Crestview sweeps way to NWC crown

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

No. 16 Crestview wasn’t in a sharing mood and it showed on the court at Lincolnview Tuesday night.

The Knights (15-6, 8-0 NWC) swept the Lancers 25-21, 25-13, 25-15 to win the outright 2022 Northwest Conference championship. Entering the match, Crestview had a one game lead over Leipsic and last year, the Knights, Lancers and Vikings shared the NWC championship.

“It was definitely a fun night for the Lady Knights,” Crestview head coach Tammy Gregory said. “These girls were determined coming in and wanted to win the conference title outright this year. We knew we had to bring our A-game and be aggressive to earn each point.”

“It’s always such a rivalry match with a great playing environment and going up against a team with numerous weapons,” she added. “Most of all this is great preparation for the next season – the tournament.”

After a 2-5 start to the season, Crestview has gone 13-1.

Leading 4-3 in the first set, a kill by Laci McCoy sparked a run that put Crestview ahead 10-5. In the second set, the Knights led 13-8 then ran off seven unanswered points, including four kills by Adelyn Figley and an ace by Ellie Kline. After spotting Lincolnview a 4-2 lead, then tying the third set 4-4, the Knights seized control for good with a 7-1 run, including a kill by McCoy.

“We came out strong, prepared, and full of energy,” Lincolnview head coach JaNahn Evans said. “We had the momentum on our side that first set but we just couldn’t finish. Then we lost our steam the second and third set.”

McCoy and Myia Etzler each finished with 12 kills, while Figley added six and Cali Gregory each added six. Gregory also had 27 assists and Ellie Kline finished with 13 digs and was 23-24 serving with three aces.

“Tonight’s win along with all of our conference wins was a total team effort. It takes all of us to be able to celebrate these accomplishments,” Gregory added. “I’m so proud of this team as they worked hard for this title.”

“Crestview has a lot of weapons and is tough to defend,” Evans said. “We made a lot of errors and they capitalized on those. Congratulations to Crestview on being NWC champs.”

Emma Bowersock led Lincolnview with nine kills, while Carsyn Looser and Makayla Blankemeyer had seven and six kills. Breck Evans had 24 assists and 10 digs, and Grace Brickner had eight digs. Evans and Looser each had a pair of aces.

The two teams will play their respective regular season finale matches on Saturday, with Lincolnview (15-6, 4-3 NWC) hosting Miller City and Crestview traveling to No. 5 Russia.