SPENCERVILLE-It was an NWC finale on Thursday night when the Spencerville Bearcats hosted the Jefferson Wildcats. The Bearcats won the first two sets before Jefferson responded to force a fourth set before Spencerville picked up the victory in four sets.
“They played with a lot of heart tonight,” said Spencerville head coach Keeley Layman. “They just wanted to go out, have fun and especially for our three seniors.”
Spencerville came out on fire in the opening set and they had all their momentum early. An ace from Kaitlin Keller started an 11-0 scoring run after the Wildcats scored to begin the game. Keller continued to be stellar in the opening set as Spencerville picked up an impressive victory in the opening set.
Jefferson responded in the second set but Spencerville seemed to be just a step ahead of them. Kills by Kailynn Halker and Alaina Fitch brought the game to a 4-4 deadlock before a point from Kelsey Lee gave them the lead right back to the hosts.
Spencerville by as many as seven but Jefferson climbed themselves right back in it. Couple of kills from Fitch brought them to another tie but Spencerville had a response. Kills from Kendall Kill proved to be enough to give the hosts a set victory.
Jefferson fired back in the third set and took advantage of some mistakes by the Bearcats. The visitors raced out to a 6-1 lead before the Bearcats rallied to get within one. Fitch continued her strong game with a pair of points to give the visitors the victory and force the fourth set.
“She crushed it all the way around tonight,” said Jefferson head coach Kristi Hageman. “She played well and I thought my seniors played well in their last regular season game and they didn’t give up.”
Spencerville responded back in the fourth set and a point from Lee gave them a 5-2 lead. Analese Hannah came up big in her final home game as a Bearcat with four kills as it helped Spencerville hold off Jefferson to get the victory.
It was the final home game for Spencerville seniors Kendal Roberts, Kendall Kill, and Analese Hannah.
“These girls have been amazing leaders for us this year,” said Layman. “They are always talking to the girls and I will miss them so much with so much intensity that they bring to the court and off the court and it’s an example for all the other girls.”
It’s on to the postseason for both teams. Jefferson begins their tournament trail on Monday when they visit state ranked Coldwater. Spencerville will start on Tuesday when they visit Waynesfield-Goshen.
“We will adjust our defense and make sure that we are aggressive at the net on Monday.” concluded Hageman.
“We are ready to go against Waynesfield on Tuesday,” concluded Layman. “We played them before and it was a tough one but we know what we need to do to keep the season going.”
Jefferson 8 – 19 – 25 – 17
Spencerville 25 – 25 – 14 – 25
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