Princeton's girls' volleyball season ended Tuesday, Oct. 20, at Butler High School in Vandalia.
The 20th-seeded Vikings won the first two sets against 19th-seeded Walnut Hills, then lost the final three sets as the Eagles rallied to win the final three and take the match 3-2 in the OHSAA Division I first round. Set scores were 26-24, 26-24, 19-25, 16-25, 7-15.
Princeton led by identical 26-24 margins in the first two sets. Walnut Hills answered with a 25-19 third set, a 25-16 fourth and a dominant 15-7 fifth to complete the comeback, according to the OHSAA bracket.
The five-set match ran so long it delayed the evening's second contest by roughly 90 minutes, the Journal-News reported.
It was the second five-set loss to Walnut Hills this season. Princeton fell to the Eagles 15-25, 22-25, 25-11, 25-19, 15-13 in a regular-season match Sept. 21, according to Greater Miami Conference records.
Princeton finished 8-15 overall and 3-6 in the GMC. The Vikings' three conference wins came against Colerain on Sept. 8, Middletown on Sept. 10 and Hamilton on Oct. 13. Losses to Mason, Sycamore, Fairfield, Lakota East, Oak Hills and Lakota West filled the other side of the ledger.
The season opened with a straight-set loss to Mason on Aug. 25. Princeton beat Colerain 25-16, 25-19, 25-14 on Sept. 8 and swept Middletown two days later, but a six-match losing streak through late September dropped the Vikings to 6-11.
A pair of non-conference wins over Purcell Marian on Sept. 14 and Trotwood Madison on Sept. 28 provided some relief, though Princeton went 1-3 in October before the postseason.
Princeton's only October win was a 3-0 road victory at Hamilton on Oct. 13. The Vikings then lost to Goshen in three sets on Oct. 15 and to West Clermont in four on Oct. 19, the night before the playoff exit.
Walnut Hills advanced to face seventh-seeded Milford in the second round, scheduled for Oct. 27 at 7:45 p.m.
