Perkins turns back Sailors in 4 sets

MILLBURY — Bend, but don't break. There were numerous times Thursday night when Perkins built what seemed like a comfortable lead only to see Vermilion fight back. Each time, the fifth-seeded Pirates had the answer, knocking off fourth-seeded Vermilion 25-20, 25-22, 22-25, 25-17, in a Division IV district volleyball quarterfinal at Lake High School. Perkins improved to 6-17 and will face top-seeded Lake (17-6) at 6 p.m. Monday at Gibsonburg High School in a district semifinal. "We told them that we were going to come out strong, but so was Vermilion," Perkins coach Sam Wentz said. "We've already seen them earlier this season so we knew they were going to compete." The Pirates' fight was never more evident than in the final set. After dropping Set 3, Perkins raced out to a 9-4 lead after consecutive kills by Addi Mason and a kill from Micah Normington-Slay. The Pirates kept building on the advantage and pushed it as high as 13-6 after an ace from Mason. Vermilion (7-16) didn't go quietly. The Sailors were able to cut within three points a few times, including at 16-13 following a kill from Elizabeth Okasinski. Perkins pushed the lead back to 19-13 after two kills by Ferrell Coleman and an ace by Avery Baker. The lead was just 19-16 for Perkins when the Pirates pulled away for the win. After two errors by the Sailors, Olivia Hartung served up a pair of aces before Normington-Slay put down the game-winner. "We told the girls we had to step on the gas and keep it going," Wentz said. "We let up in the third, so our motto going into the fourth set was don't let up on the gas pedal." The Pirates and Vermilion played exactly one month prior on Sept. 17 at Perkins. That night, the Pirates escaped with a 18-25, 25-14, 25-15, 20-25, 15-10 marathon win. "We knew they were going to do good things and so were we," Wentz said. "That's where the 'bend, don't break' comes in. You have to find grit and you have to grind through it." Perkins jumped on the Sailors early and used eight straight points to go up 22-12. The Sailors answered and got within 23-20, forcing a Perkins timeout, but the Pirates finished strong. Normington-Slay (three blocks) lined one of her nine kills before a hitting error by Vermilion gave Perkins a 1-0 lead. The Pirates built on the lead by winning Set 2. The Pirates never trailed in the set, but their biggest lead was only four points. Tied at 13, the Pirates got kills from Coleman and Mason to take the lead for good. Even as Vermilion fought back numerous times, Perkins had the answer. A back row kill from Hartung put the Pirates up 2-0. "This is the first time in a long time that we've won a first set, so that was a really big confidence booster for us and our girls," Wentz said. "It gives them the confidence that we can do it. That's exactly what we needed to start off the match." The Sailors played their best volleyball of the night in Set 3. The teams went back and forth with Vermilion leading 20-17 only for Perkins to answer and tie the set at 22. Needing to win the set to keep their season alive, the Sailors responded out of a timeout. A four-hit error by Perkins was followed by an ace from Peyton Logsdon. Vermilion extended the match when Claire Bartlome punished a kill, winning the set for the Sailors. Mason finished with 11 kills, 10 digs and three blocks for Perkins while Coleman added eight kills and three blocks. Baker had 22 digs and six kills, Ava Quillen lined six kills and Braelyn Davie put herself over 500 assists for the season with 26 assists to go with 15 digs and five blocks. Hartung added 21 digs, five assists and five aces for the Pirates. "Our pin hitters were big," Wentz said. "Addie Mason had 11 kills and even Ava stepped up. We've always said our middles are our dominant hitters, but we need our pins to step in and take some of that off of them so we can have a more dynamic offense." Perkins lost a regular-season matchup at Lake back on Sept. 7, 25-10, 25-8, 25-21. "They're a great team and I don't think last time we played to our fullest potential," Wentz said. "I think it will be a great matchup and we're excited to play them."