L-B wins 5-set thriller over Columbian

TIFFIN - Momentum is a funny thing. On more than one occasion in the fifth set Monday, it looked like Liberty-Benton had lost the momentum. But, the Eagles fought. And once they got done fighting, they fought some more. Overcoming big runs by Columbian, L-B rallied for a wild 24-26, 25-23, 25-20, 21-25, 15-13 non-league win over the Tornadoes. "I'm just so happy with this team," Liberty-Benton coach Julie Todd said. "Every year we try to think of a hashtag for our team or a saying and the other day it hit me. Our time to shine. Every girl on the court is in a new spot." Columbian jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the fifth set after kills by Lexi Beaston and Kaela Jenkins. The Eagles (1-0) roared back to tie the set after three kills by Corra Dehart before consecutive aces by the sophomore gave L-B an 8-6 lead. "Corra has to turn it on for us to be good," Todd said. "When she does, she's so spot on." The Eagles didn't stop there as two TC errors along with a kill by Lindsay May pushed the Liberty-Benton lead to 11-6. But, the Tornadoes (1-1) answered. A bevy of errors by L-B knotted the set at 11. Columbian even went up 13-12 after another error and kill from Ella Kerschner. Liberty-Benton finished strong, though, as May tallied her final two of 28 kills and won it when her serve clipped the net and fell over for an ace. "I'm so proud of her," said Todd of May, who added 25 digs as well. "She was elected one of our captains and they have to give comments why they want to nominate someone. One of the younger players said Lindsay is one of the hardest working people they know. It's so true." Columbian has just one senior - Kerschner - but TC coach Hope Boes doesn't think that was a factor in the fifth set. "Everybody I had out there I had last year," she said. "I think it's something we will continue to work on and get better and better at. Liberty-Benton is a good team with a good coach." Columbian came out strong in Set 1. The Tornadoes trailed early, but used a run to go up 19-14 following three straight kills by Abby Lewis. The Eagles didn't go quietly, rallying to even the set three times late, including at 24-all. TC won the first set as Jenkins clobbered a kill before her dink over the net led to an Eagles error. "Momentum was on our side," Boes said. "We played well. I don't think we missed a serve in the first set." L-B bounced back and played a bit better over the next two sets. In Set 2, Columbian stormed out to leads of 6-1, 10-5, and then 12-6 after a Liberty-Benton error. The Eagles slowly got back in the set, chipping away at the TC lead bit by bit. A kill by Maddy Amstutz for L-B tied the set at 17. Columbian went back up 21-19, but the Eagles rallied to avoid a 2-0 deficit. Amstutz evened the set at 22 before an ace by Alyssa Roberts and kill from Dehart gave L-B set points. Kerschner fended off one with a kill, but Amstutz won the set for the Eagles with one of her 13 kills. "It kind of felt like a chess match more than a power volleyball match at some points," Todd said. L-B carried that momentum into Set 3. With the set tied at 12, the Eagles put together a 7-1 run to put separation between the teams. Dehart put down a pair of kills in the run. Columbian was never able to put things back together to make a run at the deficit. The Tornadoes got as close as three points, but two hitting errors by TC handed Liberty-Benton the set and lead. "We just lost the momentum," Boes said. "We played tough all night. Like I told the girls, I have nothing negative to say. One play doesn't make the match or the set." The Tornadoes bounced back in Set 4. Columbian led early, but found itself down 14-13. Behind big hitting from Jenkins, Beaston, and Kerschner, TC rallied. Four straight points gave Columbian a lead it didn't relinquish the rest of the set. The Tornadoes went up 22-18 on a Jenkins kill before Kershner's blast made it 24-21. An error by Liberty-Benton leveled the match at two sets apiece. "We wanted to keep Columbian out of system," Todd said. "I thought we did a pretty good job. (Jenkins) started crushing them. We knew she would. I'm proud of how we played though." Jenkins - who verbally committed to play volleyball at Wake Forest last week - topped Columbian with 19 kills and seven blocks. Kerschner had 12 kills, Avary Brown tallied 31 digs and 30 assists, Erica Raubenolt added 33 digs, and Beaston snagged 20 digs. Gabby Shock finished with 25 digs and 15 assists while Lewis lined nine kills. "We want to continue to not dwell on the negative and focus on the positives," Boes said. "We need to work on our stuff in practice. We have two days of practice and then we play Thursday and Saturday. We'll be ready." Amstutz added 26 digs while Dehart finished with 12 kills and Josie Todd tallied 46 assists and 18 digs. Alyssa Roberts contributed 20 digs. "For so many years, we had so many huge power hitters," Todd said. "Our defense is just going to be so fun to watch. We had amazing plays and amazing saves. That's what I was hoping would bring out our fight."