LEBANON — Not being able to stop its opponents’ momentum has been an issue for Eaton’s volleyball team at times this season.
That proved to be the case for the No. 5 Eagles in the second round of the Division II sectional tournament at Lebanon High School, against No. 4 seed Valley View.
Eaton (13-10) had its season come to an end with a straight-set loss to the Spartans, 25-13, 25-19, 25-21 on Wednesday, Oct. 19.
The loss was the third this season to Valley View, which finished second in the Southwestern Buckeye League’s Southwestern Division.
In the opening set, Eaton fell behind 4-1, but battled back to close the gap at 8-7 before the Spartans seized momentum, scoring 12 of the next 13 points.
Valley View rattled off four straight points for a 12-7 lead before Eaton coach Parker Fields called a timeout.
After the timeout, Eaton got a kill from junior Ariel Richardson to make it 12-8.
From there, the Spartans scored the next eight points. Eaton appeared to keep the damage minimal, as sophomore Ava Miller had a kill for what would have made the score 13-9 — but an Eaton player was called for being in the net.
Eaton couldn’t stop the Spartans’ momentum for the rest of the set.
Valley View’s momentum carried over into the second set as the team raced out to 5-1 and 11-3 leads. Eaton got as close as four at 16-12, but couldn’t overcome the slow start.
In the third set, Eaton took the early lead, 4-1. Valley View tied the contest at 5-5 and 8-all. The Spartans first lead of the set came at 9-8 after Eaton was called for an illegal alignment.
The Eagles rallied to take a 14-12 lead and still led 16-14 after a kill by Miller.
But just like the first two sets, Eaton was unable to stop the Spartans’ momentum once it started.
Valley View scored seven straight points on three Eaton errors and a pair of aces, to take a 21-16 lead. Eaton never got closer than two the rest of the way.
The game marked the final in an Eaton uniform for seniors Emma McKinney and Stacia Weathington.
