Wheelersburg & Adena Win VB District Titles With Southeastern & Unioto Runner-Up
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The top two seeded Division 3 volleyball teams in the Southeast District are on a collision course after winning district championships Saturday. Wheelersburg was a (25-15, 25-21, 25-15) victor over Southeastern, while Adena gained a (25-20, 26-24, 25-18) win over SVC rival Zane Trace, Saturday. The #1 seed Pirates and #2 seed Warriors meet in the Regional Semis at 7:30pm Thursday, November 3rd at Logan High School.
(23-2) South Webster swept North Adams (25-22, 25-18, 25-19) for the final D-3 district championship at Waverly. Bella Claxon of South Webster recorded her 2,000th career setting assist. The Jeeps will face East District winner Byesville Meadowbrook at 6pm in Logan on November 3rd.
In Division 2 District Final action Saturday at Southeastern High School, Unioto was swept by New Lexington (25-20, 25-18, 25-21), while Sheridan won the other bracket final over Gallia Academy (17-25, 25-21, 25-9, 25-12).
D-4 Volleyball District Final: Trimble 3, Portsmouth ND 0 (25-19, 28-26, 25-20)
WHEELERSBURG 3, SOUTHEASTERN 1
The (24-1) Pirates found themselves in a battle vs the (16-9) Panthers during the first two sets, only to pull away for an easier third set victory.
Southeastern was as close as 8-6 in Set #1, but Burg used a 6-0 run to build a lead that was not in jeopardy in a 25-15 win.
Set #2 was much closer. The Panthers rallied from a 7-3 deficit, taking a lead over the Pirates at 13-12, 14-13 and 15-14. That’s when Wheelersburg hit their next gear to take leads of 18-15, 19-16 and 20-17, before the Panthers made one more run to close the gap to 21-20 and 22-21. The Pirates would finish on a 3-0 run for the 25-21 win and a (2-0) match lead.
Set #3 was pretty much all Wheelersburg, blasting out of the gate to break away from a 6-3 start, going on an 8-0 run for a 14-3 lead, and never looked back for a match sweep win of 25-15.
The Pirates were led by Gracie Perkins with 11 kills, while Madie Mays and Lexi Rucker each added 10 kills. Setter Makenna Walker had 8 kills, before and injury caused her to leave the match late in the third set. Kiera Kennard led the Burg defense with 16 digs, followed by Rucker with 10.
Southeastern’s Jozy Loughead led the Panthers with 11 kills, while Morgan Ware had 10. Macy Corcoran had 12 digs, Jessie Higley 11 and Gracee Pfeifer added 9.
ADENA 3, ZANE TRACE 0
For the third time this season, the (23-2) Adena Warriors defeated the (19-5) Zane Trace Pioneers, only this time for the district crown. Each one of the sets were close, seeing Adena get off to early leads, only to have the Pioneers battle back.
Set #1 saw the Warriors with leads of 10-4, 20-13 and 23-15, with ZT clawing their way back to within 23-20. Adena closed that set with the final two points for the 25-20 win.
Set #2 was closer, with both teams exchanging leads multiple times between 8-8 and 15-15. The Warriors broke away late for a 24-20 lead, but the Pioneers battled back to 24-24, before Adena closed it out at 26-24.
Set #3 saw Adena jump out to a 6-0 start. ZT stormed back to take a 12-11 advantage, when Adena called timeout. After a brief 12-12 tie, the Pioneers took the lead back and built a 15-12 lead. Adena followed with a 6-0 run for an 18-15 lead and never trailed again for the 25-18 win and their 4th straight district title.
Sydney Foglesong led the Warriors attack with 21 kills for Adena, Hannah Burns 10, Eva Kruger 9 and Brinlee Preston with 5 kills. The Warriors on defense had double-digit digs from Kruger, Brooke Bossert 14 and Brenna McQuiniff each with 14 digs, while Hannah Burns added 11. Adena had 7 ace serves, compared to 3 for Zane Trace. Grace Townsend had 37 setting assists.
The Pioneers were led by Lexi Scott with 11 kills and Alexis Farley with 9 kills and 3 blocks. ZT defense was led by Gracey McCullough’s 18 digs- including her 1,000th career dig. Lexi Scott 12 and Kinley May and Delaney Berry each had 10 digs.
NEW LEXINGTON 3, UNIOTO 0
(19-6) Unioto saw their season close as Division 2 District Runner-Up, after falling to (20-5) New Lexington 25-20, 25-18, 25-21. The Shermans were led by Ella Cutright with 9 kills, while Sophie Coleman had 15 digs. Unioto had 13 serving aces in the match. Abbie Marshall of Unioto garnered her 1,000th career setting assist.
