WILLARD — If there is such a thing as a volleyball clutch gene, top-seed Buckeye Central possessed it, winning a five-set thriller over Norwalk St. Paul in the Division IV district semifinal here Tuesday night.
The Buckettes (17-7) beat fifth-seed St. Paul (14-8) at Willard High School 25-20, 26-28, 25-18, 23-25 and 15-13 to advance to the district finals against Monroeville on Thursday.
The Eagles, now 18-6 and the No. 2 seed, topped No. 3 South Central (16-8) in the second game by a score of 25-15, 25-11, 25-11.
“That was actually the first five-set match I think any of these girls have ever won. My older girls never went five sets. We were really good a few years ago and last year we lost a couple five-setters, and this year lost to Mohawk in five sets,” Buckeye Central head coach Missy McDougal said.
Buckeye set the tone early, going ahead 8-2 despite two service errors, thanks to Mia McDougal’s trifecta of kills.
“They stuck together and played through adversity. I told you guys last week that every game was going to be tough from here on out. The girls didn’t give up,” McDougal said.
Neither did St. Paul.
Junior Kristin Matlack and freshman Ella Kalizewski had kills for the Flyers who rallied from the early deficit and then won the second set 28-26.
“They’re extremely consistent and we had too many unforced errors,” Flyers head coach Nancy Miller said. “When it came down to the stretch, I was extremely proud of them for fighting the way they did tonight.
“We maintained our level of play all season and we made some adjustments. In the end, the unforced errors and us looking at each other a little bit on defense … and way too many hitting errors. My hitters were a little bit tight to start off,” Miller said.
BC fell behind 4-0 in both sets it lost. But McDougal didn’t call a timeout either set, opting to let her team figure it out.
“I wanted the girls to play through it. I don’t have anything to tell them that they don’t already know. We practice being behind and they know what to do, and what adjustments they need to make,” she said.
“The gameplan was not to serve it to their libero. We got away from what we wanted to do. We thought we could hit the ball. Our passing and our setting were just a little bit off tonight, but we found a way to get it done.”
Sophomore Adrienne Jury put on an excellent display in the match, both at the net and on the floor.
“AJ had a great game. I don’t know how many kills she had. It seemed like every tip went over for a kill and every ball she hit over went for a kill. We need players like that to step up. She’s got a great future, and she played a little bit injured tonight,” McDougal said.
Jury’s kill tied the second set at 25-25 before St. Paul pulled out the two-point victory.
The third set belonged to the Buckettes.
“I’ve got three seniors who want to get out of districts this year. They knew they had to stay focused and do all the little things. You gotta cover your hitters and do those things right if you want to be successful,” McDougal said.
The tide turned again in favor of the Flyers in the fourth set. It featured several ties at 11 and 12 before they pulled ahead to stay and won 25-23. Jury and Kimmy Biglin had kills to put Buckeye Central ahead 21-20.
Miller liked the fight her team showed against the top seed.
“We couldn’t work out of the funk a few times. We had more hitting errors than we’ve had all season. Look at how young we are, and they stepped up big. Some rotations I have three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior on the floor,” she said.
“I was very proud of their level of composure in the big game tonight; it was spectacular.”
The fifth set was just as close, with the Buckettes taking early leads at 7-4 and 10-5. But St. Paul rallied and went on a 6-1 run to tie it at 11.
Matlack had a huge block, but Mia McDougal and Jury answered with kills to secure the set and the match.
“Our girls aren’t ready to be done,” McDougal said. “Monroeville ruled this district for quite a few years. We beat them in three this year, but we know they’re going to be way better than when we meet them. They’ve got a lot of experience out there.”
GAME STATS: Kegney Stoll had 15 kills and Shealyn Deater 13 for St. Paul. Kalizewski added 11. Lily Cuturie had 46 digs from her libero position and Matlack added 18 digs and 40 assists.
Mia McDougal had 21 kills and Jury and Mara McDougal 16 apiece.
Mia McDougal had 21 kills and Jury and Mara McDougal 16 apiece.
Aleyse Siefert recorded 19 serving points and Mia McDougal 10. Mara had 29 digs and Mia 26. Siefert added 13 assists.
LAST MEETINGS: Buckeye Central swept the Eagles in a non-league game in September. Monroeville topped the Buckettes 3-0 in the district final in 2021.
N10 HONORS: Sisters Mia and Mara McDougal both earned first team all Northern 10 Athletic Conference honors this week. Sophomore Maren McDougal was second team and senior Kimmy Biglin honorable mention.