The Rebels defeated Newton Falls in four sets to clinch the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Gray Tier title.

“It was fun,” Rebels coach Alisha Auer said. “I think Newton Falls came to play. They’re very defensive, very scrappy. I knew that we had a target on our back, and I knew that they would want to get a win here. It was a good game.”

Newton Falls got out to early leads in the first and second sets, but the Rebels were able to battle back in both, closing out the Tigers 25-21 and 25-22, respectively.

The Tigers turned it around in the third set, extending it past the 25-point mark and getting a 30-28 win over Crestview.

Staff photo / Brian Yauger Crestview junior Lainey Mercure, left, and Grace Auer run into celebration with their team after scoring a point late in the third set.

“It’s fun,” Newton Falls coach Kristina Baker said about the third set. “That’s a big win for us — getting ready going into the tournaments and finishing out the season on Thursday. So for us to have that kind of end of the game toughness and composure in a close game like that I think really showed our maturity as a team.”

Newton Falls’ third-set victory is the only set the Rebels have dropped in a league match this season.

After losing the set, the Rebels were eager to finish the game, beating the Tigers 25-15 to complete the victory.

Going into the season with only three returning letterwinners from last year, there was some uncertainty for Crestview, but as the team has gotten more and more comfortable playing together, they’ve continued to improve.

“We only have three returning letterwinners from last year so we started a little slow,” Auer said. “But once these girls got comfortable on the varsity court they’ve just really started to rise, and it’s been really fun to watch them gel. They play very much as a team. If you look at our stats, we had four kids in double digit kills. They’re all playing very well right now.”

Staff photo / Brian Yauger Crestview’s Lucy Montgomery hits the ball back over the net. Montgomery finished the game with 20 kills and 23 digs for the Rebels.

Crestview junior Lucy Montgomery led the Rebel offense with 20 kills. She also was an asset on defense with 23 digs. Freshman Grace Auer was the leading setter with 27 assists.

Coach Auer could see the talent her team had, but the lack of a summer practice made going into the season with a fresh team difficult.

“I knew what they were capable of, but with all the craziness, we didn’t get much of a summer in and I was just really hoping this is where we would be, so I’m just very thankful,” Auer said. “It’s a great group of kids.”

Newton Falls (14-5, 7-3) ends its season against Liberty before kicking off its playoff push against Bloomfield. The Tigers just played Liberty on Saturday, winning 3-1. Like every league game, Baker says they need to come prepared.

“In this league you’ve got to come every night in volleyball,” she said. “You have to be ready to play every play, every game.”

The Rebels (18-2, 11-0 MVAC) close out their regular season against Champion before taking on East Canton in the first round of the postseason on Oct. 20. As teams were able to select their playoff bracket this season based on region, Crestview opted to play in the first round despite being the top seed. The personality of Auer’s team explains the choice.

“They love to play,” Auer said. “They’re happy to be in the gym. I give them a day off, and they don’t really even celebrate. I think they love to be at practice because it’s kind of a sense of normalcy in all the chaos that’s going on.”