By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

NEW MADISON — It was a slow start for the Lady Trojans, but they get by a scrappy Lady Patriots team 3-1 to pick up another WOAC win on Sept. 14 at Tri-Village.

Arcanum dropped the first set, but kept their intensity up. Head coach Jacie Holman said the first two sets truly showed the team’s determination to fight for each point. It’s something she hopes the team continues to do with the end of the regular season in sight.

“We’re not great on the road and this was one of the things that I wanted to focus with the girls. It’s that if we can come out and have a victory, it can set the tone for the rest of our season,” Holman said.

The first set started out close. The teams traded points and no one separated themselves early. Once Tri-Village got out to a 13-10 lead, they started to take control.

The serving and the offense from Tri-Village started to shine as they extended their lead, 20-14. It looked like the team was going to roll to a set win before Arcanum stepped up and made a run at the end.

But, it was too late as the Lady Patriots held of the Lady Trojans for a 25-21 set win.

Early in the second set, the momentum carried for the Lady Patriots as they led 7-3 before Arcanum called a timeout. The offense and the defense were on point for Tri-Village.

But, Arcanum came out of the timeout and took back momentum. They took a 12-10 lead and held on the rest of the way. The defense stepped up and allowed the offense to get quality looks. The serving game from Arcanum started to give them an advantage.

The Lady Patriots continued to fight, but couldn’t get the momentum back as Arcanum won 25-18 in set two. They Lady Trojans also won set three 25-18.

Arcanum led from the jump and led for most of the set. But, Tri-Village continued to cut into Arcanum’s lead and didn’t give them an easy win.

Tri-Village head coach Taylor Rawlings said the team is starting to fight back more after a slow start to their season.

“I’m really proud of them. I think we’re finally getting some grit to us. Some fight and some heart,” Rawlings said.

But in the fourth set, Arcanum looked like they were on a mission. Tri-Village did all they could to hang around, but the serving game from Arcanum got them out of system and the Arcanum defense was giving the Tri-Village hitters fits.

Holman said it was a great team win as the front row and the back row did a great job limiting the Lady Patriots’ power hitters.

“Tri-Village is a great team. They have some great hitters on their side. But, I will give my girls a lot of credit that we came and we blocked and we shut down a lot of their power hitters,” Holman said.

Hitters like senior Nataleigh Koontz and junior Lilly Camacho both had their moments during the game. But, Arcanum found ways to make sure they didn’t beat them.

Arcanum started to hit their spots on offense and won 25-14 to claim the match win.

Tri-Village fought well against a good Arcanum team. The Lady Patriots are now 4-7 on the season with a 1-4 conference record. They will host Ansonia on Sept. 19 after a road game at Dixie on Sept. 16.

Rawlings said the team can build on this performance and use this momentum to improve for the back half of the season.

“I think that’s something we really got to take. Look at our positives, fix our negatives and run with it,” Rawlings said.

Arcanum is now 8-2 with a 4-1 conference record and winners of three straight. They are a game away from the first place team in Mississinawa Valley, who they play on Sept. 19 at home. Holman said the team has some strong league games coming up with Mississinawa Valley and Franklin Monroe.

It’s setting up to be an interesting second half of the season for the WOAC. Holman has told her to team to just focus on themselves and the rest will play out.

“Every night I tell my girls, ‘We don’t know what’s happening. We just got to bring our game.’ I’m proud of what we did tonight and I look forward to the rest of the season,” Holman said.

Contact Daily Advocate sports editor Drew Terhall at [email protected]