Sidney junior libero Maggie Turner, left, and Cynthia Davidson dive for the ball during a Division I sectional semifinal against Troy on Tuesday in Centerville. The Yellow Jackets beat Troy 3-1 to advance to a sectional final scheduled for Saturday against Kettering Fairmont. Davidson led the squad with 18 kills.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
Sidney’s Kyla Rush, left, and Kaitlyn Adams celebrate after a point during a Division I sectional semifinal against Troy on Tuesday in Centerville. Rush had 12 kills and Adams had eight.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
Sidney senior middle blocker Hailey Richardson tips the ball during a Division I sectional semifinal against Troy on Tuesday in Centerville. Richardson made four kills.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
Sidney’s Cynthia Davidson bumps against Troy at Centerville on Tuesday.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
Sidney’s Sophia Bosslet spikes against Troy at Centerville on Tuesday.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
CENTERVILLE — After two slugfests with Troy in regular season, Sidney largely dominated a matchup in a Division I sectional semifinal on Tuesday at Centerville High School.
The Yellow Jackets beat the Trojans 25-12, 25-16, 22-25, 25-16 to advance to a sectional final on Saturday against Kettering Fairmont, which beat West Carrollton 3-0 in Tuesday’s third semifinal at Centerville.
It was a strong defensive performance for the Yellow Jackets (13-10), which made fewer errors than a rough stretch to close out regular-season play last week.
“We were focused, we executed when we needed to, and our mentality was set,” Sidney coach Dexter Tobie said. “Troy is a dangerous team; you don’t know what you’re going to get. But we were happy to be here and ready for tournament time.”
The teams split a pair of back-and-forth matches in regular season. Sidney beat the Trojans 3-2 on Aug. 22 and lost a second Miami Valley League matchup on its home court 3-2 on Sept. 18.
Senior outside hitter Maddy Williams ranked third among MVL players with 229 kills to her credit; the Yellow Jackets unofficially held her to five on Tuesday.
“We studied their offense,” Tobie said. “We knew (Williams) was going to tip a lot, so we were able to make that adjustment.”
Junior outside hitter Cynthia Davidson led the team with 18 kills while senior outside hitter Kyla Rush had 12. Junior Kaitlyn Adams had eight and senior Hailey Richardson had four.
“They did awesome today,” Tobie said of Davidson and Rush. “They did exactly what they needed to do. They attacked where the open courts were.”
Sidney took a 7-2 lead in the first set. The Trojans later pulled to within 10-8, but the Yellow Jackets scored the next five points, the last of which on a kill by Davidson, and ran away to a 13-point victory.
The Yellow Jackets scored the first seven points of the third set, and after Troy scored two in a row, they scored the next six to take a 13-2 lead en route to a 25-16 win. –
The Trojans took an early 6-3 lead in the third set. Sidney later tied it 8-8, and the teams battled back and forth until Troy scored seven of nine points to take a 19-14 lead. The Yellow Jackets scored three late to pull within 23-21, but Troy scored two of the next three to close it out, with Cerna Rajab making a set-ending kill.
The Yellow Jackets scored five straight to take a 6-2 lead in the fourth. Troy battled back and took a 12-10 lead, but Sidney scored seven of eight points and pulled away from there.
Tobie was proud of the team’s response after losing the third set.
“That’s the beauty about volleyball,” Tobie said. “If something goes wrong, you don’t have to freak out. Just relax. There’s another set.”
Fairmont improved to 9-14 with its 25-13, 25-10, 25-12 win over the Pirates; Sidney beat West Carrollton 25-19, 25-21 and 25-20, 25-11 in an MVL doubleheader on Sept. 26.
The Firebirds (9-14) finished sixth in the Greater Western Ohio Conference. Junior middle blocker Lily Riegel, who is 6-foot-4, has made a team-high 121 kills and 43 blocks this year.
Troy finished 11-12. It’s the program’s first losing record since 2006.
Fairlawn beats Lehman, advances to district semifinal
Fairlawn, the No. 5 seed in the Dayton Division IV sectional, beat No. 6 Lehman Catholic 15-25, 25-12, 25-20, 28-26 in a sectional final on Wednesday in Arcanum.
The Jets (14-10) advance to face No. 4 Newton (16-6) in a district semifinal on Monday in Arcanum. They beat the Indians 3-0 in a nonconference match on Oct. 9.
The Cavaliers, which tied for the Three Rivers Conference title, finish 14-10 overall. They started and finished their season with losses to Fairlawn; they lost 3-0 to the Jets on Aug. 19.
Lehman will lose five seniors to graduation, including senior outside hitter Marissa Corner, who had 227 kills in regular-season play. She was a first team all-TRC selection, as was junior outside hitter Kailee Rank, who had a team-high 241 kills in regular season.
Fort Loramie rolls in first two tourney matches
Fort Loramie beat Dayton Jefferson 25-1, 25-1, 25-1 in a tournament opener on Monday at Troy High School and beat East Dayton Christian 25-1, 25-4, 25-2 on Wednesday.
The No. 1 seed Redskins (which were the top ranked team in D-IV in the final state coaches association poll) will face No. 11 Botkins in a district semifinal on Tuesday in Troy; they beat the Trojans 3-0 in Shelby County Athletic League play in regular-season matches.
Botkins advanced by beating No. 15 Ansonia 3-2 on Monday in a tournament opener and No. 12 Franklin-Monroe 3-1 on Wednesday.
Reach Bryant Billing at 937-538-4818, or follow @SidneyOHSports on Twitter and @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook.
