By Cort Reynolds
ADA - The host Ada volleyball team bounced back from a first set loss to down feisty Pandora-Gilboa in four games during Div. III second round sectional volleyball action Thursday night.
The third-seeded Bulldogs defeated the ninth-seeded Rockets 25-27, 25-10, 25-19, 25-7 to improve to 16-7. P-G ended its season 7-16 after the defeat.
Ada senior standout Melina Woods led the victors to their eighth win in a row with 36 kills, 19 digs, two blocks and five aces.
"Pandora was better than I thought," admitted Ada head coach Melissa Gossard. "They are young with two good seniors. Fenstermaker is the best middle we have faced since we played the MAC teams early in the season."
Behind six Woods kills and two aces, Ada raced to an 11-3 lead in set one and appeared in control. But then the hustling P-G squad started blocking and digging well.
Five kills by 6-1 senior Paige Fenstermaker got the Rockets back in the set. Still, a back row kill by Woods and tip on the sideline by Maddie Gossard put the Bulldogs in front, 22-16.
A kill by Rocket senior Kayla Ferguson and two Ada errors inched P-G within 22-19. Three straight kills by Fenstermaker capped a 6-0 run and tied it at 22-22. P-G served long to stem their momentum temporarily.
Fenstermaker then hammered a kill on the sideline to tie it 23-23. Woods responded with a clean smash of her own to give Ada set point. But Fenstermaker answered with a big kill off a Bulldog blocker to tie it 24-all.
The Rocket senior's block kill then gave P-G its first lead at 25-24. She hit just wide to tie it once more, 25-25. Fenstermaker then came up with a kill and an off-balance Woods hit long on set point to complete the improbable P-G comeback, 27-25.
"We got out to a big lead and then fell into a comfort zone," explained Gossard. "Pandora started blocking our back row attacks."
Ada came back in set two and dominated after a close start. Four kills by Woods and a cross-court slam by Raina England gave the hosts a 7-5 edge. Three more kills by Woods and two aces by Maddie Gossard extended the lead to 14-7.
"Maddie served well, especially in the second and fourth games," said Gossard. "Her serves kept them from passing to their big hitters. We bounced back well in the second set."
After two successful attacks by Fenstermaker, Woods slammed a pair of kills and dealt two aces. Megan Light came up with a nice tip as Woods served seven consecutive points. Woods then drilled a back row kill off P-G out of bounds to tie the match, 25-10.
The Bulldogs raced to a 6-1 lead in set three as southpaw Kaiti Nelwand and Gossard each served an ace. P-G crept back within 7-6 before Woods knocked down a cross-court hit. Gossard then found the open middle for a 10-8 lead.
Yet the Rockets blasted in front 12-10 with four unanswered points. Ada took the lead back on a Nikki Lehsten tip and an England ace. A cross court tip by Woods and her kill off a Rocket blocker capped a 9-2 run that gave the Bulldogs a 19-15 edge.
Ada hit long but Woods found the sideline with an accurate attack. After a long rally, Woods crushed another kill for a 21-16 bulge. P-G inched within 21-18 before Woods found the open middle with another well-placed hit.
Sidney Gossard fired an ace to provide a 24-19 lead, and a Rocket error clinched the set 25-19. Ada finished the game on a 10-4 flurry to pull away late.
Three Maddie Gossard aces and consecutive well-placed kills by Lehsten gave Ada a 6-0 lead to start game four. A tip and a kill by Woods, followed by a rally-ending Megan Light kill, gave the purple and gold a 12-3 bulge.
Two more Woods kills followed by a kill and a tip by Lehsten advanced the margin to 18-5. Another fine tip by Lehsten and a Woods kill off a blocker made it 21-7.
A final Woods smash and two aces by Maddie Gossard closed out the fading Rockets, 25-7.
Senior setter Maddie Gossard dished out 34 assists, served eight aces and hit for five kills while adding a dozen digs.
Senior Lehsten knocked down six kills and added two blocks. Freshman Light contributed three kills.
"Nikki came up big and Megan had some nice tips," noted Gossard. "Megan's kills came at crucial times."
Dependable senior libero Olivia Alexander mustered 17 digs while senior defensive specialist Newland amassed 14 digs.
Sophomore Sidney Gossard passed out a dozen assists.
Seniors Woods, Newland, Gossard, Alexander, Lehsten and Kylie Guagenti went out winners in their final home match.
Ada finished 9-4 at home and advanced to the Ottawa district against top-seeded Leipsic for the second year in a row. The Vikings eliminated the Bulldogs at the same stage last year in four sets.
"It will be a good match," said Gossard. "They have the BVC Player of the Year in Heitmeyer and another good outside hitter in Kira Meyer. The girls want to play Leipsic again bad."
Their district semifinal bout at Ottawa-Glandorf will start at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 24. LCC and Columbus Grove will then play in the second semifinal at O-G.
The winners will meet in the district finals Thursday, Oct. 26 at 7 p.m. with a regional berth on the line. Ada lost at LCC in four and swept Grove on the road earlier this season.
