Staff photo / Dan Hiner Fitch’s Kylie Folkwein attempts to push the ball over a block attempt during the third set of a Division II district semifinal on Monday.

PAINESVILLE — One set was the difference between a district final appearance or a long bus ride to end the season.

Unfortunately for the Austintown Fitch volleyball team, it was the latter.

The Falcons fell 3-2 in five sets to Twinsburg in a Division II district semifinal at Riverside High School on Monday. Twinsburg won 25-23, 22-25, 13-25, 25-20, 15-7.

“We’re just focusing on the positive and the fact that the sky’s the limit, especially for this group coming up, so we’re just gonna keep going,” Fitch head coach Kylee Herberger said.

Fitch (12-11) fell behind in the first set, but the Falcons tied it at 20 following a kill by Preslie Watts. However, a Tiger kill gave the opening frame to Twinsburg, 25-23.

The Falcons found themselves in a hole again early in the second set. They trailed 9-4 and were forced to call a timeout.

Again, the Falcons fought back to tie it at 11, and a kill by Watts gave them a 14-13 lead. A block that sailed beyond the back line and Twinsburg’s inability to clear the net allowed the Falcons to tie the match at 1 with a 25-22 win in the second set.

Fitch took an early lead in the third, and while the Tigers (17-6) managed to cut it to two points, the Falcons ballooned their lead to 17-11. Then the Falcons scored eight straight points to win the third 25-13.

During the set-winning run, Kylie Folkwein earned her 1,000 career kill. As soon as the ball hit the court, Fitch fans held up printouts that read “1,000 kills.”

“For her to accomplish that, we’re really excited for her because she’s been our stronghold on the outside for the last four years,” Herberger said.

The Tigers didn’t go down without a fight. They scored the first four points to begin the fourth set.

Fitch tried to cut into the lead on a couple different occasions, and they finally recorded five straight points to trim the deficit to 22-19. But coming out of a timeout, the Tigers took the final three points to tie the match at 2 with a 25-20 win in the fourth.

Much like the fourth, the Tigers earned the first five points of the fifth set, forcing a Fitch timeout. But Twinsburg maintained its momentum and grew the advantage to 8-1.

Trailing 12-7, the Falcons needed to make a push. But it never came, and Fitch dropped the final set 15-7 off a Tiger ace.

“It’s not the outcome you want, but there’s positives in that (fifth) set. We had some really nice plays and really nice effort,” Herberger said.

Fitch had six seniors on the roster. The senior group consisted of Rylie Simons, Alexis Beaudis, Morgan Roby, Jeweliana Farmer, Theresa Hunter and Folkwein.

“This class definitely has a lot of legacy, especially with Riley Simon and everything she’s brought to the program and Kylie Folkwein getting her 1,000th kill tonight,” Herberger said. “They’re going to be a class known for a high level of expectation and setting the bar extremely high for the classes to come.”

While the Falcons will lose a larger group of senior contributors, they will have a core coming back with Kaliana Ray and Watts leading the way. That combination of veteran leadership and young talent resulted in a “goofy” group of big personalities for Fitch season, and a squad that will stick out to Herberger.

“When they look back on this time, they’re not going to remember the record, they’re going to remember the relationships that they formed and the teammates they had,” Herberger said. “Yes, it hurts in the moment, but you have to think about the past and everything we accomplished in the last three years.”