ATTICA, Ohio — The Galion girls volleyball bus pulled into home just before midnight Wednesday.
The Tigers had to be tired, and at least a little discouraged. Their season ended in a four-game district semifinal loss to second-seeded Huron. Still, coach Jaime Valentine’s team authored a valiant effort before falling 25-17, 25-20, 23-25, 25-23 at Seneca East High School.
“We had our moments,” Valentine said. “I wish we would’ve brought that intensity we had at the end in our first two games.”
Indeed, Huron controlled the first two games with relative ease.
Coach Don Wood’s squad (17-7), overcame a 4-1 deficit in the first game, opened a 15-10 bulge and coasted to their biggest victory margin of the night in the first set.
Game 2 was a repeat performance. Huron held a slim margin throughout, but pulled away from an 18-16 edge to wrest control at 25-20.
Then, almost without warning, the Tigers responded.
Galion (17-8) ran off six of the first seven points in the third game and maintained that spread throughout, holding off a late rally for a 25-23 victory.
“I was very proud of them,” Valentine said. “They went out and played their hearts out.”
The third-seeded Tigers responded behind the spirited play of senior Taylor Valentine and sophomore middle hitter Marisa Gwinner. That duo formed the glue in a stingy defense and capitalized on a number of long rallies.
“They are exactly what I figured we’d get,” Wood said. “They’re a ball control team with a terrific defense. If you’re not swinging at them, they’re going to pick it up.”
That’s precisely what the Tigers did in the fourth game, too. Battling with gritty resolve, neither team could pull away until Huron climbed on top 21-17. Still, Galion fought back and shaved the deficit to 23-22, fought off a pair of match points, but finally dropped a 25-23 decision.
“They’re a great team,” Jaime Valentine said. “They’re defensively sounds and they had some big swings. We just couldn’t get any touches on the blocks like I wanted.
“We just didn’t have an answer for (Addie Wisehart).”
Wisehart, a 6-0 junior, was 47 of 49 hitting with 19 kills and eight blocks. She dominated the net just enough to keep Galion at bay.
“They’ve got a nice mix around Valentine and Gwinner,” Wood said. “They really complimented each other.”
Huron returns to action on Saturday night for the district championship game against top-seeded Edison, which needed five games to get past sixth-seeded Mohawk.
Meanwhile, it was the final performance for three Galion seniors. Bradlee Saterfield, Kiki Staton and Taylor Valentine all bowed out with back-to-back sectional championships.
“We’ve got some big shoes to fill (next year),” Jaime Valentine said. “I hope we can get past this point.”
