Unioto volleyball holds back Piketon for 10th win of season
PIKETON − Unioto head coach Jim Hutton knew defeating Piketon wasn't going to be easy.
The coach has seen his fair share of the Scioto Valley Conference. He knows what teams rise to the top when the season bleeds into conference play. He's even leading Unioto to a potential return to a top spot in the standings.
The road hasn't been easy, however. Unioto's conference opponents have made that clear.
Sure, the Shermans sit tied for second place in the SVC and have only lost two matches midway through the season. But that doesn't make the matchups any easier. Hutton believes conference opponents have gotten tougher to pin down this season, and Piketon was no exception. The Shermans had to claw their way to a 3-1 win over the Redstreaks at Piketon High School on Thursday night.
"This league is always competitive, but it's a lot better than it has been in the past," Hutton said. "They're all scrappy now. You can't go into a game against Piketon and think you're going to beat them in three. They kept the balls alive a lot better than in the past. This is a really tough league."
Hutton's hunch was proved right from the first serve. The Redstreaks jumped out to an early lead and caught the Shermans dazed on the court. They kept the ball alive with lengthy rallies and struck when the Shermans were worn down. They even sealed the first set with a 10-4 scoring run that put the Shermans on the backfoot.
The Shermans claimed the next three sets, and the win as a result, but they had to buckle down. The Redstreaks hung around and refused to be shaken. They never fell behind by more than three points for the majority of the third set. The Redstreaks even took a brief lead before the Shermans scored nine quick points to end the set.
"When we were hitting, we were on," Piketon head coach Lori Russell said. "But we have to continue doing that. We get into a couple of rotations where we're weaker in the front row, and that hurts us because we have to wait for our hitters to get back in and get around. We get a lead, and then we get in that rotation and we get behind. It's like an up-and-down."
Piketon didn't hang on forever. It might have been able to stay with Unioto had it not been hampered by injury. Two of its players, Ashlyn Elliott and Kenna Conley, had been sidelined due to injury before Thursday. Without Elliott and Conley, Piketon had to thrust younger roster members into the rotation.
Unioto pulled ahead as Piketon struggled to acclimate its young roster. It closed out the final three sets with small scoring runs, and its rotation came to life. Ella Cutright, who led the team in kills, tallied on 12 kills, 11 digs and an ace on Thursday. Abbie Marshall, who has been one of Unioto's most reliable players this season, totaled 23 assists, seven digs and six kills.
It wasn't a pretty win, but the Shermans will take it. They've cracked the 10-win milestone as the season reaches its midpoint, and they're vying for control of the SVC with other top-of-the-line teams.
Unioto's win might not appear significant on paper, but Hutton believes it to be a sign of further success down the line.
"We walked in the locker and said 'Hey, it wasn't pretty, but it's a win,'" Hutton said. "Any time you can win in this league, that's a good thing."
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Unioto volleyball holds back Piketon for 10th win of season
