Adena recovers to defeat Southeastern, notches seventh Scioto Valley Conference win
FRANKFORT − If Adena has learned one thing over the first half of its season, it's to never give up.
At least, that's what coach Laura Smith has drilled into her players. She's regimented the Warriors over the past month against both a rigorous nonconference schedule mixed in with a Scioto Valley Conference lineup that can produce upsets and monumental wins on any given night.
But an arduous road has led to success down the line. Adena is 7-1 against Scioto Valley Conference opponents, and a 20-25, 25-20, 25-20, 25-16 win over Southeastern on Thursday night proved that Adena's bitter work is paying dividends.
"You've just got to keep fighting, keep your focus," Smith said. "I'm proud of them for that. That's what we were talking about in the locker room and they said, 'We didn't give up. We kept playing.' That's important, because it's not an easy road here in the SVC this year. That's good, because it makes us all better."
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From the outset, neither Adena nor Southeastern were willing to budge. A 4-0 run by Southeastern to begin the first set was answered by Adena with a 4-0 run of its own. 11 more ties occurred in the set before Southeastern closed out with a 6-1 run. Eight kills by Jozy Lougheed alone in the first set put Adena on the backfoot.
Every scoring run had a response. A 6-0 run through the middle of set two put the Warriors ahead, and they'd mustered a 21-13 lead before the Panthers rattled off seven unanswered points.
Still, the Warriors pushed forward. Eva Kruger finished the second set off with a kill, and the Warriors picked up steam. A kill by Katie Burns spurned a 7-1 run through the third set, all the while Grace Townsend − who ended the match with a staggering 46 assists − set up her teammates for success. Kruger led the Warriors with 18 kills to her name, while Preston and Burns put up 15 kills apiece.
"We've had problems before with being down, so we knew that we needed to get the energy up," Preston said. "We needed to go, and then we got it back."
Three sets of build-up culminated in a fourth set of dominance. Preston put up back-to-back kills to lead off the fourth set, and the Warriors never looked back. They only lost the lead once throughout the set − after the Panthers went up 5-4 − but the deficit never stuck. A 7-1 run put them ahead for the remainder of the night.
Adena, now tied for first place in the SVC standings, isn't celebrating just yet. Seven wins is impressive, and taking down Southeastern is no easy feat. But there's still work to do. Adena has a fight for the top spot in the standings coming over the horizon. A matchup against Unioto − also 7-1 in conference play − is next on the docket.
If Friday showed anything, however, it's that Warriors are willing to put up a fight.
"Our play is still continuing to elevate," Smith said. "But it's their demeanor when they're on the court. They know what it's like to get down, and they learn to fight to keep coming back and not get deflated completely. You've still got to keep playing, let the mistakes go and keep pushing ... They know if you keep fighting, good things will happen."
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Adena recovers to defeat Southeastern, notches seventh SVC win
