Ada spikers ground Rockets in 1st round
By Cort Reynolds

ADA - The white-hot Ada volleyball team defeated visiting Pandora-Gilboa
over four fairly close sets in Div. IV first round sectional play Tuesday
night.

Ada won 25-18, 25-22, 22-25, 25-20 to finish 2016 with a perfect 8-0 home
slate. The Lady Bulldogs also advanced to the district quarterfinals at
Hardin Northern Thursday with their first tournament victory since 2013.

Following their eighth consecutive triumph, the Bulldog record improved to
17-6. P-G ended up 13-10 after the loss.

Junior middle ace Melina Woods led Ada with 31 kills, four digs, five solo
blocks and two aces.

"Our serving kept us in it," said Bulldog head coach Melissa Gossard.
"Maddie and Sidney did a great job serving. Haley and Alyssa placed the
ball well on attacks early in the match.

"This team has solid mental toughness. It feels good to get that first
tournament win in a while. Everything from here on out is almost like
icing on the cake," she added.

Junior setter Maddie Gossard doled out 25 assists and served six aces.
Senior Vore knocked down 10 kills while classmate Wyss contributed five
kills and a pair of aces.

Well-positioned junior libero Olivia Alexander mustered 11 digs, and
defensive specialist classmate Kaiti Newland contributed 13 digs.

"Kaiti and Olivia did well defensively," noted Gossard.

Freshman Sidney Gossard, slowed by the flu, still managed to pass out a
dozen assists and served up five key aces.

Ada visits county rival Hardin Northern (17-5) Thursday in Dola at 6 p.m.
in second round tournament action. The Polar Bears beat Ada 2-0 back on
September 3 at HN in a Saturday morning tri-match.

But HN has struggled of late, losing three of its last four matches. "We
are playing much better now (than back in early September)," said Gossard.

The Bulldogs, winners of 14 of their last 15 matches, are 6-4 on the road
this season. The Ada/HN winner advances to the district semis Tuesday,
Oct. 25 at Ottawa-Glandorf, where they would likely face second-seeded
Leipsic.