Waynesville eliminates Arcanum from the OHSAA volleyball tournament

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BROOKVILLE – Arcanum’s season came to an end on Wednesday as the Trojans lost to Waynesville in four sets of Ohio High School Athletic Association tournament volleyball action.

After getting off to a rocky start in which they allowed the Spartans to go on an 11-1 run, the Trojans requited themselves and went on a run of themselves to win the first set 25-23.

After that neither team went on such a big run, but it was a grind it out kind of match. In the last three games Waynesville seemed to do a better job of getting a “set, set, spike.” Arcanum seemed to be playing on its heels a lot of the time and generally played catch up to Waynesville lead for the most part. The last three sets were all Waynesville 25-18, 25-20, 25-23.

Arcanum’s front line played strong. Shai Robinson, who made a magnificent effort at a comeback in the last set, led the way in kills unofficially while Stevie Johnting and McKenzie Sharritts did well, too. From the service line Elle Siculan and Brittany Kinney led the way.

Waynesville, who was undefeated in the Southwestern Buckeye League and only had two losses on the season, took a first-round bye while Arcanum on the other hand had played a match on Monday. The Trojans fought a close battle again Northeastern and although they won in three sets, each set was closely contested.

But in this match, the second round of the state tournament, it looked like Arcanum was the one playing its first set. Arcanum got sloppy and thanks in part to Spartan captain Abby Struewing’s strong serves, Waynesville went on a 11-1 run to get a 13-4 lead. It was looking bleak for the Trojans.

After a timeout the front line got into gear and they battled back and finally closed to 20-19 where Waynesville took a timeout to halt the charge of Arcanum. But the Trojans were undeterred and charged ahead to get that critical first win.

In the second set, the Trojans were again playing catch up then they started to make mistakes late in the set, and Waynesville finished out on a 6-1 run for the win. The third match went in a similar fashion. The score at one point was 15-15, but from there Waynesville ground out the points for a 25-20 win.

In the last set you could tell that Arcanum was playing for the season. The Trojans brought all they had onto the court. After a timeout when Arcanum was down 7-3, the Trojans responded to Coach Macey O’Dell and went on nice charge of their own to open a 13-8 lead. Now it was Waynesville’s turn to take a timeout to stop the hemorrhaging. The Spartans responded with a 10-3 run to regain the lead.

The Trojans went to their strengths to tie the game at 22. Robinson had several kills at the net in this stretch and played a big role in the comeback. There was still a hope of winning this match and forcing a final set. But with the score 24-23, Stuewing of Waynesville put an end to their season by scoring the game point for the Spartans.

Coach O’Dell had praise for the senior class after the match.

“They were an awesome class,” she said. “I love each one of them to death, and I am going to miss them next year on the team. They were one of the best groups that we have ever had. We played our butts off tonight. I am really proud of the way the team played tonight. They fought hard. It’s a shame that this season has to come to an end.”

https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_DSC_9060.jpgJ. C. Tilton|For The Daily Advocate

https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_DSC_9073.jpgJ. C. Tilton|For The Daily Advocate

https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_DSC_9080.jpgJ. C. Tilton|For The Daily Advocate

https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_DSC_8968.jpgJ. C. Tilton|For The Daily Advocate

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https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_DSC_8984.jpgJ. C. Tilton|For The Daily Advocate

Arcanum’s Shai Robinson digs the ball during an Ohio High School Athletic Association sectional tournament volleyball match on Wednesday in Brookville.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Shai-Robinson-WEB-1-1.jpgArcanum’s Shai Robinson digs the ball during an Ohio High School Athletic Association sectional tournament volleyball match on Wednesday in Brookville. J. C. Tilton|For The Daily Advocate

By J. C. Tilton

For The Daily Advocate

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