LEXINGTON — Their backs were against the ropes, so Lady Lex came out swinging.
Lexington overcame a 2-games-to-1 deficit and rallied after trailing 24-22 late in the fourth game to knock off Ashland and win no worse than a share of the Ohio Cardinal Conference Tuesday at Lexington.
Lady Lex (12-9, 10-1) holds a one-game lead over the Arrows (17-3, 9-2) and can win their first outright OCC title since 2012 with a win Thursday at Madison. Lexington shared the conference crown in 2016 (Mount Vernon) and 2009 (Madison, Orrville).
“It was really exciting and … having the crowd and everyone here to support us was an amazing experience,” Lexington’s Amelia Moore said. “We’ve worked really hard as a team and gave it our all.
“I was proud of everybody. I think we left everything on the floor.”
A senior and member of last year’s Elite Eight team, Moore had 19 kills on the day. She was the go-to player in the fifth and deciding game, which Lady Lex won 15-12.
“It’s a great feeling knowing they are coming to you,” Moore said. “You just don’t want to screw up.”
The Arrows looked like they were ready to close it out in the fourth game, leading 24-22. Lady Lex had other ideas, however, scoring three straight points and eventually winning 27-25.
“We knew it was going to be a battle with Ashland no matter what happened,” Lady Lex coach Jennifer Moore said. “We knew we had what it took to (rally).”
Lexington scored the first three points of the final game and never looked back. Lady Lex never trailed in the deciding game and was tied only one, at 6-6.
“We needed to close it out in game four,” Ashland coach Jenise Vaughn said. “We knew it was going to be a hard-fought battle. We knew that no lead was safe.”
Audra Kocher had 47 assists for Lexington. Sara Malaska had 11 kills, while Katie Gouge added nine kills.
“This is a good moral-booster going into the postseason,” Jennifer Moore said. “Last year we were in the Elite Eight in the state (in Division II) and we didn’t even make OCC champs.
“To have the OCC championship this year is really nice.”
