PORTSMOUTH — With their five-set comeback (25-9, 17-25, 16-25, 26-24, 15-10) over Federal Hocking on Tuesday, the Portsmouth Lady Trojans volleyball team earned a victory in a Division III sectional semifinal inside Trojan Arena.

Portsmouth jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the match with a 25-9 set one win. The Lady Lancers claimed the second and third sets, however, meaning the Lady Trojans would need wins in both of the last two sets to extend their tournament life.

Coach Shay White’s team rallied, claiming victories in each of the last two games — 26-24 in a back-and-forth fourth set, and 15-10 in the race-to-15 fifth set.

With the win, Portsmouth improves to 9-13 and earns a spot in the D-III sectional final this Thursday.

“They started talking more, communication was there. Our passes were great, and our hits were there — everything was spot on the way it needed to be for us to win,” White said, following the win. “We got the tips and found the holes. Everyone was playing together.”

Senior Kennedy Bowling led Portsmouth with a team-high 17 kills, five blocks, and four ace serves in the victory.

Portsmouth setter Maysa Calvin had a team-high 28 assists, while Olivia Dickerson tallied 13 kills.

White said the importance of the play they receive from seniors Sydney Johnson and Bowling has been key to their success during the season, and again on Tuesday.

“Sydney is probably one of the most important players out there for us, because her passes are needed to get the sets and the kills for Kennedy (Bowling) and our other hitters,” White said. “This is ultimately a passing game, everything feeds off of that.”

The Lady Trojans advance to Thursday’s D-III sectional final at South Webster. The Lady Jeeps are coming off of the program’s first regional championship in D-IV last season.

Portsmouth will be playing for its first sectional championship since 2018.

“Our serves and passes have to be spot on. When you’re playing against a team like Webster, a very established program, they don’t miss many passes. They have great passes and I know they have great hitters. We’re just going to be more spot on with everything as a team, communicate — I felt like we did all of that really well tonight.”

Reach Jacob Smith at (740) 370-0713 ext. 1930, by email at [email protected], or on Twitter @JacobSmithPDT © 2022 Portsmouth Daily Times, all rights reserved