HOLD SERVE: South Warren rallies to win state opener in five sets

Published 10:28 am Thursday, May 15, 2025

By Micheal Compton

The South Warren boys’ volleyball team keeps making history.

The first-year program earned the region title in comeback fashion at Ohio County in a five-set thriller on Monday. On Wednesday, it was another five-set battle in the opening round of the state tournament — with the Spartans rallying to beat Southwestern 3-2 (25-27, 25-22, 19-25, 25-22, 15-11) at South Warren High School.

South Warren (13-3) made it six straight wins, rallying to force a fifth set and overcoming a late deficit to advance to Friday’s quarterfinal round.

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“These boys never cease to amaze me,” South Warren coach Erika Wenger said. “They come out and they put their whole heart and soul into every game. It’s just fun to watch them. I am having the best time.”

Junior Reed Roebuck said it is pretty special to be part of history, setting the bar for future teams.

“I think it means everything to be a part of the first one,” Roebuck said. “I’ve been around volleyball since I was young. In first grade I went with my sister to travel ball. This has been a dream come true the past year. I am just so thankful for my teammates and who they are and how they lift each other up. I am thankful for this team and coach Wenger. It just feels great to even be in this moment right now.”

South Warren dropped a nailbiter in the first set — which featured 18 ties and eight lead changes. A kill from Thad Hall gave South Warren an 18-14 lead, but Southwestern (18-6) scored five straight to regain the lead.

South Warren was able to regain the advantage and get it to set point after a kill from Connor Baer made the score 24-23. Southwestern got the next two points to get set point, before another Baer kill tied it 25-all.

A service error gave it back to Southwestern, which closed out the first set with an ace.

South Warren was able to take the second set to even the match with a 5-1 spurt midway through that made the score 14-10. The Spartans led by as many as five points before the Warriors got it down to 21-20. Southwestern was unable to get any closer, with an ace from Wah Say the final point.

The Spartans opened set three with a 4-0 lead, but Southwestern battled back. The Warriors took control midway through the third with a 6-2 spurt that made the score 21-17. South Warren couldn’t answer and Southwestern held a 2-1 advantage in the match.

South Warren was able to jump out to an 11-4 lead in game four with Roebuck and Clay Willis controlling the net. The duo combined for eight kills in the set.

“We knew we were getting blocked a lot, so we had to switch something up,” Willis said. “Instead of hitting the ball as hard as we can we started playing smart and put it in play where we knew they weren’t going to get.”

Southwestern chipped away and was able to tie it 18-all, but the Spartans regained the momentum scoring the next two points. The Warriors tied it one more time at 20-all, but four straight points from South Warren provided the separation that allowed the Spartans to finish it off and force a fifth set.

South Warren scored the first three points to open the fifth set, but Southwestern rallied and slipped in front 6-5. The Warriors got the lead up to 9-7 before South Warren scored the next two to tie it.

Southwestern got the lead one more time before a 4-0 spurt gave the Spartans the lead for good — with a kill from Bryan Nguyen completing the comeback.

“One thing they will never do is give up,” Wenger said. “They could be losing by 25 and they would still be trying to push for every point. I could not be more proud to coach a team that wants to work hard every single game.”

Willis led the way with 14 kills, while Baer added eight kills and an ace.

“Since this is the first year I didn’t know how things would go, but I am having a blast so far,” Clay Willis said. “I love my teammates and it is just a blast.”

“… I knew our team had the effort. I always trust in my setter. When we got those first couple of points, I knew we could come back and get the win. Overall, I knew we were the better team.”

South Warren advances to host West Jessamine at 6:30 p.m. on Friday.

About Micheal Compton

I am a sports reporter and movie critic for the Bowling Green Daily News.

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