Lady Panther Lauren Guess (17) tips one over the net during the third set of the match against Jackson on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2023. Also pictured for Miami Trace is Alison Carter (14) and Kylie Yeazel (12).
Tyler Flora | Record-Herald
The Miami Trace Lady Panthers (7-0, 3-0) looked to stay unbeaten as they hosted the Jackson Ironladies (6-6, 3-0) on Thursday, Sept. 14, with the winner claiming sole possession of first place in the Frontier Athletic Conference.
Jackson would win the first set by a score of 25-21.
Miami Trace would respond by winning the second set in dominating fashion, 25-11.
The third set would also go to the Lady Panthers as they won by a score of 25-20.
In the fourth set, Miami Trace found themselves down 9-4 early, prompting a timeout from head coach Doug Mace. The Lady Panthers would battle back and eventually take the lead, 18-17. After Jackson tied it at 18, Miami Trace rallied for seven straight points to win the set 25-18 and win the match 3-1 in four sets.
Statistically for the Lady Panthers, Sydney Carter, Kylie Yeazel, and Alison Carter each led with three aces, followed by Lauren Farrens and Lauren Guess with two and Cecilia Robinson and Addison Butts with one.
Butts led with 17 kills, followed by Farrens with nine, Guess with six, Ellie Robinette and Yeazel with four, Robinson with three, Sydney Carter with two, and Alison Carter with one.
Mace shared some comments following the victory.
“We played a little tight early on. We’re young, so we don’t have a whole lot of experience embedded in this team yet. That was a really nice match for both teams. There were some really long rallies happening. I’m glad we battled back in the first game, to at least make it respectable. We were both unbeaten going into this game, so this is the way it was supposed to be. It was supposed to be a battle that we had to fight for. Now, we’ve got to go to their place in a couple of weeks. I’m expecting more of the same and we’re looking forward to that match. Jackson played really well, too. They ran down a lot of balls.”
“We had a lot of unforced errors, but again, I think inexperience and youth would show up at different times. We are learning how to handle that pressure better and better as we keep playing. It was only our eighth match tonight. We’re hoping that we don’t peak yet. We want to keep improving but I am happy with what we’ve been able to do so far.”
The Lady Panthers (8-0, 4-0) play next on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 10:30 a.m. at Circleville against Gallia Academy (1-4, 1-1).
The Ironladies (6-7, 3-1) are back in action on Tuesday, Sept. 19 at home at 6 p.m. against Chillicothe (4-8, 2-1).
