By Drew Terhall

DailyAdvocate.com

ARCANUM — Franklin Monroe made the trip down 49 to battle against their rivals Arcanum on Oct. 3. The Lady Trojans continue their quest for a WOAC volleyball title as they swept the Lady Jets, 3-0.

Arcanum head coach Jacie Holman said she told the team Franklin Monroe was going to come in and give it their all in the rivalry game. She also said since she came from Franklin Monroe, she wants to get this win every year. The team followed her lead.

“I give Angie and her girls a lot of credit. They’re a good team. We just came out and we’re a little bit stronger tonight,” Holman said.

Arcanum started the first set on fire jumping out to a 13-4 lead. The defense was clicking helping the offense run smoothly.

After a Franklin Monroe timeout, the Lady Jets closed the gap with a 10-4 run. They started to give Arcanum a run for their money early.

The Lady Trojans held their ground and came away with a 25-19 first set win. Holman said after normally struggling to get a first set win, they made sure to get out to a hot start in this one.

“We’ve been focusing on that first set and coming out strong. I think that’s exactly what we did. One thing we need to continue to work is keeping our momentum for all three sets,” Holman said.

The second set started out close. Close enough to where when Franklin Monroe got a 10-9 lead, Holman called a timeout.

The Lady Jets were doing well on serve receive and not making a lot of mistakes early to let their hitters keep the match close.

It was a wise use of a timeout as the Trojans went on a 6-0 run right after it.

From there, Arcanum and Franklin Monroe battled as the Lady Jets tried to reclaim their lead. But the Lady Trojans came out on top to get a 25-17 set win.

Holman said the team is starting to do some different things offensively right before tournament time. She is challenging her team to implement new moves to keep opposing defenses on their toes.

For example, Holman said junior Mackenzie Byrne has been working on her soft touch and attacking the net in different ways instead of relying too much on her powerful swing.

The coaching staff from Arcanum, including assistants Courtney and Kami McEldowney, have worked with the team on these new approaches. Holman said she is lucky to have her coaches and this team with her as they continue to find different ways to improve.

The third set was all Arcanum from start to finish. The Lady Trojans were serving well, not letting many balls hit the ground and had the offense attacking.

Holman said she gives credit to sophomore Grace Fry for her serving during that third set. She also mentioned how Fry and senior Emilie Fout are able to run the offense and get the ball to their many options.

“Grace brings a lot of energy. She does a great job with moving the ball around. She’s one that we can tell her to get a short ball or a long ball or do those seams. She does a nice job and she really carried us that third set,” Holman said. “I give my girls a lot of credit too. It just wasn’t her back there at the line. My girls were fighting to keep her at the line.”

Franklin Monroe did their best to get back into this match, but couldn’t slow down Arcanum’s momentum.

Both teams, along with Mississinawa Valley in their game against Tri-County North, raised money in support for Sawyer Parks, a five-year old from Arcanum recently diagnosed with leukemia.

Arcanum is now 14-2 with a 8-1 conference record. Preble Shawnee is the lone team tied with Arcanum after the Lady Arrows swept Newton.

The Lady Trojans will have a game at Tri-County North on Oct. 5 and a game at National Trail on Oct. 10 left to try and claim at least a share of the WOAC title.

“I don’t know what to expect from North and Trail is kind of a wildcard too. We’re playing at Trail, so that makes a difference too. We got to buckle down and hopefully get the results that we want,” Holman said.

The team will also have some tough non-conference games sprinkled in. They host New Bremen on Oct. 7 at 11 a.m. and host Marion Local on Oct. 14.

Holman said she just wants to see her team give their non-conference foes a fight. It’s a chance to improve before tournament time comes. The tournament draw is on Oct. 8. Holman is looking forward to the tournament and believes her team will have a great showing.

“I feel pretty good about where we’re sitting right now with our record being 14-2. I feel like we’re going in pretty strong. I’m looking at a lot of the teams in that sectional thinking we can give any of them a good fight,” Holman said.

Franklin Monroe is now 11-9 with a 5-4 conference record. They have games against Ansonia on Oct. 5 at 5:30 p.m. and against Tri-Village on Oct. 12. Both games are at home.