By Nicholas Huenefeld
Special to the Sentinel-Tribune
TONTOGANY — The Eastwood volleyball team saw a late two-point lead evaporate in Wednesday’s Division III district championship at Otsego High School as Fairview closed the match on a 5-0 run to claim a second straight district crown with a 27-25, 22-25, 25-20, 18-25, 15-12 triumph.
The Eagles (22-4) led 12-10 following back-to-back blocks from Lilly Mullholand, but a service error and then a Fairview ace knotted things up.
The Apaches tacked on a kill from Kelly Crites to force a timeout. On the ensuing point, Eastwood let the serve go thinking it would sail long, but it landed in the back right corner for an ace. Crites followed with another termination for the title.
“I think we brought the energy,” Eastwood acting coach Hannah Hodulik said. “We knew it was going to be a battle, and they stepped up and gave it their all.”
Eastwood’s MacKenna Miller terrorized Fairview all night, finishing with a team-best 25 kills, 11 digs and two blocks. She had 13 in the first two sets alone before adding four big ones in the final set, including her 24th and 25th terminations on back-to-back points to tie it at 10 apiece.
“She had a great performance, very low error,” Hodulik said. “She just really stepped up, especially as a freshman and being able to play six rotations in a really long, tough match was big.”
Eastwood also received 20 kills and 13 digs from Nadia Miller, as well as 11 kills and nine blocks from Mullholand. Four of those blocks came in the final set.
In the opening set, the teams traded blows as the margin wasn’t more than three for either squad. Mullholand had three terminations with her team down late, but Fairview claimed the lead as the Eagles had five service errors in the set while Fairview’s Haley Hammer had three kills on setter dumps.
The Eagles scored five of the first six points in the next set and led 17-9 after a double block from Mullholand and Mylie Frantz, who finished third on the team with three blocks. Fairview made things interesting, however, by pulling within 23-22. Mullholand answered with another block, and Eastwood tied the match as Crites sailed a shot out of bounds from the back row.
Crites, the Green Meadows Conference Player of the Year, led all players with 26 kills, including five in the final set. She also had four of 16 service aces for the Apaches.
“I thought she was very composed, and I thought she was very smart on the floor,” Fairview head coach Allison Ciolek said. “She did a nice job mixing up her shots while being aggressive the whole match.”
A back-and-forth battle ensued in the third set as the teams were knotted at 14 apiece. The Apaches started to break things open with three straight points and ultimately finished on an 11-6 run.
The fourth set was somewhat similar to the third as back-and-forth action led to a 13-all tie. However, Eastwood reversed the script with three consecutive points, including a pair of terminations from Nadia Miller, and closed on a 12-5 run to force a fifth set.
Paige Hoodlebrink dished out 61 assists for Eastwood while adding a pair of blocks. Joelle Jared led the way defensively with 25 digs. Addie Hartman sprinkled in six kills and a block.
The Eagles saw five players dress for their final match, including Jared, Hoodlebrink, Nadia Miller, Jersey Schumaker and Claire Edelbrock.
“This is a talented and special group of seniors,” Hodulik said. “We are going to miss them so much as a program.”
Fairview (24-2) advances to face Huron, who won 16-14 in the final set of another five-set classic over Galion, in the regional semifinal on Nov. 2.
“I saw a lot of heart and a lot of belief out of our team,” Ciolek said. “In those moments, it would have been very easy for us to crumble and shut down, but they chose the opposite route. They pulled together, really fought and didn’t give up.”
