Sidney celebrates a point against Vandalia-Butler on Tuesday during a Division III district semifinal at Fairborn High School. The Yellow Jackets lost 3-1 and finish the season 13-11 overall.
Luke Gronneberg | Sidney Daily News
FAIRBORN — Sidney battled through adverse situations in a Division III district semifinal on Tuesday against one of the Miami Valley League’s best squads.
Sidney lost the first set 25-7 and battled back to win the second 25-22 but lost the next two 25-17 and 25-19 to drop the match 3-1.
“I think there’s a lot of positive things we did tonight, but getting stuck in that one rotation hurt us,” Sidney coach Dexter Tobie said.
The No. 3 seed Aviators (19-5) have four players 5-foot-11 or taller, including 6-0 middle blocker Addison Suess, who ranks second among MVL players in blocks. She entered the match with over 70 to her credit this year and is one of three players on the team who have over 40 blocks. The squad has a balanced front-line attack, with five players having between 92 and 158 kills apiece.
“We knew the rotation was coming our way. We practiced, we tried our best,” Tobie said.
The squad struggled early; Butler scored the first eight points and cruised to a big early victory.
But the Yellow Jackets scored eight of 10 points in a span to take a 12-8 lead in the second set, and after Butler battled back to tie it 21-21, Kaelsha Rush had two kills to help the team pull away to a victory.
“There’s times I think the big game jitters got to us, but overall, I think they did a good job of coming back and fighting for it,” Tobie said.
The squads traded points early in the third set, but Butler pulled away late after some Sidney miscues. Sidney senior right side hitter Kaitlyn Adams suffered an injury early in the fourth set, and Butler built a big lead and led by at least five points the rest of the way.
“Losing Kaitlyn at the end was tough. That threw our team chemistry off a little bit,” Tobie said. “But they battled back after that really well.
“… We knew it was going to be a tough battle. I think (Butler coach Lindsey Suess) is amazing. She does a good job; there’s a reason she gets coach of the year (in the MVL).”
The Yellow Jackets finish 13-11 overall. They were 12-6 in MVL play, good for a first-place finish among Valley Division teams for the third straight year.
Tobie said he was proud of the group’s effort, including through battling through a tough stretch in which in which the squad lost four of five matches in mid-September.
“Our expectation is to win the Valley, and we haven’t lost a (match) in our division in three years. I’m proud of them for that,” Tobie said. “We’re trying to compete with the tougher teams in the Miami (Division), like (Butler). That’s tough, tough competition.”
The squad will lose three seniors to graduation in Adams, Maggie Turner and Cynthia Davidson, who on Saturday became the program’s career kills leader.
“Great leadership,” Tobie said of the group. “Cynthia, from day one, the girls took to her. She came in her junior year (after transferring from Anna) as a leader. Her biggest fear is people were going to think she was coming off pushy, because she has high expectations, but she came in a leader. I think she set a great example.
“Maggie and Kaitlyn both had leadership roles. Maggie did a great job on defense. She was very vocal leader on the court. Kaitlyn is a calm player. She’s battled more with herself than anybody else. She was a calm presence that the girls could talk to.
“They definitely leave big shoes to fill.”
Reach Sidney Daily News editor Bryant Billing at 937-538-4822, or follow @BryantBillingSDN on Facebook or @TopBillingSport on X (Twitter).
