Vikes top Delta

By RANDY ROBERTS

Expositor Sports Writer

ARCHBOLD - How bad did it get for the Delta Panthers on Saturday? Well, trying to fight back from a 2-0 deficit, they took a 15-3 lead in the third game, only to see the Evergreen Vikings fight back and claim a 26-24 win in that game, giving the Vikings a sweep over the Panthers in a Division III volleyball sectional final at Archbold.

The win avenged a 25-13, 25-22, 25-15 win by the Panthers in NWOAL play and it means that the Vikings will move on to the District semifinals at Napoleon on Wednesday where they will meet Parkway in the second game.

The Panthers came to life with their backs to the wall in the third game. Powered by Haley Baun, Delta jumped out to a 15-3 lead. Ingrid Oswald got things going for the Vikings, but the Panthers were able to battle back. Oswald added a block and a kill later in the game, but Evergreen was still behind at 17-8.

Kenzie Pinkelman sandwiched a pair of kills around an ace by Ashley Jones, and the Vikings were right back into the game. Lauren Langenderfer tallied a point after a Delta timeout, and it was 17-13.

The lead got as big as six on a couple of occasions, but each time the Vikings made a run. Pinkelman scored on a tip, then two Panther kill attempts out of play and a ball in the net cut the once double-digit lead down to just one.

The two teams traded the lead a couple of times, but in the end, big plays by Oswald and Cassie Babcock finished off the Panthers with the 26-24 win.

In the first game, Evergreen jumped out to a 5-1 lead after an ace from Pinkelman, but it was the Panthers who made things interesting.

Slowly cutting into the lead all night, Delta finally jumped ahead 15-14 following a kill by Alexa Salsbury. Caitlin Friess pumped in an ace, and the lead grew to three at 17-14.

Not to be outdone, the Vikings came back. They used kills by Langenderfer and Babcock along with a block by Oswald to move back in front 22-20.

That forced Delta to call a timeout and once play resumed, the Panthers would pull even, but it was two miscues with the score at 23-23 that gave the Vikings the win in game one.

Evergreen opened the same way in game two, but this time stayed in control. After a Delta timeout at 8-2, Baun picked up the final two points in a small run to get the Panthers back in the game.

The two teams did nothing more than trade points for the rest of the game. The lead would grow to eight, but Delta would cut it to six. Finally, the Vikings got a big kill from Babcock as they went on to win 25-16.

Evergreen will meet Parkway in the second game on Wednesday at Napoleon. Delta finishes the season with a record of 20-3.