Early injury changed Willard's season

WILLARD — Any type of injuries to an athlete are impactful. And when the Willard volleyball team saw junior starter Natalie Slone go down in the opening match of the year, it left a mark in more ways than one. "When Nat went down, we definitely were kind of nervous about what was next," senior setter Caitlyn Weaver said. "We knew we had other girls who could come in and play for us, but it was the first match of the year, and we just didn't know." Slone ended up with a severe high ankle sprain and missed 10 matches over the course of 26 days. But as painful as it was for Slone and her team, it may have been a critical reason as to why the state-ranked Crimson Flashes are still playing. Willard (21-4) — ranked No. 10 in the final state coaches poll — plays London Madison-Plains (21-3) at 6 p.m. Thursday in a Division V regional semifinal at the Elida Fieldhouse. "I think the injury to Nat actually helped us," Willard head coach Ashley Bond said. "We had to have a whole different lineup. We learned our best option was to put (junior) Teagan (Schaffer) in the middle. We never would have done that had Nat not gone down in the first match." Standout senior Kelsey Lykins — the SBC Bay Division Most Outstanding Performer — leads Willard with 313 kills this season. She has 1,091 for her career entering Thursday. Junior Camryn Wiers has 166 kills, followed by sophomore Leah Weiss (162 kills) and Schaffer (99 kills, 45 blocks). That balance at the net around Lykins developed after Slone's injury. "Sometimes you look at it as a blessing or curse, but that was a blessing to us," Bond said. "Even though she doesn't have the stats to this point, once Nat came back, it was like a whole different team came to play each night — because we had a whole different lineup." Bond also noted another key aspect of the lineup change. When Slone returned, her team embraced the changes, even if it meant less playing time and statistics. "That's what makes our team so special, you can't just focus on Kelsey," she said. "We have so many hitters that the next girl will step up when one goes down. They do their job, and as a coach, you couldn't ask for more. "Not one of them complains about their sets, or that they don't get this or that. They all just go out and play." Willard, which played five matches that went five sets this season, lost in five at Shelby, including 16-14 in the decisive set, in the Aug. 17 season opener on the road. At the Norwalk Invitational two weeks later, the Flashes lost to the host Truckers (20-4) and Elyria Catholic (19-6) for three losses in their first eight matches. Norwalk finished No. 10 in the Div. III state poll and lost in five to Tiffin Columbian in a district title match in Willard. Elyria Catholic was No. 6 in the final Div. V poll and faces Girard (20-5) in a regional semifinal on Thursday. The Flashes then lost just once more to date, a four-set loss vs. Div. VII No. 3 Mohawk (24-1) on Sept. 21. Willard is on a 10-match win streak entering Thursday. "We really turned it around after that first match," Lykins said. "After the injury to Natalie, we knew we had to work together and harder to come out of that. Eventually she came back and it made our rotation stronger. "But we didn't really set any expectations at the start of the year," she added. "We really wanted to push ourselves with no limits, and this is where it got us so far." Willard last won a district title in 2018. That team beat Wauseon in a regional semifinal before falling one match short of state to Parma Heights Holy Name. Both Lykins and Weaver were among the younger players in the crowd during that tournament run. "This means a lot," Lykins said. "I still remember being in the crowd when they made that big run, so to be on the floor now at the same stage feels surreal, especially this group of girls who I love so much. "It just means so much to me … I wouldn't want to be celebrating with anyone else." Meanwhile, Weaver, who reached 1,000 career assists this season — she has 601 entering Thursday and 1,340 total — has a special tie to 2018. Her older sister, Chloe, was also the setter and also broke 1,000 career assists (1,181). Senior classmate Morgan Lofland (274 digs, 174 points, 45 aces) also had an older sister, Kassidy, on that team. "t feels good to have that connection," Caitlyn said. "For us and our supporters who have followed us, it just feels good to make them all proud."