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Findlay Trojans

2022 Volleyball2
@FHSAthletic / X

Girls Volleyball By Josh Morgret/Sports Writer/jmorgret@advertiser-tribune.com

TC Pushes Findlay to 5 Sets, but Falls

In a race to 15 points in the fifth set, a good start is almost always critical.

Columbian was slow out of the gate in the deciding finale against Findlay on Monday and it proved costly.

The Tornadoes got behind by five points quickly and never recovered, as 11th-seeded Findlay topped 13th-seeded Columbian 25-17, 21-25, 21-25, 25-20, 15-13 in Division I sectional semifinal action. "We got down 6-1 and waited a little too long to bring it back together," TC coach Hope Boes said. "They fought really hard and played really hard. They left everything out there, so I'm really proud of them."

While the Tornadoes got within striking distance of the Trojans in the fifth set, they were never able to get back even or take a lead, bowing out of the tournament and ending the season at 9-14.
"I had confidence in us the whole night," Boes said. "We got down too far off the get-go. We came back at it, but in the end, it wasn't enough."

Findlay (11-12) scored the first four points of the set including a pair of kills by Kelsie Ritzler. Freshman Kaela Jenkins answered for the Tornadoes, but kills from Jillian Nicholson and Ava Buddelmeyer furthered the Columbian deficit to 6-1.

The Tornadoes chipped away at the lead with every point crucial in the shortened set. Columbian sliced within 9-6 on kills from Lexi Smith and Ella Kerschner. A serving error gave Findlay a point, but TC won four of the next five to draw within 11-10.
 
Columbian's Lexi Smith (12) sends a shot over the block attempt of Findlay's Taylor Hudson (18) and Jillian Nicholson (15) Monday night at Findlay

But as Columbian got close, the Trojans didn't fade. Still up 12-11, Findlay got another kill from Ritzler before a hitting error on Columbian brought up match points. Jenkins wiped two chances for the Trojans away with a pair of kills, but Buddelmeyer tallied her match-high 21st kill of the night to give Findlay the win.

"It was nerve racking," Findlay coach Courtney Rolf said. "We lost to them earlier and they fight. We knew they were coming to fight... The match could have went either way."
It was a matchup of two teams that had met just 21 days prior in a non-league showdown in Findlay. That night, Columbian lost the first set, 21-25, before winning the next three, 26-24, 25-19, 25-13, and the second meeting had similar form.

The Trojans used an 8-0 run in the first set to open a 12-5 lead. Buddelmeyer brutalized the Tornadoes throughout the run with four kills and a block.

That margin and lead proved to be enough for Findlay as TC never really made a run at the lead. The advantage reached 16-7 on a block by Livia Derr. The Tornadoes got within five points a couple times, but never any closer. Two more kills by Buddelmeyer and two hitting errors by Columbian gave Findlay the opening set.

But, as they did in the first meeting Sept. 26, the Tornadoes responded. In Set 2, TC went on a 7-1 run to go from down 10-7 to up 14-11. It was a lead it never relinquished.

A kill and block from Marissa Dunn pushed Columbian up 19-15. Later, Dunn's kill ballooned the margin to 22-16 and a kill and block by Jenkins knotted the match at a set apiece.

Columbian almost went wire-to-wire with the lead in the third set. The Tornadoes ripped off the first six points of the set before Findlay battled back. The Trojans first tied the set at 11 on a kill by Buddelmeyer and then her ace pushed Findlay ahead.

Columbian bounced back and took a 21-18 lead when Smith and Dunn combined on a block. That margin was enough for the Tornadoes to reign in the third set as a kill by Jenkins pushed TC up 2-1.
"We got some momentum back in the second and third set," Boes said. "We played really well. Findlay is a good team. They hit well against us."

Findlay had little to no issues in Set 4. The Trojans raced out to a 5-1 lead on Buddelmeyer's kill. After Columbian got within 10-8 on a block by Smith, the Trojans won the next five points, forcing a TC timeout.

Columbian sliced the lead down to three points a couple times the rest of the set, but everytime it did, Findlay had the answer. Within 22-19, the Tornadoes made a pair of errors and a kill by Buddelmeyer tied the match at two sets apiece.

"Our seniors didn't want to be done yet," Rolf said. "It was do or die. We wanted to practice tomorrow. We wanted to see tomorrow."

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Players Mentioned

Kelsie Ritzler

#1 Kelsie Ritzler

Senior
Ava Buddelmeyer

#3 Ava Buddelmeyer

Sophomore
Livia Derr

#14 Livia Derr

Junior
Jillian Nicholson

#15 Jillian Nicholson

Senior

Players Mentioned

Kelsie Ritzler

#1 Kelsie Ritzler

Senior
Ava Buddelmeyer

#3 Ava Buddelmeyer

Sophomore
Livia Derr

#14 Livia Derr

Junior
Jillian Nicholson

#15 Jillian Nicholson

Senior