South Range holds on to win region
South Range holds on to win region
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The South Range volleyball team had only dropped three sets since Sept. 26. And with their season on the line, the Raiders needed to avoid giving up three straight sets.
South Range worked itself out of the jam, however, digging deep to beat Orrville 3-2 on Saturday in a Division V regional final at Barberton High School.
The Raiders were down in the fifth set, but they held on to beat the Red Riders and advance to Friday's state semifinal. They will face Versailles at 1:30 p.m. at Wittenberg Pam Evans Smith Arena in Springfield.
"That whole match was just back and forth and up and down," South Range T.J. Irons said. "My blood pressure's very high."
Both sides traded points to start the match, and the score was tied at 12 midway through the first set. Four straight points allowed South Range to take a 20-14 lead. And a kill by Jordyn Hivner gave the Raiders the first set 25-18.
The second set was tied at 9 before Orrville grabbed a 12-9 lead, forcing Irons to call a timeout. The break did the Raiders some good, as they eventually tied it at 16.
A four-point run gave the Raiders a 23-20 lead. And a kill by Lily Weaver gave the Raiders a 2-0 match advantage with a 25-21 win in the second.
Unlike the first two frames, South Range created a little bit of room to work with early in the third. The Raiders forced an Orrville timeout after taking an 11-7 lead.
However, the Red Riders still had a lot fight in them.
Orrville eventually took a 21-20 lead and won the third 25-21. It was only the second set the Raiders have dropped in the tournament.
"You're fighting human nature to think ahead, instead of taking care of what we have to do right now," Irons said.
In the fourth, the Red Riders had some early momentum and held a 13-9 lead. But the Raiders came back to take a 16-15 lead.
Then Orrville regained control with a 20-17 advantage, leading to a South Range timeout. A four-point run allowed the Red Riders to clinch the fourth 25-19, tie the match at 2 and forced a fifth set.
South Range only played in one match that reached a fifth set all season. It came in a meeting with Hubbard on Sept. 10.
"They all stayed into it, and they finished when they needed to," Irons said.
Orrville carried some energy into the fifth. The Red Riders earned the first four points, but the Raiders fought back to take a 5-4 lead.
An Anna Toy kill sparked a four-point run, and the Raiders were ahead 12-9. But much like the entire afternoon, the Red Riders kept fighting and cut the deficit to 14-13.
However, Weaver was in perfect position for a kill to give the fifth to the Raiders 15-13, sending them to the state semifinals.
"It means the entire world," Weaver said of advancing in the tournament. "We worked so hard to get to this point. We can't say we're done yet. We have so much to work on this week at practice."
The juniors and seniors that make up the majority of South Range's roster have steadily progressed the program forward.
They've taken the South Range from 14-11 in 2024, to 16-8 last year and still have an undefeated season this fall. And now they can add a regional championship to their resume.
"We have such a good bond with each other. ... We're a family," Toy said. "We love each other, we play well together."