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Park Nips JM in Thriller

McCroskey, Simon lead way in five-set victory

Wheeling Park’s Mahayla McCroskey puts up a serve during Tuesday’s match against John Marshall. Photo by Kyle Lutz

WHEELING — When Wheeling Park and John Marshall come together in a faceoff, no matter what sport, one thing is almost for certain: it’s going to come down to the wire. Tuesday’s volleyball match was no exception. The Patriots and Monarchs played in a back-and-forth, five-set match before seeing Wheeling Park come out on top 22-25, 25-17, 25-20, 19-25, 17-15 at Wheeling Park High School.

“I thought JM did a fantastic job defensively,” Wheeling Park coach Kristen Gaudino said. “I knew that they had lost a couple of veterans. I knew they still had Lydia Knutsen. She picks up everyone and does one heck of a job in the back row. I knew it was going to be tough keeping the ball away from her. I had no doubt in my team and their ability to hit the ball, hit the ball hard, place the ball. My girls just need a little bit more consistency. They showed me in the second set what they’re capable of.

“I’m kind of at that point in the season where I’m looking for consistency. I thought they mentally played well, especially in the fifth set.”

One thing was consistent in the fifth set: alternating points. After John Marshall scored to put the score at 6-5 in its favor, the audience saw each team exchange points for 14 straight serves. With the score tied at 12-12, Wheeling Park broke the streak to take its first lead of the set.

However John Marshall was able to score the next two points to make it 14-13. With match point up for grabs for the Monarchs, Wheeling Park doubled-down and scored the next two, before John Marshall taking a time out.

Coming out of the short intermission, the Monarchs tied it at 15-15, but Patriots scored the next two points to win the match.

“As much as I hate to use that as an excuse, they’re young. I have one senior, three juniors, five sophomores and mentally they still are young as far as volleyball goes,” Gaudino said about the back-and-forth streak during the fifth set. “I think that back and forth and hoping that develops throughout the season. I told them that, ‘I think you’re really going to start to reach your peak at the beginning of October. But I was very, very proud of all the girls.

“Mahayla McCroskey is our senior, but she had a really great game passing in the back row. Our setters always work hard and Rachel Simon and Ally Franko in the front row… They’re sophomores and they’re fantastic.”

McCroskey tallied 17 digs for Wheeling Park while Simon compiled 18 kills, four blocks and 27 digs. Franko was also solid with 10 kills and three blocks while Corrine Lloyd secured 25 assists to go along with Anya Ritz’s 22 assists.

John Marshall was able to take the first set with a solid comeback. Down 17-14, the Monarchs racked up 11 of the final 16 points to get the first win of the night, 25-22.

“That’s what we expected anytime we play Park,” John Marshall coach Cathleen Harr said. “We know it’s going to be a good one and close. It’s a good rivalry.”

With Park taking the next two sets, the Monarchs found them in a win or go home scenario going into the fourth. Down 10-8, John Marshall scored the next five points to take a lead that they would not relinquish, which set up the pivotal fifth set.

“The big thing are my sophomores playing,” Harr said. “I think they should have gained confidence playing even though we lost. I think they played well and they should have gained confidence. Also, I think our upperclassmen could also gain confidence of their teammates. I think it will help them gel.”

Emily Harr tallied 13 digs and 20 kills for the Monarchs while Knutsen had 41 digs. Tahya Stewart had a solid 11 kills, Avery Knutsen had 15 digs, Taylor Gray had 17 digs, Allyson South secured 10 digs and Emily Griffith compiled 14 digs and three kills.

Oak Glen d. Steubenville Catholic

25-13, 25-15, 25-11

NEW MANCHESTER — Graci Tice recorded 17 points with one ace, five spikes and three kills as Oak Glen swept Steubenville Catholic.

Alayna Kranis scored 10 points with four aces, three spikes, five kills and two digs. Jadyn Smith added six points, one ace, 10 spikes, three kills, one block and one dig.

Theresa Bahen paced the Crusaders with 13 points, two kills and four aces. Sydney Bennington added seven points, five digs, three blocks and one kill.

Magnolia d. Monroe Central 25-18, 25-21

Magnolia d. Wheeling Central 25-18, 25-17

WHEELING — Magnolia secured a pair of victories over Monroe Central and Wheeling Central. Mady Winters compiled 11 points, 13 aces, 19 digs, 10 kills and three blocks for the Blue Eagles.

Kyndra Pilant stuffed the stat sheet with 25 kills, 32 digs, nine points and three blocks while Lenecia Grimm had 38 assists, 11 points and six digs. Kayna Anderson tallied 41 digs.

Brooke d. Weir 25-16, 25-14, 25-8

WEIRTON — Courtney Engle had 20 digs, 10 kills, four blocks and three aces as Brooke defeated Weir in straight sets. Landyn Haynes had a pair of aces for the Bruins to go along with 10 kills and 13 digs. Rachel Kazmirski had 18 digs while Chloe Fox had five aces to go with 20 assists.

For the Red Riders, Gia Fuscardo five blocks, two aces and two digs. Sophia Mikula had four blocks and three digs.

Barnesville d. Harrison Cetnral 25-17, 25-22, 25-20

BARNESVILLE — Mindi Wehr had 16 points, 10 kills, seven digs and five blocks for Barnesville as it defeated Harrison Central. Mya McEndree was credited with 17 assists, 10 points and eight digs. Lindsay Burkhart had 11 points and 13 digs and Savanna Finnical had 10 assists for the Shamrocks.

For the Huskies, Katie Crothers and Allie Heavilin scored nine and eight points, respectively, for the Huskies. Lexi Ferguson dished out 20 assists and Kobey Johnson had seven digs.

St. Clairsville d. Edison 25-20, 25-11, 25-12

RICHMOND — Sydney Porter had 14 assists and five kills as St. Clairsville swept Edison.

Alex Binger added seven kills for the Red Devils, while Paige Sefsick had seven digs and six kills. Kenzie Schoolcraft had six kills.

Gracie Phillips had 4 assists and 3 digs for the Wildcas while Mikayla Petrisko tallied four digs. Kayla Wood secured four kills.

River d. Bellaire 25-10, 25-23, 25-21

HANNIBAL — Macey Ladyga recorded 13 points and four aces as River downed Bellaire.

Lauren Flannery added 10 points and nine kills for the Pilots, while Allison Bennett and Candace Caldwell each scored six points.

Michaela Flaherty had six points, six digs and five blocks for the Big Reds. Jenna Miller had six digs, while Natalie Stoner collected five points and six digs. Addie Conroy had nine points, six kills and five aces, while Haleigh LaMotte had eight assists.

Charleston Civic Center Showcase

Tyler Consolidated d. Ripley

22-25, 25-21, 25-9

Tyler Consolidated d. Huntington

25-12, 28-26

CHARLESTON — Josey Jones continued her solid season, leading Tyler Consolidated to two victories.

In a victory against Ripley, Jones had 15 kills, 1 block, 21 digs, nine points, 36 assists, two digs and 11 points. Cora Grimm chipped in with 12 digs and eight points, while Payton Kocher added 12 digs and three points.

The Silver Knights (11-3) then defeated Huntington behind Jones’ six kills, two blocks and 12 digs. JoLee Walton dished out 22 assists with nine points, four digs anda block. Kocher added 10 digs and 12 points.

COLLEGE

Volleyball

West Liberty Women Rally Past Notre Dame

SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio — West Liberty remained unbeaten in Mountain East Conference play with a 3-2 win against upset-minded Notre Dame at Murphy Gymnasium.

Coach Kayla Mull’s Hilltoppers (12-3, 3-0) were on the comeback trail from the start as the host Falcons (6-8, 0-1) opened the match with a 25-18 win in the first set. West Liberty evened the match with a 25-19 verdict in the second set but the hosts put WLU on upset alert with a dominant 25-14 blowout in the third set.

The Hilltoppers trailed for much of the fourth set but reeled off four straight points to rally from a 23-21 deficit and force a fifth and deciding set. The Falcons jumped out to another early lead but West Liberty refused to fold and walked out a winner with a 15-11 nod.

It took a balanced attack for the Hilltoppers to break through against the defensive-minded hosts, who were charted with 14 blocks on the night. Stephanie Leonard, Raimey Benson and Madison Clayton had 10 kills each for WLU with Leonard also collecting a team-high six blocks.

Freshman Abbi Gillson added 9 kills while Kendall Souder posted a double-double with 27 assists and 13 digs. Renee Lemke just missed a double-double with 16 assists and eight digs while Kailee Cunningham led all players with 26 digs.

No. 19 Wheeling Jesuit claims sweep at IUP, 3-0

INDIANA, Pa. — Wheeling Jesuit cruised to a 3-0 sweep (25-17, 25-8, 25-15) at Indiana (Pa.) in a non-conference match.

Recently crowned Mountain East Conference (MEC) Player of the Week Cassie Meyer led WJU with 11 kills and added eight digs in the win. Junior setter Stephanie Sylvester tossed around 35 assists, while sophomore Audrey Francis finished with a match-best 22 digs to pace the defense.

NEWSLETTER

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