LCC, Grove to meet in district semis

LIMA - Two area volleyball powers will collide in Division III district semifinal action at Lima Senior High School on Tuesday evening after Lima Central Catholic and Columbus Grove both advanced in action on Saturday afternoon.

In sectional action at Lima Senior, LCC eliminated Bluffton 25-20, 25-21, 25-6. Columbus Grove then bested Liberty-Benton 25-12, 25-14, 25-11.

It took two games for defending state champion LCC to get a solid rhythm going, but once things got rolling the Thunderbirds were unstoppable. Danielle Taflinger led Central Catholic at the net with 15 kills while JoJo Krieg served up four aces and Abbie Mooney pulled up 10 digs. Alexis Diglio led the Thunderbirds with 37 assists.

LCC dominated all three matches, but had a difficult time disposing of the Pirates in the first two. After an ace by Taflinger vaulted the Thunderbirds into a 22-11 lead in the first match, the Pirates captured nine of the next 11 points to draw within four points, 24-20, before a Bluffton serve went into the net to allow LCC to pull out the contest.

In the second match, the two squads fought to an 8-8 deadlock before the T-Birds slowly started to pull away. Still, s kill by Bluffton's Mariah Welch pulled the Pirates to within 24-20 before a kill by LCC's Rhacel Illig put the match away.

"We finally found a rhythm in the third game. We started playing like we were capable of," LCC coach Dave Franklin said. "This was our first tournament game. I'm happy. We're progressing. We're going to get better.

"In the third game, our passing was right on. We got some different shots. I thought we played really well."

In the afternoon's second contest, Columbus Grove head coach Jody Benda was extremely happy with her squad's domination of Liberty-Benton.

"I was very pleased. I thought we served really well," Benda said. "We were able to get a bunch of players in. That's always good in tournament action. Our girls have worked hard all year long for this."

Morgan Kohls led the Bulldogs at the net with eight kills while Mackenzie Vorst added five kills. Erica Glass was credited with 53 assists while Vorst dished up eight aces. Jenna Diller brought up 10 digs while Vorst was credited with nine digs.

Benda, whose squad now sports a 20-3 record, recognizes her team is up against a mountain with the once-beaten Thunderbirds. LCC defeated Grove earlier in the season in an NWC match.

"We're going to have to have a good start in each game and have very few errors. In fact, we're going to have to play nearly perfect volleyball," Benda said. "If a team beats us legitimately and our girls play their best, then I'm still pleased. The thing we don't want to do is beat ourselves."