Tigers too tough for Flyers

MARIA STEIN - Starting strong was not a problem for Marion Local on Thursday night.

Finishing was the issue.

Defending Division IV state champion Jackson Center rallied from deficits in both the first and second sets to win 25-17 and 25-21, and then dominated the third set 25-12 to defeat the Flyers in their season-opening match at the Hangar.

Marion Local controlled nearly 75 percent of the first two sets but let two six-point leads slip away.

"Both teams competed really well," Marion Local coach Erica Schulze said. "You're always going to have a great volleyball game between Marion Local and Jackson Center, two great traditions. The first two games, we competed well. We had control 75 percent of the game, but it was the last 25 percent of the game, you know, closing out a match where we just couldn't finish it."

The Flyers charged out to a 7-1 advantage in the opener thanks to multiple hitting errors by the Tigers and early kills from Jessie Kramer, Kara Evers and Morgan Heckman. Jackson Center kept chipping away and finally evened the score at 17-all, after a pair of kills and a block by Alicia Kessler. Three consecutive aces by Camryn Hoehne and two kills by Cassie Meyer capped a 9-0 run to finish the set.

An 18-12 lead for Marion in the second set was brushed away as Jackson Center went on a 13-3 run for a 25-21 victory. This time, it was Raquel Kessler sparking the run for the Tigers with back-to-back kills to pull them within 21-18. Jackson led for good after an ace by Meyer, a Marion hitting error and another kill by Raquel Kessler, who eventually ended the set with two more kills.

"They have a couple of really good servers who were taking us out of our system to attack," Schulze said. "We couldn't get those big swings we were getting the first part of the game. It's all about having the mindset to close the set. Obviously, Jackson Center had it and we didn't."

The momentum built from those two comebacks carried into the third set. Camryn Hoehne's cheater off the net dropped in for an ace to give the Tigers a 10-6 lead, and it only expanded from there as the Tigers outscored Marion 15-6 to end the match.

Meyer and Raquel Kessler led the Tigers with 10 kills each.

Kramer posted a team-high 10 kills for Marion and Kylie Albers added seven. Maddie Griesdorn had 12 assists and Carrie Fesenmyer added 25 digs for the Flyers (0-1), who travel to play Vandalia-Butler on Saturday.

"It's all about going back to practice and getting better," Schulze said. "We know every game we walk into is going to be a great game. Every team on our schedule is a competitive team. You have to learn from it, but at the same time, you've got to move on to attack the next opponent because they just keep coming."

The Marion Local JV team won in three sets by scores of 25-17, 19-25 and 25-19.