Girls district volleyball: Firelands drops first set, but storms back to beat Lutheran West in semifinals

HENRIETTA TWP. — All that stored up resilience paid dividends for Firelands.Lutheran West pushed the Falcons to the limit in a tight four-set thriller, but Firelands held strong for a 23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-14 win in a Division IV, Northeast 4 district semifinal at Firelands on Monday.No. 6 Firelands (19-5) will face No. 20 Beaumont (7-17), which defeated No. 7 Akron Coventry (16-8) in the first semifinal, in the district final at Copley on Wednesday at 7 p.m. No. 16 Lutheran West's season ends at 12-12.The Falcons take a 14-match winning streak into the district final. Their last loss was to Black River in three sets Sept. 9."It's so awesome," said Firelands senior Micah Lee, who finished with eight kills and was a force in the middle of the net. "We worked so hard to get to this stage. It's just a really cool experience for us. We knew we wanted to make it further. That just really pushed us. We all love playing volleyball together and this is my senior year. I wasn't ready to go home."Firelands looked as if it was going to take the first set, securing a 19-15 lead and maintaining a four-point advantage until 21-17. But the Longhorns rallied off five straight points, with Alexa Adams rattling off two aces and a kill during the run.The Falcons tied it at 22 and then 23 before Lutheran West closed out the set thanks to back-to-back kills from London Trudel."It's tournament play, one and done," said Firelands junior Josie Kirby, who finished with 14 kills and two aces. "We're just leaving everything out on the court win or lose, because you never know when it's going to be your last game, so you really want to give it your all if it is."The next two sets were just as tight as the first. In the second, Firelands turned a one-point lead into a 20-17 advantage thanks to a 5-3 run. Lutheran West cut the deficit down to 23-22, but this time it was the Falcons who won the final two points, capped by a kill from sophomore Everleigh Robinson.Lutheran West jumped out to a 12-7 lead in the third and maintained it until Firelands won three straight points to tie the set at 20. Lee was outstanding in the third, securing four kills, including three of the Falcons' final 11 points.The teams traded points until Kirby gave the Falcons a 24-23 lead and Firelands clinched the set on a hitting error by the Longhorns.Firelands wasted no time jumping to a 10-3 lead in the fourth with Kirby securing two kills and Lee another. Senior setter Lexi Schrader secured her first kill and ace of the match as the Falcons ran their lead to 15-8. Freshman Regan Viock also secured her first kill of the match during the run."They did a great job," Firelands coach Mason Cooley said. "All year we've talked about the mental toughness that you need to finish out games like this. I think it's starting to sink in, and they showed a lot of mental toughness tonight from how it started, losing that set and coming back and fighting through."Contact Chris Sweeney at 329-7135 or ctsports@chroniclet.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X.