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Home Darke County Arcanum sweeps Tri-Village to take sole lead in WOAC

Arcanum sweeps Tri-Village to take sole lead in WOAC

Aggressive serving and balanced attack carry Lady Trojans past Tri-Village in battle of WOAC unbeatens

Arcanum players celebrate a service ace during their sweep of Tri-Village. The win gave the Lady Trojans sole possession of first place in the Western Ohio Athletic Conference. (Gaylen Blosser photo)

ARCANUM — Arcanum took sole possession of first place in the Western Ohio Athletic Conference volleyball standings Tuesday night, sweeping visiting Tri-Village 25-13, 25-7, 25-11 in a matchup of the league’s two remaining unbeaten teams.

The Trojans improved to 12-1 overall and 6-0 in conference play. Tri-Village fell to 8-5 and 5-1 in the WOAC.

Arcanum’s serving kept the Patriots from building a consistent attack. The Trojans opened a commanding lead in the first set, but Tri-Village rallied to within 15-11. Arcanum answered by scoring 10 of the final 12 points, with Gabrielle Nottingham serving an ace to close the set.

Arcanum’s Gabrielle Nottingham slams a Lady Trojans kill while teammate Cameron Garbig looks on. (Gaylen Blosser photo)

Nottingham opened the second set with two kills, and Arcanum pulled away for a 25-7 win. Gabrielle Wooten delivered the set-ending kill.

Tri-Village scored the first point of the third set, its only lead of the match. Halle Bennett then served Arcanum to a 6-1 advantage. The Patriots later cut the deficit to 11-8, but the Trojans pulled away again. Nottingham finished the sweep with a kill.

Gabby Kirby goes for a Tri-Village block in conference matchup with Arcanum. (Gaylen Blosser photo)

“We got them out of system so hard because our serves were going right at them,” Arcanum coach Jacie Holman said. “It wasn’t at one person. It was at all of them. I felt like we just moved the ball, and that’s why we got the results that we did.”

Holman said Arcanum’s depth makes the team difficult to defend because several players can lead its attack on any given night.

Halle Bennet makes an Arcanum set at the net in Lady Trojans WOAC win over Tri-Village. (Gaylen Blosser photo)

“This has been a date that we’ve circled from the beginning of the season,” Holman said. “They came out and did everything I wanted them to do. They brought the energy.”

Tri-Village coach Alaine Kirby said her team’s passing troubles limited its chances to set Gabby Kirby, one of its leading hitters.

Lady Patriots’ Ava Camacho goes for a kill in road match at Arcanum. (Gaylen Blosser photo)

“We are a way better team than what we looked like tonight,” Coach Kirby said.

Tri-Village is scheduled to play at Ansonia at 6:45 p.m. Thursday.

Gabrielle Wooten and Harper Smith team up for a block in Arcanum league win over Tri-Village. (Gaylen Blosser photo)