Lebanon tops Lady Pioneers in District battle
Aubrey Oleksik being a threat at the net.
Lebanon may have left Charlie Dalton Gym still unbeaten Monday night, but Warren County made sure the Lady Blue Devils had to work to stay that way.
The Lady Pioneers pushed one of District 7-AAA's top teams for four sets, dominating the second and coming within two points of taking the third before Lebanon escaped with a 3-1 victory. The Lady Blue Devils won 25-17, 14-25, 25-23 and 25-18, dropping Warren County to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in district play.
For coach Erin Blalock, Monday was another chance to measure where her team stands against a program Warren County knows it will have to contend with if it wants to make a postseason run.
“One of the words I'm going to use to describe this game is very encouraging,” said Blalock. “What they were able to do on the court, even losing the first set, they didn't get down. They came back, they rallied and they played with one of the best teams in our district, if not the best team in our district.”
Those encouraging stretches were never more apparent than in the second set.
After Lebanon pulled away late to win the opener, Warren County immediately responded. Sloan Youngblood helped the Lady Pioneers jump ahead 3-0 from the service line, then Reese Reinitz helped extend the advantage to 6-1.
Warren County never relinquished control.
Senior Ali Young delivered an ace to make it 12-7 and force a Lebanon timeout, then Reinitz went back to work from the service line later in the set. The sophomore helped turn a 14-9 advantage into a 17-9 lead as the Lady Pioneers continued putting pressure on the Blue Devils.
Natalie Payne took her turn late, serving during another big Warren County run that eventually pushed the margin into double figures. The Lady Pioneers finished off Lebanon 25-14, handing the unbeaten Blue Devils their most lopsided set loss of the night and evening the match 1-1.
The biggest difference, according to Blalock, came from Warren County's ability to read the action better and get into its offense.
“They really read the ball the second set a little bit better,” said Blalock. “They passed much better in the second and the third set. (We) Made the adjustments on the back line and got some good touches on some blocks - really just trying to make it easier on the back line so we could get some passes up. If our weapons are going to do anything, it starts with a pass in the back row and they did that very well in the second and third set.”
One of those weapons was Aubrey Oleksik.
The senior repeatedly challenged Lebanon from the strong side and showed the ability to vary her attack rather than simply trying to overpower the Lady Blue Devils every time. Oleksik finished with seven kills and 10 digs and drew praise from her coach after the match.
“She read the court really well,” said Blalock when asked about the senior’s ability to find open spots. “When she swings hard, they've got to stay back, and that allows her to really do that awesome little dink shot that she's got. Once she hits that a couple times, then they squeeze and she can swing at it. She reads the court really well and she knows when she's got the right set to do anything that she wants to with it. She really was a playmaker tonight for sure.”
Warren County also found an unexpected spark from sophomore Ella Wells.
Wells was called on after Elliana Heintz took a ball to the face and had to be checked out. Instead of simply holding down the rotation, Wells immediately made plays and gave the Lady Pioneers a lift.
“Ella is the kind of player that, when she makes a play, the team really got up and rallied around her,” said Blalock. “I think that was pretty much her first varsity minutes this year. Ella was rolling and the team was doing well, so we didn't change it back right then. Just kind of kept the momentum going for sure.”
Wells finished with a kill, an assist, three digs and a block while giving Warren County useful minutes in the second, third and fourth sets.
Maelee Turner delivering a serve for the Lady Pioneers in the third set.
The Lady Pioneers had an opportunity to build on their dominant second set in the third.
Warren County stayed with Lebanon throughout and had the set within reach late. The Lady Pioneers were right there with an opportunity to seize control, but a handful of mistakes allowed Lebanon to regain the momentum and escape 25-23.
For Blalock, that was the frustrating part.
“Those were things that we can control and we didn't do it,” said Blalock. “We had the game in our possession and we were right there, ready to win, and just made some mistakes that are fixable. They're avoidable. We kind of lost momentum there and that's hard to come back from, especially on a tight set like that.”
Warren County wasn't ready to concede the match.
The Lady Pioneers scored the first two points of the fourth and looked ready to make a push toward a fifth set, but Lebanon answered with four straight. The Blue Devils eventually stretched their advantage, forcing Warren County to chase from behind.
Even when the margin grew, the Lady Pioneers kept making Lebanon earn points.
One of Warren County's best rallies of the night came late in the fourth with Lebanon leading 22-14. Young went to the floor to keep the ball alive, Youngblood made another save and Reinitz added a one-handed play as the Lady Pioneers repeatedly turned away potential Lebanon winners.
Eventually, Brynlee Chisam finished the marathon rally with a shot through the Lebanon defense. It only counted for one point, but it showed the kind of effort Warren County kept giving even as Lebanon moved closer to finishing the match.
Youngblood led Warren County offensively with eight kills while adding nine digs and two blocks. Oleksik finished with seven kills and 10 digs, while Chisam and Payne had four kills apiece.
Young continued anchoring the Lady Pioneer defense with a team-high 11 digs while adding an ace. Payne had four digs, a block and an ace, while Reinitz finished with three digs and two aces.
Warren County's two-setter attack remained balanced. Maelee Turner had a team-high 12 assists and Reinitz added 11. Caroline Boyd added two kills and two blocks.
For Blalock, Monday offered both sides of where Warren County stands.
“I can also use the word frustrating because the things that caused those mishaps are things that are controllable on our part and we just didn't,” said Blalock. “But then I'll circle back to encouraging because the fact is those are things that we can control and we can fix.
“Encouraging is the word I'm going to use for tonight.”
There will be little time to dwell on the loss. Warren County will return to Charlie Dalton Gym Tuesday night to face Stewarts Creek. The matchup will begin at 6 p.m.
