South Range wins first district since 2015
South Range wins first district since 2015
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CANFIELD -- Before the start of the season, South Range head coach TJ Irons knew his team had a chance to be something special. But he never anticipated just how special the Raiders have been.
Once South Range clinched the Northeast 8 Conference crown earlier this month, the Raiders set their sights on the district title.
On Thursday, South Range accomplished that dream when it fended off a scrappy Akron Coventry team to capture its first district championship since 2015. The top-seeded Raiders swept the 18th-seeded Comets 3-0 to remain unbeaten in the Division V, Northeast 4, district final at Canfield.
"It feels awesome, and it feels awesome just to do it with this group of girls because they're so special," Raiders head coach TJ Irons said. "They've been through so many things this year that there's a lot of things that have to go right to have the season that we've had so far. They've all gone that way because the girls do what they're supposed to do all the time. Seems like people say you get lucky, but sometimes you're lucky because you're in the right place at the right time.
"It's been a fun ride so far, and we hope we can keep it going for a little while longer."
South Range began the year without dropping a set through its first eight matches, and from there, the wins just kept on coming.
The Raiders are now 25-0, and in that time, they've displayed a stunning level of dominance. They've dropped just six sets all season, sweeping 19 of their 25 total opponents.
"This is a fever dream. It's unreal. I'm so grateful for our coaches. I didn't think it was going to happen, but we did it," senior hitter Anna Toy said of the Raiders' unbeaten record. "We've earned it. Every single person on this team plays a big part in it, and everybody knows that. We knew by the beginning of the season that this year was going to be really special for us."
Toy led the Raiders against Coventry with 14 kills and 13 digs, while Lily Weaver had nine kills and three blocks. Parker Zwingler and Natalie Burnett each had 16 assists, and Haylie John finished with 15 digs.
Hoping to play the role of spoiler, the Comets came with an early spark in the first set. They played with heart and passion and were getting energy from their crowd in the stands.
Coventry's defense helped it grind out some points early on. But midway through the opening set, things started clicking for South Range, which held off the Comets to take the first set 25-17.
"We had seen them play at our place against Girard, and we saw how athletic they were," Irons said. "They're well-coached, and they're just a very good blocking team. We're a good hitting team, so it's kind of best on best."
Even though the Raiders eked out a lead in the second set, Coventry refused to go away.
However, just like it has all year, South Range's front line of Toy, Weaver, Jordyn Hivner, Addison Freedy and Ava Burnett started swinging away and the Raiders took control. They helped the Raiders close out the set 25-15 for a 2-0 lead in the match.
"I know it makes our setters feel awful good that they know that we have two outside hitters that are as strong as anybody in the area. But they also know that our middles are going to be there whenever they need them," Irons said. "They're going to be holding the block, and then I thought both our right-side hitters had some really good swings."
In the third set, the Comets again kept things tight until South Range strung together a stretch of points to keep Coventry at arm's length. The Raiders then closed out the set and the match 25-17.
"Early on, they did get us a couple times, but I think our girls have dealt with that all year," Irons said. "You know that you're going to take the other team's best punch early, and then it's how we're going to react to that. We get to about 11 in each of those sets, and we go on a four- or five-point run and kind of spread it out. Then we've really been working a lot in practice on finishing, and I think in the end there, we finished it."
In advancing to next week's regional semifinal, South Range gets fellow Northeast 8 Conference foe Lakeview, which won its district by sweeping Columbiana in the first match of Thursday's doubleheader.
The Raiders downed the Bulldogs 3-1 in each of their two meetings earlier this season.
"They're going to come out with a lot of heart and a lot of energy," Toy said. "We know they're going to be a hard team to beat, but we're going to bring our best."