PLAIN CITY – The difference between winning and losing in big games often comes down to just a few plays and the Highland girls volleyball team came up just a few plays short at Jonathan Alder.
The fifth-ranked Scots fell in straight sets; 25-17, 25-23, 25-18; to the second-ranked Pioneers in a Division II district final on Oct. 31. It was the second time in three years Alder got the best of Highland for a district championship.
“I don’t look at it like the first set was 25-17,” Highland coach Rob Terrill said. "That’s eight points, but that’s four plays. You win four of those points, you’re tied at 21 and you’re still playing. Same with that last set … that’s three plays. You win three of those plays and you’re tied at 22. We just left too many of those plays out there.”
The second-seeded Scots were in control late in the second set, up 21-18 and looking to tie it up at a set apiece. Makenna Belcher had a couple of kills during a 5-1 rally to help the Scots take the lead, and top-seeded Alder called a timeout to regroup.
A Zoya Winklefoos serve that landed just long seemed innocent enough, but it was a big enough opening to let the Pioneers (20-0) take momentum back.
Emma Shepherd served up an ace and Gracie Ness scored on a tip shot— and just like that, the Pioneers had knotted the score at 22.
Belcher briefly gave the Scots the lead, but Ava Francis followed with a couple of kills and the Pioneers took the second set, 25-23.
“Sometimes this is a momentum game,” Alder coach Joe Ross said. “So we called timeout down 18-21, and they came out of that timeout and missed the serve, which I think helps a side a little bit in volleyball. Then, our outside hitter Ava Francis just made some monstrous swings for us.”
Alder opened the third set 8-3 and never trailed, though the Scots did pull as close as 10-9.
“In the third set, we missed a serve and they had a ball that lands on the line and we had a ball that landed out,” Terrill said. “That’s just the way it went all day.”
Francis, a University of Arizona commit, had 17 kills; and Emma Shepherd had 11 kills and four aces to lead Alder. Lizzie Lombardi had 29 assists, Kennady Izzard had 12 digs and Ellen Kennedy had 11 digs for the Pioneers.
Kendall Stover led the Scots with 17 kills for the game and Belcher finished with 11 kills.
“They’ve got two hitters— Stover and Belcher— who are top notch,” Ross said. “They run some little wrinkles that not a lot of teams do. When they did and they scored, we just kept pressing forward. We didn’t get too rattled by them doing what they do best.”
Highland finished the season 22-2 with only six set losses all season.
The Pioneers, who captured a district title for the third consecutive year, will play Dover in a regional semifinal on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. at Pickerington North.
