The 25th-seeded Delaware Hayes girls volleyball team didn’t get off to the start it was looking for, but more than made up for it down the stretch en route to a come-from-behind win over 23rd-seeded Dublin Jerome in the first round of the Division I district tournament Monday night in Dublin.
The Pacers trailed 18-12 in the first set before rallying back to within one, 23-22, with a Becca Rocassin kill. Jerome held on to win the set, but Hayes took the momentum it gained toward the end into the next few to take control.
The Pacers won the second 25-17 and cruised to a 25-7 win in the third. They sealed the deal with a tightly-contested 25-23 win in the fourth.
Anna Johnson and Rocassin led the attack with 11 kills apiece. Johnson also had a team-high 21 assists in the win. Other standouts included Natalie Davis, who finished with eight kills; Hadlee Bruns, who had seven aces; and Mia Thompson, who anchored the defense with a team-leading 25 digs.
The win sets up a showdown against 10th-seeded Gahanna Lincoln Wednesday in Gahanna.
Olentangy 3, Central Crossing 0
Senior libero Madyson Chitty collected her 2,000th-career dig as the 16th-seeded Braves rolled to an opening-round win over the 37th-seeded Comets Monday night in Lewis Center.
Olentangy cruised in the first set, winning 25-12 before sealing the deal with wins of 25-14 and 25-18 in the second and third, respectively.
With the win, the Braves advance to Wednesday’s sectional final against 36th-seeded Thomas Worthington. The game, set to start at 6 p.m., will be back at Olentangy.
Also: Newark def. Olentangy Berlin 14-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-21
Division II
Granville def. Buckeye Valley 25-16, 17-25, 20-25, 25-21, 15-13
BOYS SOCCER
Justin Nichols scored in the final seconds to put the finishing touches on a 9-0 Olentangy Orange win over visiting Columbus West in the first round of the Division I district tournament Monday night in Lewis Center.
Nichols was the last of five different Pioneer scorers to smooth out the scoring summary.
Nate Hoang scored to make it a 5-0 game before Kyle Stringer, Zach Blendick and Jack Kossoudji added tallies to set up Nichols’ capper.
Next up, eighth-seeded Orange will take on 48th-seeded Zanesville Wednesday night in Lewis Center. Game time is set for 7:30 p.m.
FIELD HOCKEY
Olentangy 2, Bexley 1, OT; Olentangy Orange 1, Bishop Hartley 0
