Flyers in five

MINSTER - Marion Local started fast, Minster rallied back and then they duked it out in the end.

That record was on repeat for the better part of five sets Tuesday.

The Wildcats won the first two sets (25-13, 25-23), but the Flyers took the final three (25-23, 25-18, 15-10) for a Midwest Athletic Conference victory.

Marion, ranked 10th in the latest Division IV state poll, improved to 7-3 overall and 3-1 in MAC play. Minster dropped to 9-5 and 1-3 in the MAC.

Flyers coach Anthony Chappel liked the grit of his girls in finishing off the final three sets. But he hopes turning it on late won't become a trend.

"I hope that's something that my girls don't look to go to," Chappel said. "I already got gray hairs as is - I've got four little kids. I don't need 15 other girls giving me more. If they can take care of business when they're supposed to, we'll be alright."

Minster, one of three MAC teams not listed in this week's state rankings, came to play and successfully rallied in the second set for a 2-0 advantage. The Wildcats just couldn't complete the rallies in sets three, four and five.

"We haven't gone into extra sets really outside of Fort Recovery, and that was a four-setter. I felt like we looked really tired there at the end of set five," Minster coach Cami Garman said. "We've been battling a ton of injuries, I would have loved to make some adjustments, but a lot of my bench is out right now. I think we just got real lethargic and kind of took our foot off the gas, and Marion's a good team. They didn't let down. They kept attacking us."

Minster was trailing 11-9 in the opening set and then went on a 11-0 run. Laney Hemmelgarn was behind the service line for the majority of it with Ivy Wolf adding her second and third kills of the set and Kyra Oldiges collecting a block and kill. An ace by Kaitlyn Wolf sealed a 25-13 win.

Josie Winner had three early kills in the second set, helping Minster take a 7-4 advantage. The score was tied at 1, 7 and 8. Marion took its first lead at 9-8 on a Minster hitting error. Kelsey Koenig followed with an off-the-net ace, Alana Pohlman and Brooke Homan had kills as the Flyers went on a big run to take a 19-12 lead. They couldn't run away from Minster, though.

A 5-0 run put Minster back in the set. Winner tied it up at 20-all with back-to-back aces. Marion took one last lead on an Abby Bruns kill, but an Oldiges kill tied it and then a Flyer hitting error put the Wildcats back in front. After a Kaitlyn Wolf ace, Pohlman got down a spike to keep it a one-point game. Oldiges ended it on the next volley with a termination block.

"One of the things we've taken pride in is that we've been able to stay pretty level headed for the most part, which is something our teams have kind of lacked in the past," Garman said. "It doesn't matter how many we're down, we always think we can come back. I just wish we didn't fall behind by 7-8 points in every single set."

Pohlman had five kills in the third set for Marion Local, which jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Ivy Wolf had eight kills for Minster, which rallied to tie the score after facing a six-point deficit. But Marion's Molly Winner had a clutch block and spike, and Brooke Homan hammered home three kills after it was tied at 20-apiece. Kinsey Thobe's spike clinched a 25-23 winner.

Marion Local put Minster into another early hole in set four, racing out to a 7-2 lead as errors and violations added up for the Wildcats. Kinsey Thobe and Homan had a bunch of kills in the set as the Flyers never let their opponent back in the contest, winning 25-18.

Homan quickly had two kills in the decider, Heidi Rethman hit a free ball to the back corner and Pohlman added a pair of kills as Marion jumped out to a 6-2 lead. Ella Mescher came on the court to get two kills for Minster. After a couple of Marion serving errors and violations, the score was knotted at 10.

That, however, was the final tie.

Homan followed with a spike, Minster was called for an illegal hit and Pohlman had two blocks and a kill for the final points in a 15-10 closer.

"Anytime you play a MAC team, you don't know what's going to happen," Chappel said. "I feel like every time you check Twitter, there's always an upset. One night or the other, and the fact that people don't wisen up and stop trying to pick a winner ahead of time … just let them play it out. It's going to show every time on the court. You're always going to have two good teams no matter what.

"It's midseason, so we've got some people who were trying to get some rest and get a couple practices in with new lineups," the first-year Marion head coach added. "We're trying to get it figured out now before it's tournament time. We're going to deal with those bumps in the road, but the girls showed a lot of grit today."

Stat leaders for Marion were Homan (17 kills, three blocks), Pohlman (14 kills, six blocks), Thobe (11 kills), Koenig (32 digs, four aces), Rethman (46 assists, two aces) and Madisyn Mescher (11 digs). The Flyers host Delphos St. John's on Thursday.

Leading Minster were Ivy Wolf (19 kills, 13 digs), Averi Wolf (eight kills, 11 digs), Emily Stubbs (20 digs), Kaitlyn Wolf (39 assists) and Winner (six kills). Minster visits New Bremen on Thursday.