Crestview downs Lincolnview in 3 sets

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

CONVOY — No. 5 Crestview started fast and finished strong in a 25-9, 25-10, 25-19 victory over Lincolnview in the NWC opener at Ray Etzler Gymnasium on Tuesday.

Crestview is the defending conference champion and the two teams tied for the title, along with Leipsic, in 2021. The two teams have combined to win or share the last five NWC titles.

The Lady Knights (6-1, 1-0 NWC) raced out to a 9-0 lead in the first set, then stretched the advantage to 14-3 and later, 21-7. Cali Gregory ended it with a kill, as the Lancers were off-balance the entire set.

“Getting off to that jump start was big but at the same time we could not get too relaxed as Lincolnview is not a team to give up,” Crestview head coach Tammy Gregory said.

“We struggled with our own errors in that first set and we were unable to get into rhythm,” Lincolnview head coach JaNahn Evans said.

The second set was tied 7-7 before Crestview rattled off five straight points, including an ace by Gregory. The lead later ballooned to 17-10 on a kill by Myia Etzler, but Lincolnview (6-4, 0-1 NWC) fought back and closed the gap to three, 17-14. Crestview then went on a 5-1 that put the game out of reach.

Lincolnview barged out to a 6-2 lead in the third set, including an ace by Grace Brickner, and the Lancers later pushed the lead to 10-6. However, a kill by Etzler sparked a 5-1 run by Crestview, giving the Lady Knights an 11-10 lead. After exchanging points up to 14-14, Crestview regained control with a 4-0 run, then closed the set with a 5-2 advantage.

“I was happy that we were able to recover and leave the first set behind us,” Evans said. “We got more aggressive in the second and third sets, but we let too many runs go unanswered.”

“They did make some runs but we had to focus more on cutting down our unforced errors and play our tempo,” Gregory said.

Etzler led Crestview with nine kills, while Adelyn Figley had seven and Cali Gregory six. Gregory had a team high 21 assists, while Ellie Kline and Kaci Gregory each tallied six digs. Haley McCoy had four blocks, and Josie Kulwicki (16-16, one ace) and Cali Gregory (8-8, one ace) were perfect from the service line. Kline was 5-6 with two aces.

Emma Bowersock led Lincolnview with 12 kills and a pair of aces, while Allie Miller finished with 11 digs and Grace Brickner added eight. Kaylyn Gerold and Ashlyn Price had 10 and nine assists respectively.

Both teams will return to action Thursday. Crestview will play at No. 4 Leipsic and Lincolnview will entertain Ada.

“We are playing some really good teams this week and next,” Evans said. This will only help us get prepared for a tough tournament run.”

Crestview made it a clean sweep by winning the junior varsity contest 2-0.