermans sweep their season series with Adena, having beaten the Warriors also in Frankfort (3-1) earlier this season.

Ella Cutright and Unioto’s “X-factor” Abbie Marshall each led with 14 kills, while Zoie Dettwiller crushed 7 kills. Morgan Daniels was another shining star for Unioto with a whopping 40 digs. Madelyn Wetzel added 16 digs. Wetzel dished out 33 assists and Alyssa Stanley 12. Ella Cutright served 4 aces, Daniels and Wetzel each added two. Cutright had 3 blocks, while Alli Park and Marshall each contributed 2 blocks.

Adena was led by Eva Kruger with 21 kills. Brinlee Preston had 14 kills and Katie Burns with 12. The Warriors served 7 aces as a team. Kamryn Sowers led the defense with 27 digs, Brooke Bossert 26 while Brenna Bossert added 22 digs. Grace Townsend had 20 digs and 37 assists.

Unioto improves to (8-1/14-2) while Adena drops to (7-2/9-7)