Flyers take back momentum, take down Wildcats in four

MINSTER - The Minster Wildcats had Marion Local out-of-sync and out-of-system as they built a nine-point lead in the third set and headed toward a 2-1 lead.

That changed in a hurry.

The Flyers, trailing 16-7 in the third set, closed on a furious 18-4 run and rode that momentum to a 25-18 fourth-set victory to end the match with a 3-1 result on Thursday night at Wildcat Gymnasium.

The win over Minster coupled with Coldwater's loss to New Bremen gives Marion Local (12-3, 6-0) sole possession of first place in the Midwest Athletic Conference.

The Flyers and Wildcats played to eight ties and five lead changes in the first set. Minster took its first lead at 7-6 on a Rosie Westerbeck block and eventually went up by four at 12-8. But the Flyers responded with a 6-0 run, sparked by a pair of Kara Evers' kills. Maddie Griesdorn's desperation dig sailed over the net and dropped to an open space on Minster's side to give the Flyers a 13-12 lead, and they never trailed again. Paige Thobe tried to keep Minster alive with two kills while Marion had set point, but an Evers dink gave Marion a 25-22 win.

Four ties and three lead swaps occurred early in set two. Carly Barhorst broke a 7-all tie with a kill and then had a block before Jordyn Heitbrink gave Minster a four-point cushion with a kill of her own. Minster led by at least three points the rest of the set as they finished off a 25-17 win.

Sara Ripploh's ace started a 12-2 assault by Minster to open the third frame. Marion made six hitting-or-serve-receive errors in that Wildcat spurt.

All those miscues were wiped away, though.

With their backs to the wall, the Flyers caught fire and didn't stop until the set was theirs. Adaline Mescher had two kills, Jessie Kramer and Chloe Bertke added one each and a Minster hitting error tied the score for the first time in the set at 16-apiece. Evers gave Marion its first lead at 20-19 with one of her 11 kills. Kylie Albers had three spikes down the stretch to clinch the 25-20 win.

"Minster started getting us out-of-system with their serve," Marion Local coach Erica Schulze said. "They were being the aggressors. We became really predictable with our offense. They were able to set up a solid block on us and we weren't able to get through it. But once we worked to get in system, to get good passes, we were able to mix up our offense a little more, have three hitters every time around and have their block move more.

"We started getting in system more. We started producing. And once we started producing, our confidence went up."

Evers had three kills out of the gate in the fourth frame to help Marion Local double-up Minster at 8-4. Minster cut the lead to 12-10, only to see Marion go on a 4-1 run. The home team came back once more, cutting the deficit to 17-16 following consecutive Marion hitting errors and a Heitbrink kill. Once more, though, the Flyers fended them off - finishing the game with an 8-2 run.

"The girls just don't go into matches thinking they can win. They've been playing so timid recently," Minster coach Cami Garman said. "When we're aggressive and stay disciplined and play our game, we showed we can win. We did in set two and we really pushed hard to get ahead in set three because of what we were doing. We had our foot on the gas, but we just didn't keep it there."

Thobe had a team-high 10 kills for Minster, Barhorst and Heitbrink added seven each. Paige Purdy had a team-best 35 digs and Hayley Baumer finished with 29 assists for the Wildcats, who are back in action on Monday, hosting Houston.

Albers had a game-high 12 kills, Kramer and Bertke added eight apiece. Maddie Griesdorn had 27 assists and Carrie Fesenmeyer tallied 30 digs. Bertke and Morgan Heckman contributed three blocks each.

Marion Local travels to the Crestview Invite on Saturday and goes to Anna on Tuesday. Following that, the Flyers' lone focus turns to their final three MAC games. They will host Delphos St. John's on Oct. 6, host New Knoxville on Oct. 11 and then travel to Coldwater two days later.

"We're very excited, and we know every MAC game is going to be a big one," Schulze said. "We do it each night for the win, but we know also that there's a league championship on the line too. That definitely gets the girls fired up."