CHILLICOTHE — At match-point of a Division III first-round district match on Oct. 20, Chillicothe senior Evelyn Hamman muttered under her breath, “Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God.”
Hamman’s Cavaliers were just about to put the finishing touches on a five-set win over their crosstown rival in front of a standing-room-only crowd.
Coming into the season, Chillicothe’s senior class had never beaten the Shermans.
Hamman’s thoughts preceded the team’s second victory over Unioto this year alone, and ended the Shermans’ season in the process — a 23-25, 25-13, 22-25, 25-14, 15-7 final.
“I love all of these girls like my own kids,” Chillicothe coach Leslie Hamman said. “I really wanted this for them because they deserve it. They have the chemistry, they have the drive and they have the skill. We knew this group had the potential, but it was a matter of them finding it and helping them to do so. We strived for that and it has arrived. It’s all led to tonight.”
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Marisa Stiteler, who was injured during the Cavaliers’ win over Unioto on Aug. 29, played well throughout the evening.
The 6-foot middle hitter frustrated Unioto’s offensive attack at the net, providing a big block, while also using a hot hand on the offensive end to find holes in the Shermans’ defense.
She was flanked by Evelyn Hamman and Sydnee Wade, who also spearheaded the Cavs’ attack.
“I didn’t get to play the first time we beat Unioto, so I feel like I had something to prove,” Stiteler said. “Everyone was saying, ‘It wouldn’t have made a big difference if I came back.’ So I wanted to prove myself a little bit and show that I do make a big impact for my team.”
Chillicothe (17-6) had a 17-14 lead midway through the first set, but behind the play of Kori Grubbs and Charlotte Dennis, Unioto fought to even the score. The Cavaliers took a 23-22 lead, but Dennis was too much to handle, willing her Shermans to a two-point win.
The Shermans (17-6) had thrown the first punch, but the Cavaliers absorbed it and used it as motivation heading into the second.
Hamman and Wade sparked a set-starting 8-3 run and Chillicothe never looked back, evening the match at 1-1 with a dominant 12-point victory.
“What was happening in the sets that we lost, we were making the errors,” Leslie Hamman said. “[Unioto] wasn’t earning the points they had, but we were giving them to them. We were not handling the ball well, or we’re hitting the ball to the wall from the service line. We had to settle in and find that groove. They weren’t forced errors. They were unforced, and we had to fix that.”
The roller-coaster ride continued in the third, where Grubbs and Dennis teamed up to help Unioto take a 17-15 lead. Although the score remained tight, that lead was never relinquished in a 25-22 victory, placing the Cavaliers’ season on life support.
Chillicothe’s Josie Huddleston started the fourth with a service ace, which began another set-opening 8-3 run. Much like the second, the Cavaliers used the hot start to cruise to an 11-point win, forcing a winner-take-all fifth game.
“Before that fifth set, I told the girls at one point in the huddle, as the crowd started chanting, I said, ‘You hear that? You hear that? They’re all here for you,’” Leslie Hamman said. “I believe that’s what made them go back out there and nail down this win. The community was behind them.”
The Shermans took a quick 3-1 lead in the fifth, but Hamman helped close the gap and, eventually, logged back-to-back kills to pull Chillicothe in front at 5-3.
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A combo-block from Stiteler and Hamman, combined with two straight Unioto attack errors, stretched the lead to 8-3 and forced the Shermans into a timeout.
Out of the break, Unioto worked to narrow the deficit to 9-7. But two more errors, plus a kill from Stiteler and an ace from Isabella Witte, ended a 6-0 run and sent the Cavs into the next round.
Statistically, Hamman ended the night with a match-high 31 kills alongside three blocks and five aces. Stiteler and Wade each added seven kills, while Campbell McAllister led the defense with 19 digs.
The Shermans were paced by Grubbs, who turned in an 18-kill performance alongside 10 digs. Dennis had 10 kills and five blocks, and Kinzli Batson posted 12 digs and 36 assists.
While Unioto’s season comes to a close, Chillicothe advances to a Division III district quarterfinal. The Cavaliers will travel to top-seeded Marietta at 7 p.m., Oct. 22.
“We really want a rematch with Sheridan and we want to play in Logan, which is where that [district final] would be,” Hamman said. “There hasn’t been a district volleyball championship at Chillicothe since 1999. We’re hoping to be there. We know Marietta is going to be a well-coached team, and they’re going to be disciplined. So we’re going to have to be ready for that and continue to play the volleyball that we are playing.”
This article originally appeared on Chillicothe Gazette: Chillicothe rallies past Unioto, advances to district quarterfinal