It's playoff time, and New Lexington had no trouble coming through when it counted. They sure made it a nail-biter, but they managed to escape with a 3-2 victory over the Pleasant Spartans on Saturday. For those keeping track at home, that's the closest win the Panthers have posted since September 13th.
New Lexington had a slow start but a hot finish: after dropping the first two sets, they turned around to win the next three. The match finished with set scores of 23-25, 22-25, 25-19, 25-22, 15-11.
Gracie Newlon was a one-woman wrecking crew as she had 27 digs and two aces. Those 27 digs gave her a new career-high. The team also got some help courtesy of Jorja Burkhart, who had 18 digs and three aces.

Panthers
| 11/08/25 @ Pleasant | 3-2 |
| 11/01/25 @ Adena | 3-1 |
| 10/30/25 vs Wheelersburg | 3-1 |
| 10/25/25 vs Zane Trace | 3-1 |
| 10/21/25 vs Piketon | 3-0 |
| + 8 more games |
They weren't the only good servers: New Lexington was lethal from the service line and finished the match with 11 aces. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now served at least seven aces in 22 consecutive contests.
Pleasant's loss came despite strong showings from Kamryn Roberts and Macy Hamper. Roberts had 35 digs and five assists, while Hamper had 22 assists and five digs. Roberts is on a roll when it comes to digs, as she's now had ten or more in each of the last 25 games she's played. Siri Veladanda also deserves some recognition as she had her first kill of the season.
New Lexington's victory was their tenth straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 26-2. As for Pleasant, their loss ended a 21-match streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 26-2.
New Lexington wasted no time getting back out on the court and has already played their next matchup, a 3-1 defeat against Lake Catholic on the 9th. Pleasant does not have any more games scheduled as of now.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps