DIG – Weir’s Janai Turner tries to dig the kill shot against Ohio during the OVAC All-Star Game. — Kailyn Hughes
CLAIRSVILLE, ST. — The top Ohio Valley Athletic Conference senior volleyball players took to the court at the ECO Center in St. Clairsville on Sunday for one last hurray.
Despite an offensive error that put them past match point, it was the Ohio State team that won in four sets, 25-15, 25-21, 21-25, 15-4.
Kay Secrest’s Buckeyes quad took a commanding lead in the first set, thanks in large part to the play of Warren’s Madison Long. Madison Long is a 5-foot-11 outside hitter with a penchant for hitting home for solid kills.
Long, who averaged five kills per set during her senior season, had five of her six total kills in the first set as Ohio University raced to a 21-9 advantage.
After her fifth point gave Ohio a 24-15 lead, Brock set point and Ohio held an early 1-0 advantage.
The second set was a back-and-forth affair, with neither team able to gain more than a one- or two-point advantage midway through the set.
West Virginia recorded a block on a long kill attempt and cut the lead to 14-13 before the Buckeyes gave up on a fast break.
Several kills and offensive errors gave Ohio State a 19-13 lead, but Addison Kitzmiller’s kill shot briefly stopped the bleeding.
A few unforced errors allowed West Virginia to close the gap even further, and when Oak Glen’s Mackenzie Miller split a block attempt for a successful attack, the Mountaineers trailed just 22-18. took the lead.
After Union Local’s Olivia Wortman put Ohio State ahead 24-19, two consecutive blocks helped the Mountaineers close the gap again.
In the second of those blocks, Kitzmiller stuffed Wellsville’s Presley Stokes into the net.
Stokes got her revenge on the next point, scoring one of her four kills to earn the set point.
Mariton took control in the third set, allowing West Virginia to avoid a sweep.
Martin, who had a match-high nine kills, really set the tone for the third set as West Virginia won 25-21.
Both teams agreed that the fourth set would be the final, regardless of the result, and that the first to win set would be 15 points.
That meant a tie could have been possible, but Ohio University prevailed in the final set, with Marietta’s Ali Buckley and Long leading the final charge in a relatively one-sided 15-4 deciding set.
Between the second and third sets, OVAC announced its players of the year, Connoton Valley’s Eva Williams (Class A), Caldwell’s Shane Long and Wellsville’s Stokes (AA), and Linsley’s Laura Carbonall. and Gianna Chirpas of Martins Ferry (AAA), Oak Glen were selected. Martin (AAAA) and Sidney Buck (AAAA) of Mogutantown.
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