SHELBY (Crawford County Now) — On to the regionals. That was the cry from the Buckeye Central team and faithful after a four-set win over Van Buren to claim its second district championship in three years at Shelby Thursday night.

The Buckettes won 25-23, 24-26, 25-19, 25-21 to advance to the Division VI regional in Fostoria next Thursday against Tinora (23-2).

It was fitting that senior Adrienne (AJ) Jury’s kill sealed the final set to allow Buckeye Central (20-5) a return trip.

“It’s amazing. We really thought we should have been there last year, but we got upset,” head coach Missy McDougal said. “Back in June I told the girls we can win the N10, and we can get to regionals.”

In order to do that, however, two things were needed, she said.

“Believe in yourselves and peak at the right time.”

After claiming a co-league championship with Mohawk, Buckeye swept Wynford in the sectional final and Mansfield Christian in the district semifinal contest on Tuesday.

Next came a battle of one seeds against Van Buren (19-5).

The first set saw the Buckettes stake a 6-5 lead on a Milania Chamberlain kill, one of several on the night for the talented freshman. The two squads traded leads several times.

Another kill by Chamberlain and a great dig by Mayzie Hanlon put BC on top for good at 16-14. Van Buren fought back to make it 23-22 before Jury dropped a shot over the net and Maren McDougal finished it off.

“This was the best game we played all year,” Missy McDougal said.

Set two belonged to the Black Knights. After ties at 7-7 and 11-11, a Megan Siefert ace and kills by Emma Keller and Megan Siefert kept the Buckettes in the game.

A block by junior middle hitter Brooklyn Wilkin broke a 20-20 tie and Van Buren held on for the 26-24 win.

Black Knights head coach Mark Bunn cited the Buckettes’ defense as a factor.

“It was a barn brawl. I’ll tell you what, defensively they’re amazing. I got a couple of stud hitters (Wilkin and Morgan Walters).

“But every time we got it past their block, they were picking them up left and right,” he said. “We just couldn’t find those holes.”

Bunn said mistakes hurt his team at various junctures.

“We started doing our fundamentals, getting where we had to be and placement wise, and were in synch a little better.”

Wilkin’s kill to start the third set got Van Buren going. The set was tied seven times leading up to 10-10.

“Our goal was to try to adjust some of our blocks a little from what we saw of their tendencies. AJ did a phenomenal job. She hasn’t blocked that well all year,” McDougal said.

A diving save by senior Aleyse Siefert into the Buckeye Central bench seemed to ignite the team.

“Their hitters were phenomenal. I give them a lot of credit. Mayzie in the back row did a great job and Aleyse dove in and took a chair out,” she said.

“That’s the best our girls have played, as a unit, and they played as one.”

Buckeye Central closed out the third set as McDougal dropped an ace inches inside the Van Buren back line.

The fourth set featured blocks by McDougal and Chamberlain and more gutsy defense.

Olivia Bishop’s ace made it 11-4 and BC seemed ready to cruise to the win.

But Van Buren proved resilient, going on a 16-3 run to cut it to 23-18 and 24-21 before Jury closed it out.

“At the end of that second set, they kind of had that look. And I’m like, ‘Hey, there’s a lot of volleyball left. Let’s take care of business,” Missy McDougal said.

“They kind of flipped it back on. I haven’t seen that fire in their eyes all season, but I’m glad it came out.”

The Buckettes fell to New London in 5 sets in the district finals last season. This time, they wouldn’t be denied.