MARION — With Halloween approaching, the Hurricane House was almost a house of horrors for Lebanon. Down 2-0, the Lady Pioneers put together a massive comeback, winning the final three sets to defeat Virginia High and advance to play regular season champ Marion for the Southwest District tournament title.
The decisive fifth set was tied at 12-all, and the Bearcats had serve. But Lebanon junior middle hitter Gracie Crabtree took over. Crabtree smacked consecutive kills for a two-point advantage, but a bad pass and Virginia High was within 13-14. Ellie Cobb served for the Bearcats, but Lebanon set Crabtree for a game-winning slam.
“I just wanted to play under control and trust my whole team,” stated Crabtree. “We had to put everything on the line and give it our all. My whole team was amazing, they’re just awesome.”
It was exciting with the Pioneers winning 21-25, 20-25, 25-16, 25-21, 15-13 in their first five-set match of the season. Lebanon struggled mightily in the first two sets. Numerous hits went into the net or out of bounds, and several service errors happened at the wrong time.
“In the beginning, we were nervous,” Crabtree said. “Then, talking to my teammates, everyone said we had to calm down. We were excited, and the adrenaline was rushing through us. My team was there for me, they calmed me down. Everyone started communicating, and we began to play our game.”
Amelia McKenzie and Ellie Cobb powered the Bearcats early. They controlled play at the net, and VHS seemed in complete control going to the third.
“We have to finish, we have to finish,” said VHS coach Ashley Johnson. “You can’t sit back and get complacent with what you’ve done in one or two sets. I’ve told my girls numerous times once a set is over, you have to restart, refresh, and go into it with a clean slate. You can’t sit back and take anything for granted.”