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Parkway's Hadley Stover goes to the floor to keep the ball in play.
FAIRBORN - After fending off three Midwest Athletic Conference teams to earn a state title appearance, Parkway faced a different type of challenge in Friday's Division VI Volleyball state final against Dalton.
While Parkway rallied from a 2-1 deficit to take it the distance, a big push from the Bulldogs in the fifth set saw them win the championship with a 25-21, 13-25, 25-20, 16-25, 15-12 win over the Panthers.
"It's validation for these ladies and validation for myself that, we didn't have a blueprint to success so to say," said Parkway coach Jordan Henkle on the match, the program's first state title appearance since 2005. "We kind of created our own, we figured out ways to get better every year. When they were in high school, our record got better, we got more competitive and competed against the best teams."
"It says a lot for Parkway to make it this far," said senior Naomi Knapke. "A lot of people overlook Parkway and no one thinks we can do it. Even though we were runners up, I think it says a lot."
It is Dalton's first state title in volleyball, while Parkway ends the season at 24-4.
The matched opened with Dalton on top early. A kill from Sara Geibel and an errant hit from Parkway opened up a 13-7 lead for the Bulldogs to force a Panther timeout. Cami Langenkamp's kill later in the set trimmed the deficit to 15-14, while a miscue from Dalton tied the set the next point.
Parkway could not get a lead in the set however, and the Bulldogs took the early match lead on an ace from Mei Simmons.
Parkway's KJae Stover (9) sets the ball to a teammate.
Falling behind has been no issue for Parkway in the past, and it showed in the second set. Aces from both Savada Triplett and KJae Stover helped open up a 10-3 lead for the Panthers. The lead was pushed to eight after two mishits from the Bulldogs made it 15-7, and a kill from Naomi Knapke made it an even 10-point lead at 19-9.
The teams traded points to end the set which was fine by Parkway, who tied the match at 1-1 after a violation from Dalton ended the set.
Dalton played the third much like the first, and controlled the play to the tune of a 5-1 lead. Parkway battled back to tie it at 7-, 9-, and eventually 15-all, before the teams extended the tie at 19-all.
With the Bulldogs serving the ensuing points, a trio of Parkway errors and a kill from Simmons made it a 24-19 set. Simmons ended the set soon after, and the Panthers trailed 2-1 for the second time in as many days.
In a potential elimination set, Dalton came out strong to take an 8-4 lead and force a Parkway timeout. The adjustments worked for the Panthers, as Madelyn Stover and Triplett served up multi-point runs to give Parkway a 16-12 lead.
With Parkway ahead 20-15, Langenkamp served the final push. She earned an ace and Izzy Knapke picked up a kill to highlight the four-point run and put Parkway on the doorstep of the set win.
Parkway's Izzy Knapke goes up for a spike against Dalton.
Triplett ended the set two rallies later with a kill, and the season was down to the final possible set.
The fifth set was a doozey, as the teams traded points to a 5-all tie in the race to 15. Payton Lehman served for Dalton, and anchored the match's final run. Kills from Jaedyn Yoder and Simmons pushed the Bulldog lead to 10-5 before Langenkamp brought it to a halt on a kill.
Parkway's Megan Hughes (17) tries to tip the ball over the net during Friday's Division VI state final against Dalton at the Nutter Center.
The Panthers used two blocks from Megan Hughes to trim the deficit to 11-8, and eventually Langenkamp made it a 14-12 Dalton lead on another kill.
Despite the Panthers pushing the final rally to its limits, Geibel's spike was all the Bulldogs needed to win the set and become state champions.
"It didn't go the way we wanted, but just so proud of the fight," said Henkle. "Backs down against two sets to one for the second day in a row and you fight back. To force a fifth set it shows a lot of character and grit from these ladies. Last night it went our way, tonight it didn't."
