LANCASTER - Eastern's magical volleyball season came to an abrupt halt Thursday evening during its Division IV regional semifinal match at Lancaster High School, dropping a straight-game 25-15, 25-23, 26-24 decision to Berlin Hiland.

The Lady Eagles (23-3) were slow out of the gates in their first two games, leading only once over that span (2-1 in game one) before finding themselves down two-games-to-none. The Green and White led most of game three and had a game point at 24-21, but HHS battled back with four consecutive service points to claim the straight-game sweep and a berth in the regional final against Newark Catholic.

NCHS defeated Portsmouth Clay 25-15, 25-14, 25-13 in the opening semifinal, advancing the Green Wave to Saturday's final for a berth to the state tournament. Game time is scheduled for 2 p.m.

The opener was tied at two before the Lady Hawks (23-4) ran off four straight points for a 6-2 lead. Eastern battled back to within one at 8-7, but Hiland reeled off an 8-3 run for a 16-10 lead. EHS would never be closer than four (18-14) the rest of the way during the opening 10-point setback.

Game two didn't start much better for the Lady Eagles, who quickly found themselves staring at a 16-6 deficit. Eastern managed to cut that lead down to two at 21-19, but both teams traded points the rest of the way - allowing Hiland to take a 2-0 lead with a 25-23 decision.

Eastern finally got things going in the third game after battling through six ties for an 11-8 advantage. The Lady Eagles led by as many as six points three times during that finale, claiming edges of 21-15, 22-16 and 23-17. Hiland pulled within 23-21 late, but Eastern took over serve with a 24-21 cushion.

The Red, Black and White retained serve, trailing 24-22, and came up with a quartet of consecutive points to complete the straight-game triumph.

The Lady Eagles recorded 37 kills, 28 assists and a dozen blocks in the setback. The Green and White were also 96-of-149 passing for 64 percent overall.

Junior Tresa Swatzel led the net attack with 19 kills, followed by senior Katie Hayman with 11 kills. Both Swatzel and Hayman had a team-high five blocks in the loss.

Junior Katie Wilfong was next with four kills, followed by classmate Morgan Burt with two kills and senior Kelsey Holter with one. Burt also added two blocks for Eastern.

Burt, Hayman and senior Ryan Davis led the Lady Eagles with six service points apiece. Swatzel served up five points, Holter four and senior Megan Broderick had two points. Broderick also had all 28 assists in the setback. Senior libero Morgan Werry was 9-of-16 passing.

Jena Stutzman paced Hiland with 14 points, followed by Janelle Miller with eight service points.

The season-ending loss was tough for EHS coach Howie Caldwell to stomach afterwards. Not so much because of the end result, but moreso the fact that his Lady Eagles' never really showed their full potential on Thursday night.

“I learned a long time ago that you don't say too many negative things about the last game, especially after making it to regionals. It is absolutely tremendous to win 23 games this year, it really is,” Caldwell commented. “You always want your last game to be your best game, but I don't know if we have anyone that can honestly say that tonight. Unfortunately we are left playing what if, what if we had done this or what if we had done that.

The loss also marked the end for a half-dozen seniors who have enjoyed stellar careers in the Green and White. Playing in their final match for EHS were Katie Hayman, Kelsey Holter, Megan Broderick, Morgan Werry, Ryan Davis and Amanda Eason.

Caldwell was very proud of these girls for what they've accomplished this season - and during their tenures. He just hopes they remember what all they have done, regardless of Thursday's letdown.

“They've put a lot of time and a lot of hard work into this over the years. These girls are 70-8 over the last three years - and that's hard to take away from. It's actually pretty mid-boggling,” Caldwell said.

Eastern can take some pride in knowing that it came as far as any other Lady Eagles' volleyball team in history. EHS also falls to 0-5 alltime in regional semifinal volleyball games.

Eastern also takes streaks of 11 years and 12 years into next season in respective regards to Tri-Valley Conference Hocking Division and sectional titles. The Lady Eagles will also open next season with a 15-match regular season winning streak. The loss ended Eastern's current 18-match streak.