3rd set rally propels Arcanum volleyball team to win vs. Brookville

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ARCANUM – Facing a big deficit in the third set Monday night, Arcanum responded with a rally that propelled the Trojans to a four-set victory against Brookville.

Brookville, which won the second set, was up 18-11 in the third set and seemingly had all the momentum. But Arcanum was able to finish the set on a 14-5 run to go up two games to one, which appeared to demoralize the Blue Devils and led to the Trojans finishing off the 25-17, 14-25, 25-23, 25-11 victory in the fourth set.

“It was huge to go into the fourth game,” Arcanum volleyball coach Macey O’Dell said of the comeback in the third set. “It had my girls so fired up, had them down. It was huge for my girls to pull off the win.”

The night started off well for the Trojans as they won the opening game 25-17. They were in control throughout the opening set.

Brookville gathered itself in the second game and was locked in a close battle with Arcanum. With the Blue Devils clinging to a 10-9 lead, they turned the tide of the match and went on a 10-0 run to go up 19-9. O’Dell used both of her timeouts during that run to try to stop the bleeding, but nothing worked as Brookville went on to a 25-14 win and tied the match at one game apiece.

“The second game we let them get in our heads, brought us down a little while,” O’Dell said. “Third game they were in our heads still a little bit. We got down quite a bit in the third game.”

Brookville’s momentum continued in the third set with the Blue Devils jumping out to an early lead, which they increased to 18-11 advantage and what looked to be a second consecutive victory for the visitors.

Arcanum used a timeout to regroup, and it worked. After the break the Trojans scored six of the next eight points, reducing their deficit to 20-17 and prompting Brookville to use a timeout.

The pause in action didn’t slow Arcanum, which continued to fight back and tied the game at 23-23. Brookville used its second timeout, but Arcanum kept pressing and scored the next two points to win 25-23.

“We let them get up on us again that third game,” O’Dell said. “I called that timeout and just had a talk with them that they can’t get in our heads. We’ve got to go out … we’ve got to be the loud team. This is our floor. We need to be loud. We need to get fired up, and that’s what my girls did and pulled out the win.

“My team plays good when they’re fired up so had to get them fired up.”

Losing the third set seemed to zap Brookville of all its energy, and Arcanum took control. The Trojans scored eight of the first nine points in the fourth set en route to an easy 25-11 victory to close out the match.

“With high school girls it’s an up-and-down thing,” O’Dell said. “If we do something wrong we tend to get mad, but we tell them all the time: next play, next play, next play. I don’t care what just happened. Move on to the next play and get that next ball and get the kill.”

Arcanum improved to 9-3 with Monday’s victory while Brookville fell to 4-5.

Arcanum also won the junior varsity match, 25-22, 25-19.

Arcanum’s Grace Garno (21) and Trinity Layman (15) go up for a block during a volleyball match against Brookville on Monday in Arcanum.
https://www.dailyadvocate.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/web1_Garno-and-Layman-WEB.jpgArcanum’s Grace Garno (21) and Trinity Layman (15) go up for a block during a volleyball match against Brookville on Monday in Arcanum. Kyle Shaner | The Daily Advocate

By Kyle Shaner

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Kyle Shaner may be reached at 937-569-4316. Follow me on Twitter @KShanerAdvocate or get updates on Facebook by searching Darke County Sports or Advocate 360. For more features online go to dailyadvocate.com.

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