NEW CARLISLE — Benjamin Logan’s volleyball team was hoping the third time would be the charm, but it didn’t work out that way here Wednesday night against Graham.
The Raiders, who fell to the Falcons in both regular-season matchups, came out on the wrong end again in their Division II sectional final at Tecumseh, with Graham winning in straight sets 25-21, 25-19, 25-20.
“We just couldn’t put runs of points together and that has kind of been the issue for us all season,” said Ben Logan head coach Alli Reule. “Volleyball is a sport of momentum and we were unable to keep the momentum on our side.”
Ben Logan was unable to contain Graham senior standout Lindsey Brayton, who ranked second in kills (400) and first in blocks (103) in the Central Buckeye Conference this fall.
“Brayton is a great player and we just didn’t have an answer for her tonight,” said Reule. “When she rotated through the front row, we couldn’t block her and we couldn’t get anything past her either. And it’s not just her, Graham has a good all-around team. They really don’t have any weaknesses.”
Ben Logan finishes the season with a record of 14-11.
The Raiders must bid farewell to two of their key foundation pieces in seniors Kylie Frazier and Molly Vance. Frazier was a first-team all-CBC selection this year and Vance was a second-team pick.
“Those two are going to leave big shoes for us to fill,” said Reule. “They played a lot of volleyball for us and were an important part of our attack for a number of years. They were great examples for our program. They never missed anything. I think the only thing Molly missed in four years was a conditioning session and she was at a volleyball camp. And Kylie missed last than a handful of things in four years.”
Vance had nine kills and nine aces in her final BL match, while Frazier tallied five kills, 11 assists and five digs, Lynzee Cronkleton had nine assists and 12 digs, Makenna LeVan had four kills, Ryelle Gibson tallied three kills and six points serving with one ace and Jillian Plikerd had six service points with one ace and six digs.
Graham is now 19-6 and advances to play Bishop Fenwick in the district championship Saturday at Kettering Fairmont.