Arcanum sweeps Northeastern in OHSAA volleyball tournament opener

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BROOKVILLE – The Arcanum volleyball team opened Ohio High School Athletic Association Division III tournament play Saturday morning against Northeastern in the Brookville sectional.

The Lady Trojans used their regular season experience and ability to rise to the moment’s challenge to defeat the Lady Jets 26-24, 25-23 and 25-19.

The first set was contested very tightly. The largest lead was three points, and the score see-sawed between scores the second half of the stanza. Finally, Northeastern service errors and calls for being in the net were the Jets’ downfall as they just gave Arcanum too many free points. After being tied at 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23 and 24, the Lady Trojans scored consecutive points to earn the set 26-24.

Arcanum began to pressure Northeastern in set two as the Lady Trojans opened leads of 11-5 and 15-10.

“We got them down,” Arcanum coach Macey O’Dell said. “That was our strategy. Get them down … so they start making mistakes … let them make the mistakes, not us.”

The Lady Jets rallied and tied the score at 23, but once again the Arcanum experience and uncanny ability to meet the challenge took over as the Trojans again scored the final two points to win set two 25-23.

The final set found the Lady Trojans pushing hard for the three set sweep. Arcanum created leads of 10-5 and 15-10, forcing Northeastern to burn both of its timeouts, and then expanded the margin to 19-11. The Lady Jets picked up the pace, but they ran out of time, and Arcanum prevailed, taking the set and match 25-19.

“Super proud of my girls,” Coach O’Dell said. “We tied the school record for most wins in a season with 19.”

Arcanum, the No. 4 seed in the sectional, will face No. 3 seeded Waynesville at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Brookville in round two of the OHSAA Division III tournament.

Arcanum’s Shai Robinson goes up for a kill during an Ohio High School Athletic Association sectional tournament match against Northeastern on Saturday at Brookville.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Shai-Robinson-WEB-2.jpgArcanum’s Shai Robinson goes up for a kill during an Ohio High School Athletic Association sectional tournament match against Northeastern on Saturday at Brookville. Tim Alley|For The Daily Advocate

By Tim Alley

For The Daily Advocate

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