Lady Wave season ends with heartbreaking loss

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NEW CARLISLE – The Greenville Lady Wave dropped a hard fought OHSAA DII volleyball tournament match 3-1 to the Benjamin Logan Lady Raiders.

“Heartbreaking, shocked, upsetting – is the best way to describe the loss,” said Greenville head varsity coach, Michelle Hardesty. “We are still trying to digest it.”

Ben Logan came into the match as the No. 3 seed while the Lady Wave was holding down the No. 5 seed in the Southwest I side of the bracket.

“They were ready to play, we had a good practice on Monday,” Hardesty stated. “Everyone did what they needed to do to get better as this season progressed. Every aspect of our game got better, from serving to passing to terminating a point. They had great stats, they were breaking records. In a season where nothing was “normal” and to be ready for the unexpected, we were in no way prepared to find ourselves at the end of our season.”

The Lady Raiders jumped out to a 7-1 first set lead before Greenville battled back with a 13-6 run to lead 14-13. Ben Logan took advantage of a 12-2 run to close out the opening set with a 25-16 win and go up 1-0.

Set No. 2 had the game tied at 3-3, 5-5 and 7-7 before the Lady Raiders grabbed a 14-10 lead bringing a timeout from the Greenville bench. The teams played to 21-21, 22-22 and 23-23 ties prior to the Lady Wave scoring the final 2 points to even the match at 1-1 with a 25-23 win.

The third set had GHS trailing 1-3 early before evening the score at 4-4. A Ben Logan 8-0 run had the Lady Wave quickly looking at a 4-12 deficit.

Greenville made a 12-4 run knotting the score at 16-16 with the remainder of the set seeing ties at 17-17, 18-18 and 19-19 before the Lady Wave would take a 21-19 lead with Ben Logan calling a timeout.

The Logan County school answered with a 6-2 scoring run to close out third set play with a 25-23 win and take a 2-1 lead.

The fourth and final set of the night had the teams battling for the lead with 6 lead changes and 14 ties. The Lady Wave’s largest lead would come at 20-17 while Ben Logan’s largest lead of the set would be two points at 25-23 to win the set and move on in tournament play with a 3-1 Tuesday night win.

“Tournament time always brings a bit of jitteriness to the team,” shared Hardesty. “They want so bad to move on, to keep their season alive. We look at the first set of a match as a way of getting comfortable with our opponent, stay patient and see what they have to offer.”

“We won the second set and we were right there at the end of sets three and four. You have to win by 2 (points) and that’s exactly what Ben Logan did. They had a very slight edge of having the better the night. We were right there. I truly believe they would have taken the fifth set convincingly if we had been able to get to it.”

“We win as a team, and we lose as a team. It’s never the last point that loses a match. As a coach, you have to coach right to the end. You have to be tough on your players, push them, demand expectations right until the final point is played. Sometimes it is not pretty and that is the last image you want your seniors, the team to have of you at the end of a season. We try to convey it’s never personal. These girls are like daughters to us, we want them to succeed on and off the court.”

“There were no words to make any of it feel better,” Coach Hardesty concluded. “The Seniors know how proud we are of them and the leadership role they took on. Abbie Yoder, Allison Powell and Carleigh Cox were provided good leadership as underclassman, they learned from good people and carried out their opportunity to lead impressively. We appreciate them and wish them much success going forward.”

Abbie Yoder goes for a kill in the Lady Wave’s tournament match with Benjamin Logan.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Abbie-Yoder-a-1.jpgAbbie Yoder goes for a kill in the Lady Wave’s tournament match with Benjamin Logan. Gaylen Blosser | DarkeCountyMedia.com

Abbie Yoder slams a spike for Greenville in tournament play.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Abbie-Yoder-b-1.jpgAbbie Yoder slams a spike for Greenville in tournament play. Gaylen Blosser | DarkeCountyMedia.com

Greenville seniors L-R, Allison Powell, Carleigh Cox and Abby Yoder (seated) compete in 2020 OHSAA tournament action.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Allison-Powell-Carleigh-Cox-1.jpgGreenville seniors L-R, Allison Powell, Carleigh Cox and Abby Yoder (seated) compete in 2020 OHSAA tournament action. Gaylen Blosser | DarkeCountyMedia.com

Allison Powell (white jersey) and the Lady Wave celebrate a point at Tecumseh High School in tournament play.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Allison-Powell-1.jpgAllison Powell (white jersey) and the Lady Wave celebrate a point at Tecumseh High School in tournament play. Gaylen Blosser | DarkeCountyMedia.com

Greenville’s Carleigh Cox makes a return for the Lady Wave in Tuesday night tournament action.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Carleigh-Cox.jpgGreenville’s Carleigh Cox makes a return for the Lady Wave in Tuesday night tournament action. Gaylen Blosser | DarkeCountyMedia.com

Hunter Class goes strong to the net to drill kill for the Lady Wave.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Hunter-Class-b.jpgHunter Class goes strong to the net to drill kill for the Lady Wave. Gaylen Blosser | DarkeCountyMedia.com

Hunter Class goes to the net for the Lady Wave in tournament play.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Hunter-Class-1.jpgHunter Class goes to the net for the Lady Wave in tournament play. Gaylen Blosser | DarkeCountyMedia.com

https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_IMG_4896.jpgGaylen Blosser | DarkeCountyMedia.com

Susie Blocher looks on as Kaitlyn Gonzalez goes for a Lady Wave kill.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Kaitlyn-Gonzalez.jpgSusie Blocher looks on as Kaitlyn Gonzalez goes for a Lady Wave kill. Gaylen Blosser | DarkeCountyMedia.com

Kierah Bevins drills a kill for the Lady Wave in touranment play with Ben Logan.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Kierah-Bevins.jpgKierah Bevins drills a kill for the Lady Wave in touranment play with Ben Logan. Gaylen Blosser | DarkeCountyMedia.com

Greenville co-captain, Libby McKinney talks with the official in OHSAA tournament action.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Libby-McKinney-7.jpgGreenville co-captain, Libby McKinney talks with the official in OHSAA tournament action. Gaylen Blosser | DarkeCountyMedia.com

Lady Wave head volleyball coach Michelle Hardesty watches her team’s tournament play.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Michelle-Hardesty.jpgLady Wave head volleyball coach Michelle Hardesty watches her team’s tournament play. Gaylen Blosser | DarkeCountyMedia.com

Greenville’s Susie Blocher makes a return for the Lady Wave in DII volleyball tournament action.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Susie-Blocher-2.jpgGreenville’s Susie Blocher makes a return for the Lady Wave in DII volleyball tournament action. Gaylen Blosser | DarkeCountyMedia.com

By Gaylen Blosser

DarkeCountyMedia.com

Contact Darke County Media Sports Editor Gaylen Blosser at [email protected] or 937-569-0122

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