Staff Report
If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.
That’s exactly what the Orange and Olentangy girls soccer teams did Tuesday night. After playing to a 1-1 tie last month in Lewis Center, the district rivals wrapped up a share of the OCC-Capital Division crown with solid wins in their respective league finales.
Olentangy, at home against Hayes, controlled the game throughout en route to a 3-0 win. Orange, meanwhile, trailed 2-0 at halftime before scoring three unanswered goals to notch a thrilling 3-2 win over visiting Worthington Kilbourne.
Taylor Foreman, Delaney Earl and Cassidy Ryan scored the Pioneer goals while Hannah Sargent stopped two shots in goal.
The other district school, Liberty, celebrated a league championship as well, finishing a perfect 7-0-0 in the Central Division with a 2-1 win over host Thomas Worthington.
VOLLEYBALL
The Delaware Christian volleyball team capped what was a dominant run through the Mid-Ohio Christian Athletic League Tuesday, beating visiting Gahanna Christian 25-9, 25-17, 25-9.
The straight-set victory was nothing new for the Eagles (19-3, 10-0 MOCAL), who did not drop a single set in league play this season.
Erin McCullough led the way with 14 digs, 10 kills and 10 aces. Mary Kerins was also solid, finishing with 13 digs and four aces, while Abbey Evans finished with nine kills and eight digs.
Brianna Blackburn ran the offense with a game-best 27 assists.
Olentangy 3, Mount Vernon 1
Olentangy stayed on track to grab at least a share of the OCC-Capital Division crown Tuesday, beating host Mount Vernon 21-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-15.
Olivia Margolies led the way with 17 kills, 15 digs and five aces. Other standouts included Zoe Miller, who finished with 28 digs; Nhu Do, who collected eight kills; Lauren Judge, who finished with six kills and six blocks; and Sophie Fritz, who had 30 assists in the win.
The Braves (14-7, 10-3 OCC) finished with 15 aces and 12 blocks as a team. They play for a share of the league title tonight when they welcome in Hayes for Senior Night.
Also: Orange 3, Big Walnut 2; Fairbanks 3, Buckeye Valley 0.
BOYS SOCCER
Ryan Slawson broke the scoring seal in the 36th minute and Luke Bean took over from there, scoring three straight goals to lead Liberty to a 4-0 OCC-Central Division win over visiting Thomas Worthington Tuesday in Powell.
Bean doubled the Patriot edge off a feed from Tiger Pham in the 54th minute before scoring his second and third goals of the game over the course of the next 10 minutes.
Hayes 1, Olentangy 0
Brandon Becker put the Pacers up 1-0 and Ian Alger, Jonah Robinson and the defense made it stand up as Hayes handled visiting Olentangy 1-0 in the OCC-Capital Division finale Tuesday in Delaware.
Alger finished with three saves in the first half while Robinson had three in the second.
Big Walnut 9, Franklin Heights 0
Senior Night was a soaring success for the Golden Eagles, who cruised past visiting Franklin Heights 9-0 Tuesday in Sunbury.
Tim Rumas, Niklas Iezzi and Michael Reardon helped Big Walnut (8-6-1, 3-3-1 OCC) to an early 3-0 lead — an advantage they only added to as the game wore on.
Rumas finished off a hat trick with a pair of second-half goals while Caleb Gibson, J.T. Hrusovsky, Tyler Lacy and Carson Dearth also found the back of the net in the win.
