By Matt Zircher

Sports Writer

DAYTON — When two teams are evenly matched, it often comes down to who makes the fewest mistakes.

Such was the case at Wright State’s Nutter Center Saturday afternoon as the Marion Local Lady Flyers won their second straight Division IV volleyball title, overcoming a Jackson Center win in the first game to defeat the Lady Tigers 23-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-14.

Marion Local, which avenged a five-game setback to the Lady Tigers in September, finish with a final record of 26-3 while Jackson Center sees its 19-match winning streak come to an end in closing with a 28-2 mark.

The two teams were tied six times early in the first game before Jackson snapped an 8-8 deadlock with four straight points, started with back-to-back kills from Casey Gates followed by a Bethany Hoehne service ace. A Michelle Carman kill later helped extend the margin to 16-10, but Marion stormed back with five unanswered, the final point being an Alyssa Winner kill.

After the two teams exchanged a point, two Hoehne kills and a Flyer attack error gave the Tigers breathing room again at 20-16 and Jackson looked secure in picking up the first game win at 23-19 following another error. Marion, though, would have one last push as they scored three straight to tie the score, capped off by a Shelby Moeller ace.

Jackson, however, would prevail as Leah Rosenbeck’s attack from the left side went off the antenna and Allissa Ware recorded a kill on match point.

A Gates kill put the Tigers up 5-4 in game two and another from the junior tied it at 6, but the Flyers followed with a 6-0 burst to take the lead for good. Two kills by Ware and one from Carman cut the deficit to 19-16, only to see Marion reach game point with five consecutive points, highlighted by two Winner kills.

“We started becoming too much two-dimensional in that second game,” said Jackson coach Kim Metz. “Marion went to a triple block and it may have frustrated us more than we anticipated. We also had some service errors when we had the rotation in our favor and had some communication errors and that takes the wind right out of your sails.”

“We were a little disappointed losing that first game, but I felt like we had the momentum going into the second game because we had picked up our game toward the end of the first,” said Marion coach Amy Steininger. “We knew what we had to do to be successful against Jackson and we executed it better the final three games.”

Four more Winner kills helped put the Flyers up 7-3 in game three, but Jackson gradually chipped away and made it 15-14 as Gates had three straight kills. The Tigers later tied it on three separate occasions, the third at 20 following a Ware kill, but a 4-0 Marion run, with three of the points coming on Jackson attack errors, allowed the Flyers to go up 24-20 before another Winner kill ended it.

Eight ties

Game four featured eight ties and three lead changes until Jackson took the lead at 12-10 with four unanswered points, including two Gates kills and a Ware ace.

But just when it looked like the Tigers might have momentum on their side and perhaps force a decisive fifth game, Marion quickly snatched it away with a knockout 9-0 burst, four on Winner kills. Gates temporarily slowed the tide with two kills, but the Flyers were not to be denied as they closed out the match with a 15-2 run overall.

“That huge run we had with Tara Hartings serving was key for us,” said Steininger. “We had all the momentum on our side, our girls were feeling it and our defense was amazing. Our defense was the key tonight, it was scrappy and good defense leads to good offense.

“We threw the triple block up on Jackson this time after we didn’t do it in the regular season match,” added the Marion coach. “Their left-side hitters are amazing and they still had their kills, but we made them tip and roll balls more and we did a good job of picking those up, especially in the fourth game when we made our run.”

“We had too many unforced errors in the final three games and didn’t take care of our 900 square feet as well as they did theirs,” said Metz. “When you allow them to pick you apart and we had some miscues, it’s hard to overcome.”

One more kill

Marion finished with just one more kill than Jackson at 56-55, but the Flyers committed only 15 attack errors, six of those coming in the first game, compared to 27 for the Tigers, eight in the fourth game. The Flyers also held the edge in blocks (11-3), aces (6-4) and in service errors with just three while Jackson had six.

Winner ended up with a huge day for Marion as she recorded a double-double of 29 kills and 19 digs, on the heels of 28 kills and 11 digs in the semifinals against Newark Catholic.

“She’s definitely one of the best players in the state, regardless of division,” said Steininger. “She can do it all and she’s just as good in the back row as she is in the front.”

Rosenbeck added 10 kills off the bench for the Flyers while Moeller had 24 assists, Hartings 22 assists and 11 digs and Jessica Schwieterman 19 digs.

Ware posted a double-double of 23 kills and 23 digs in her final match as a Lady Tiger while Gates had one as well of 22 kills and 26 digs. Hoehne chipped in six kills, 18 assists and 13 digs, Cortnee Sosby 30 assists and Carly Burch 10 digs.

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