LIBERTY TWP. — Margo Petterson couldn’t stop smiling Wednesday night.
The Lakota West High School senior and her volleyball teammates just knocked off their Greater Miami Conference and neighboring rival.
The Firebirds defeated the Lakota East Thunderhawks in three straight sets — 25-15, 25-19, 25-13 — for a Division I district semifinal victory at Lakota East.
“We were able to hold control throughout the sets,” Petterson said. “Sometimes we were a little iffy when we gave the other team control. We were able to keep a good mentality and keep pushing through.”
The Firebirds, who hadn’t played in close to two weeks, head to the district championship for the first time since 2013. They’ll face Fairfield, which beat Lebanon 3-1, on Saturday at 3 p.m. back at Lakota East.
“In practice, it’s a lot of skills,” Petterson said. “The other half of it is really mentality. Our team kind of struggles sometimes — once we get down a few points, we’re kind of lost for the rest of the game. But this game, we really switched that around.”
The Firebirds (11-10) beat the Thunderhawks (9-14) during the regular season on Sept. 10 in a similar contest.
“It doesn’t matter when this game is — East, West — doesn’t matter who’s the better team. It’s just a battle,” Lakota West first-year coach Ali Hile said. “It’s a rivalry. Everybody goes in with all the heart and all the fight.
“We knew they could do this. They were so ready. We had a week and a half of practices from our last game. We tweaked and worked on some things, and they really showed up and did everything they needed to.”
The Firebirds controlled the first set and fought off a Thunderhawks surge in the second set. Lakota West closed it out in impressive fashion the third set.
“That’s the type of team we’ve been this year,” Hile said. “I feel like my team’s record doesn’t speak for itself. My team has that fight in them every game — even if we’ve lost it. We’ve been down and battled back to be neck-and-neck with just about every team. They keep that energy, and they keep that fight. They know the game is not over. That’s what can take us so much further than what that record shows.”
Lakota East graduates seniors Katie Todd, Ellie Wilkerson, Nora Hundley, Sarang Back, Kya Smith, Stella Tischer, Evie Vincent, Kennedy Peake and Lily Horton.
“Whenever you go against your rival, it’s going to be a heated battle,” Thunderhawks coach Bryant Kuhlman said. “Emotions can run high.
“I told the girls after the game that as long as they came into it and gave their all, that’s all you can ask of yourself. I think our players left it on the court there at the end. You could tell. We have nine seniors on the roster, so it’s tough for those kids. They’re out there playing for each other in a game like this.”
Other coverage-area postseason girls volleyball results from Wednesday night:
Fairfield defeated Lebanon 25-19, 25-15, 21-25, 25-19. Milford defeated Hamilton 25-10, 25-8, 25-15. Mount Notre Dame defeated Edgewood 25-22, 25-15, 25-16. Cincinnati Christian defeated Madeira 11-25, 25-15, 25-23, 26-24.
