The Miami Trace High School varsity volleyball team continued defending back-to-back Frontier Athletic Conference championships when they welcomed the team from Hillsboro High School Thursday, Sept. 12.

Both teams were undefeated coming into the match.

Miami Trace won the match in straight sets, 25-12, 25-14 and 25-11.

Miami Trace also won the j-v match against Hillsboro, 25-5, 25-13.

Statistically for Miami Trace: Sydney Carter led with 14, Lauren Farrens had 13, Cecilia Robinson with 12, Allison Carter with 11, Kylie Yeazel with seven, Ellie Robinette with one and Lauren Guess with one.

Addyson Butts led with 23 kills. Farrens had 14, Robinson and Guess each had three and Yeazel had two.

Farrens and Robinson each had two ace serves. Yeazel and Allison Carter both had one ace serve.

Hillsboro falls to 8-1 overall, 3-1 in the FAC.

Miami Trace improved to 10-0 in all matches, 4-0 in the FAC.

“We watched a lot of video,” Hillsboro head coach Heather Jones. “The girls were super-excited and prepared for this game for weeks now.

“We just told the girls, especially with Addyson Butts, we just have to get a hand on the ball,” Jones said. “I’m not expecting them to make a perfect pass or anything. Nothing is going to be perfect, especially when she’s on the court on the other side. But, just to try their hardest and try to get their hands on the ball.

“The girls are very confident,” Jones said. “Coming into tonight, the girls were very confident. They’re very upset about this loss, just because Hillsboro has never had this kind of record before. I think this will make them have a little more fire.”

“Addy is an exceptional player for us,” Miami Trace head coach Doug Mace said. “We’re very fortunate. We have a lot of girls on the floor with her who keep the ball off the floor and can also swing. We’ve got several girls who can hit the ball well; we’ve got several girls who can pass and serve. We’re appreciative of that. And, we were home tonight.

“Both teams knew this was a big game,” Mace said. “We get to see them again here in a couple of weeks (Tuesday, Oct. 1). It could be a little bit different. They’ll definitely be fired up.

“Now we’re staying focused and locked in the entire time,” Mace said. “Especially last year, we had a bad habit, we would get several points ahead, then, all of a sudden we would kind of relax just a little bit. Then we’d get tight, fall behind and be fighting (for the match).

“This year, we’re able to stay locked in and focused the entire time,” Mace said. “From the first set to the last set we play, from zero to 25, we’re staying focused and locked in. That’s probably the biggest overall improvements we’ve been able to make is on the mental side.”

Miami Trace will play at Washington Tuesday night.

Washington High School will be celebrating two major milestones that night.

The 50th anniversary of the program will be recognized, as well as the 25th anniversary of the program’s Regional championship, which was during the coaching tenure of Doug Mace.

The freshman match is slated to begin at 5 p.m.

The j-v match has an approximate start time of 6 p.m. after which prior to the varsity match will be the above-mentioned recognitions.