Tribe topples Trojans

ARCANUM, Ohio — The Trojans took the first two. The Indians stormed back to tie the match up. In the end, the Trojans came away with the win.

That’s how the regular season matchup went the Trojans hosted the Indians.

When the Indians made a return visit in the playoffs, there were immediate concerns when the first serve of the match by Grace Fry ricocheted off of Trinity Rammel for the first point. But the Indians took over from there, never giving up more than two consecutive points in the first two sets and getting lifts from their seniors to power the third.

The third-seeded Fort Recovery High School volleyball team swept the No. 1 seeded host Arcanum Trojans 25-17, 25-18, 25-20 in the OHSAA Division VI Southwest 2 District semifinal on Wednesday.

The victory earns the Indians (12-13) a match with the top-seeded Miami Valley Christian Academy Lions (20-5) at 8 p.m. on Saturday at Butler in Vandalia, Ohio.

“The atmosphere was amazing today,” said FRHS coach Travis Guggenbiller. “My bench, the crowd was fantastic, but my seniors made damn sure that this game was going to be won by us. It’s just nice to see that this season.”

Fort Recovery saw the Trojans early in the regular season, dropping the match 25-23, 25-17, 14-25, 16-25, 15-11 on Aug. 31. 

The Indians dropped the first point Wednesday, but immediately took control by taking nine of the next 11 points. They scored on three Arcanum (19-4) errors, two Kenna Dues aces off of Trojan libero Cameron Garbig and kills from Karlie Niekamp, Cameron Muhlenkamp, Bridget Homan and Kennedy Muhlenkamp.

“Our mindset, that was a big difference,” Guggenbiller said. “We came ready to play today. We weren’t going to let a ball touch the ground. We knew we were the better team and were trying to prove something here.

“Our biggest focus today was ‘You take care of it. There’s no one going to stop you. You are in control of your destiny.’ Those girls just came with that mindset.”

After the Tribe’s initial run, it was able to whittle away at the Trojans, trading points before taking the first set.

FRHS never had a major run in the second set, but strung three points together twice — first time came on a kills from Kennedy Muhlenkamp and Brynn Willmann and a block from Willmann and Heitkamp to go up 6-4 and the second came from kills by seniors Niekamp and Kennedy Muhlenkamp and a third ace from Dues to close the set — while never allowing Arcanum to more than two consecutive points in the first or second sets.

“We knew it was going to be a big match,” said AHS coach Jacie Holman. “Unfortunately, they just had a lot more energy than we did tonight and I think that was ultimately our downfall. They wanted this game, not that my girls didn’t want this game, but we just came out playing flat. Fort Recovery brought the energy and that first set kind of razzled us. It did improve as the sets went on, but that first set did not help us.”

FRHS jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the third set before four Indian errors gave Arcanum its first run over two points in a row. (The Trojans managed two more three-point runs in the set, but Fort Recovery matched all of the AHS runs and added an extra stretch of three consecutive points.)

Kayla Heitkamp, a senior on the Fort Recovery High School volleyball team, takes a rare swing at the ball during the Division VI Southwest 2 district semifinal at Arcanum on Wednesday. The setter had three aces and 28 assists in the sweep. (The Commercial Review/Andrew Balko)

 

Niekamp and Kennedy Muhlenkamp provided multiple sparks in the third set, each putting down five kills and one block. Kennedy Muhlenkamp’s biggest run came as a response to the four-point stretch by the Trojans, as the senior recorded back-to-back kills and added another as part of a 5-1 swing that put FRHS up 11-5. She also had the kill for the penultimate point before an error by Kamryn Beisner sealed the deal.

Niekamp provided an initial spark with a hard kill, followed by a tip kill for the first two points of the set. Later, with a 15-13 advantage, Niekamp strung together two more kills on a touch and a full swing before blocking a shot with Bridget Homan that acted as a turning point, shifting the momentum in the Indians’ favor.

“Coming into (the postseason) we knew we had a chance to play them and we were like, ‘Yes, we want Arcanum again,’” Niekamp said. “We think we match up really well to them. So this week in practice, we’ve been pushing really hard to prove we’ve got this. That’s what we did, we came out on fire.

“I know what it’s like to be the young player out on the court. … Now Kennedy, Kayla (Heitkamp) and I all feed off each other to help get those sophomores going and they played great.”

Niekamp recorded match highs with 10 kills and three blocks. Kennedy Muhlenkamp had nine kills and two blocks while Heitkamp totaled 28 assists, three aces, two kills and one block. Sophomores Cameron Muhlenkamp and Willmann also played key supporting roles with seven kills apiece and three blocks, respectively.

Grace Psczulkoski led the way for Arcanum with seven kills, while Mackenzie Byrne had six.

Standing in the way of the Indians for a regional berth is Miami Valley Christian Academy, champion of the Miami Valley Conference. FRHS last made the regional in 2020 before losing in the semifinal round to Calvert.

“We get two more days of practice and another game,” Guggenbiller said. “I’m just super proud of them.”