Wednesday, October 28th, 2020

Indians, Flyers advance

By Tom Haines
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard

Fort Recovery's Paige Fortkamp had 20 kills in the Indians' four-set win over Lincolnview.

By TOM HAINES
thaines@dailystandard.com
FORT RECOVERY - The two top-seeded teams took care of business Tuesday night at the Division IV district volleyball tournament at Fort Site Fieldhouse.
Fort Recovery outlasted Lincolnview in a hard-fought first set and dropped the third before recovering for a 25-22, 25-13, 20-25, 25-16 win.
In the second match, Marion Local coasted through the first two sets and held on in the third on its way to a 25-14, 25-15, 25-20 victory over St. Henry.
The Indians (20-3) and the Flyers (18-4) will face off on Thursday in the district finals, also at Fort Site.

Fort Recovery 3, Lincolnview 1
The first set was a nail-biter, with neither team able to establish a firm lead. Fort Recovery got out to an 8-4 lead after a service run by Aubrey Knapke, but the Lancers went on a 9-2 run to earn a 13-10 advantage. The Indians battled back, tying the set at 16, 17 and 18 before taking the lead with a service run from Paige Fortkamp. Lincolnview's Madison Williams got a kill with Fort Recovery at set point, but Whitley Rammel earned a kill on the next point with a shot that just barely stayed in.
"It was a huge boost," Fort Recovery coach Travis Guggenbiller said. "I think it showed in the second set that we came out strong. We really gave it to them."
The second set was all Fort Recovery, despite a stretch of six consecutive serves broken between the two teams. A run from Hope Wendel turned a 10-7 lead into a 14-7 lead, and the Lancers never got closer than six points the rest of the way.
But Lincolnview wasn't done yet. This time, a hard-fought third set went the Lancers' way, as Kendall Bollenbacher racked up eight kills and closed out the set with a four-point service run to forestall the Indians' victory. That would take another set, and after early service runs from Marissa Gaerke and Knapke, Fort Recovery had a lead that proved unassailable.
"The third set, we got a little comfortable and they kept firing," Guggenbiller said. "We knew they were going to, they're a great team and well coached over there. I'm proud of the girls and how they responded in the fourth."
Fortkamp led the Indians with 20 kills, while Hope Wendel added 28 assists and Kierra Wendel had 20 digs. Rammel earned 18 kills and two blocks while also scoring four of the final seven points to close out Lincolnview. For the Lancers, Bollenbacher led the way with 10 kills.
Marion Local 3,
St. Henry 0
Marion Local handled its match with St. Henry, commanding the match until a late push from the Redskins early in the third set.
"Yeah, they're better than us," St. Henry coach Tricia Rosenbeck said. "They played better than us in about every aspect of the game."
Nora Eckstein helped the Flyers get started, taking the ball with a 2-1 lead and stretching it to 6-2. Marion got out to a 10-3 lead and only stretched it from there, as St. Henry was unable to cut the deficit below six the rest of the set.
The second set was more of the same, although the Redskins stayed close longer. St. Henry got its only lead of the first two sets at 1-0, but stayed within striking distance until a long service run by Reagan Kremer, who forced the Redskins into two receiving errors on the way to a commanding 19-11 lead.
"The girls hit their targets tonight, and they hit them with some momentum too," Marion coach Anthony Chappel said. "That took them right out of system, that's what we want."
It wasn't until the third set that Marion had a fight on its hands. The two teams traded a few points before St. Henry went on a run starting at 6-6. The Redskins got a 12-6 lead on Lauren Beyke's service run and managed to keep the lead to 17-16. But the momentum dissipated, Marion took over, and the Flyers went on a 9-3 run with kills from Heidi Rethman and Alana Pohlman finishing it off.
"There's a lot of great players there," Chappel said. "There's some seniors, but it's pretty much a young team, so you can kind of see some lightbulbs turning on. I told Trish before the game, if you could have those lightbulbs turn on next year and not in this game, that would be great."
Pohlman earned nine kills, while Kremer earned three aces and Heidi Rethman added 23 assists. Brianna Siefring had 10 kills for the Redskins, with Lydia Werling adding 11 assists.
Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard

Marion Local's Alana Pohlman (6) hits the ball as St. Henry's Carley Winner defends.

Photo by Nick Wenning/The Daily Standard

Marion Local's Heidi Rethman (8) defends a shot from St. Henry's Chloe Gels (1) in the Division IV district semifinals at Fort Site Fieldhouse on Tuesday.

Additional online stories on this date
Vote '20
GERMAN TOWNSHIP - Officials say a 2.5-mill continuing replacement levy up for vote is integral to covering the cost of fire and emergency medical services for the township. [More]
WAPAKONETA - Two deaths from COVID-19 were reported in Auglaize County on Tuesday, raising the county's total to 16.
Officials also reported 14 new confirmed cases, increasing the total to 1,026. [More]
Subscriber and paid stories on this date
CELINA - Lake Facilities Authority officials said they are willing to work with the property owners on a number of "suggestions," including a period of exclusive hunting rights, to finalize the purchase of 88.9 acres of land for a future treatment train.
CELINA - Mercer County commissioners on Tuesday awarded a $147,242 contract to a Coldwater contractor to bring up to code a historic building in downtown Celina.
CELINA - Mercer County officials are stepping in to see that three longstanding businesses continue to operate under new ownership.
County commissi
MENDON - Village residents will see a new recreational addition to Mendon Union Memorial Park thanks to the generosity of a local charity.
Village
A two-vehicle collision involving an Ohio State Highway Patrol cruiser is suspected to have been caused by the other driver's drug impairment, according to an OSHP news release.
MINSTER - The third time proved to be a charm for a bidder seeking to purchase 17 acres of land from the village.
After the first two rounds result
Cardinals and Rangers advance to Division IV district final
NEW BREMEN - The rematch everyone anticipated will happen at Cardinals Gymnasium on Friday night.
The top two seeds came away with victories at the Division IV district volleyball semifinals on Tuesday night.
Compiled by Gary R. Rasberry
Alyson Saxton scored with 2:56 remaining in regulation to break a 2-2 tie and give Ottoville a 3-2 victory over Coldwater in the Division III girls soccer district semifinal on Tuesday night at Ottoville High School.