The Chillicothe Lady Hornets, using the combination of effective serves and strong net play from the combination of Maya Snyder and Gracie West, raced out to an early lead in Monday night’s varsity volleyball match from CHS, broadcast on KTTN FM 92.3. However, after taking the opening set 25-12, and leading much of the second set, the Lady Hornets saw the visitors from THS stage a furious rally from down five points late in the second half, with a flurry of Trenton momentum giving the Bulldogs the 26-24 edge.
With Trenton surging and Chillicothe appearing wobbly, the door looked open for Trenton to continue to push play, but the host Hornets would right the ship in the final two sets, winning by back-to-back 25-14 scores to take the match, 3 sets to 1. The result drops Trenton, coming off a Carrollton Tournament championship, to 5-8 on the season, improving Chillicothe to 4-5.
With Trenton hoping a fourth-set victory would send the match to a decisive fifth and final showdown, Chillicothe junior Essie Hicks provided the finishing blow to the Bulldogs, with a run of nine points on serve giving the Lady Hornets an insurmountable 11-2 lead early in the set. Hicks, on the night, finished with 16 aces, adding 7 kills and 10 digs. Elsewhere for Chillicothe, freshman Delanie Kieffer had four kills, six aces, and eight digs, with Snyder adding a team-high 13 kills, to go with nine assists, six aces, and eight digs, while West had seven kills and seven aces.
Trenton saw strong defensive work from libero Kenzie Yuille in the contest, with eight digs. Jessa Shipley added eight digs and a pair of aces. Lilly Berti had two kills, two aces, and a pair of blocks, with Evy McCullough racking up three kills and four blocks, Olivia Roberts one dig, one kills, and one ace, and Ava Simpson five assists to go with one dig and one ace.
Trenton Coach Pam Bowden told KTTNSports.com, “We were not able to get a win for the books, but we battled back to win a set after a deficit. The girls had lots of energy at times! It is a matter of believing in themselves all of the time.”
The JV match went to Chillicothe 25-17, 25-14. The Lady Hornets stat leaders were Claire Walker with six kills, Trista Tipton seven aces, and Halle Hill 11 assists. The Lady Bulldogs had Kaylea Boyle with two assists and Ally Yoder with two kills.
The freshman match went to the host Hornets 25-11, 25-9. Delanie Clements had 13 points off serve in the first set for Chillicothe, while Madison Albaugh went on an incredible run of 20 straight service points in the second set, rallying Chillicothe from an early 9-5 deficit. McKenzy Dolan had two digs, Kate Clark two digs, and Kinzie Hanson two aces for Trenton.
Trenton remains on the road on Tuesday night, traveling to Lathrop to battle the Mules, before a trip to South Harrison on Thursday, while Chillicothe remains home for Midland Empire Conference play, hosting St. Joseph Lafayette on Tuesday night and Savannah on Thursday night.
