Photo by Seth Staskey Wheeling Central’s Delany O’Connell (19) and Ashn Knight (28) attempt to block a shot at the net against Barnesville Monday.

BARNESVILLE — Barnesville wasted no time Monday evening in setting the tone for its volleyball game with Wheeling Central.

The Shamrocks scored the first eight points of the match and went on to win the opening set 25-11 and really never looked back from there, winning the second and third sets by identical 25-21 scores en route to the sweep.

“This (win) is one the girls have wanted for a long time,” Barnesville head coach Kimberly Jarrett said. “We had never beaten Wheeling Central during my career here and we just came out on fire, ready to go and set the tempo.”

Indeed.

It looked as if Wheeling Central didn’t know what had hit it early in the match. Knights head coach Kara Conners simply couldn’t figure it out.

“For some reason, we were collectively having a rough night,” Conners said. “I am not sure what happened. We knew they were a good team with good players and I think it might have gotten into our heads a little bit.”

The Maroon Knights competed much better in the second and third sets.

They actually held leads in the middle portion of each set, which was never played outside of more than a five-point window throughout.

However, each time the Shamrocks needed a play they got one and it usually came from a member of their front row, which provided stellar play throughout.

“We’ve really been working on our blocking, block coverage and I thought our net play showed that,” Jarrett explained. “We were really, strong at the net with a lot of touches. The girls were really on a mission.”

If it wasn’t the Shamrocks’ front row providing a block or a kill, Central thwarted its own momentum at times with a bevy of unforced errors.

“You win some and you lose some,” Conners said. “A bad night doesn’t mean bad team. We had a rough night.”

Jarrett wasn’t at all surprised that the Maroon Knights put forth a much better showing in the latter two sets.

“Teams are going to score on us and that’s a great team that’s going to have a great season,” Jarrett explained. “Our goal is to not allow them to score many and regain the momentum. I thought we did a good job of maintaining our composure.”

Halle Markovich was one of the key contributors for the Shamrocks at the net with 17 kills and eight blocks. She also had four digs and two aces.

Ava McFarland posted 27 assists and 10 digs. Kynlie Cline added 22 digs, while Ellie Thompson had 16 points and an ace.

The Maroon Knights were led on the stat sheet by Nicole Reasbeck’s 13 kills and 13 digs. Kamy Conners added 13 kills and nine digs. Alexis Hood was charted for 14 assists and six digs, while Gabby Leadbitter posted 14 digs.

Linsly downs Weir

WEIRTON — The Cadets picked up a sweep at Weir Monday by scores of 25-9, 25-19 and 25-16.

Avery Sadlowski led Linsly with 12 kills while Rumer Beaze had eight. Ava Gainer dished out 40 assists to go with eight kills and three aces.

Magnolia sweeps tri

NEW MARTINSVILLE — The Blue Eagles had a couple of wins at home Monday, defeating Cameron (25-16, 25-9) and Hundred (25-8, 25-10).

Jenna Blain had 14 total kills on the night with eight digs. Jessa Anderson racked up six kills and Delaine Postteweit had five.

Sydney Knight was credited with 40 assists and 22 points.Jayden Littman had five kills and a block.

Red Devils top Big Reds

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The host Red Devils picked up another win Monday evening, needing four sets to topple Bellaire by scores of 22-25, 25-21, 25-22 and 25-15.

The Devils were led by Brooke Biancarelli’s seven kills, 18 digs, four aces and two assists. Ella Carpenter had 10 kills, while Rachel Finnical posted 27 assists, six kills, 11 digs and five aces.

The Big Reds were led by Gianna Schmidt’s 14 kills, 18 digs, two aces and two blocks. Zara Harveth had 10 kills, 19 digs and three blocks. Sidney Rowson had 19 digs and four kills, while Ava Marinacci added 11 digs, 12 assists and three aces. Gracelyn Maupin posted 12 assists and two aces. Lexi Morgan was charted for nine digs and Brooklyn Zoner posted seven digs, four kills and two blocks.

Bridgeport trips Paden City

BRIDGEPORT — The Bulldogs battled back from a set down to knock off invading Paden City Monday evening by scores of 17-25, 25-20, 25-21 and 25-17.

Campbell Kropka had 11 points, four kills and seven digs. Ashlynn Allen netted 10 points, five aces, three kills, four digs and a block. Markiee McCormick, Kaylee Bain and Erica Marling each had nine points and four aces. McCormick had 15 assists, while Bain posted six digs and Marling added five kills. Josalyn Canter netted six points, six kills and five digs.

Union Local sweeps Cambridge

MORRISTOWN — The Jets completed the season sweep of the Bobcats and improved to 12-0 with a 25-16, 25-12 and 25-11 victory on Monday.

Senior dandy Torre Kildow had 25 kills to fuel the winners. She also notched 11 digs. Julie Broussard posted 17 kills, while Kelly Gress had 27 assists and 12 digs. Emma Yager netted nine kills, while Emily Kellaway had eight.

Gress recorded her 1,000th career assist in the third set.

Martins Ferry downs Harrison Central

MARTINS FERRY — The Purple Riders needed four sets, but pulled out the victory against the Huskies on Monday.

Sydney Koller had three aces, nine points, 16 digs and 18 kills. Lindsey Best posted eight points, two aces, 16 digs and six kills. Hannah Meeker recorded eight digs, 33 assists and three blocks. Kelsi Gillespie posted 11 points, six digs and four aces.

The Huskies were led by Trista Thompson’s 10 kills. Julia Doty posted 22 assists, while Maddy Butler had 27 digs and Nadia Tweedy posted three blocks.

Monroe Central sweeps River

WOODSFIELD – The Seminoles put forth an impressive effort in toppling the Pilots by scores of 25-12, 25-7 and 25-16.

The Seminoles were led by Abby Thompson’s 10 kills and two blocks. Kynzi Bishop had three kills, nine points.Karlie Haslam added 10 points and two aces, while Kyra English posted four aces, 11 assists and Olivia Valkovic added nine assists.

Shenandoah sweeps Buckeye Local

CONNORVILLE — Invading Shenandoah cruised to a sweep of the Panthers by scores of 25-12, 25-10 and 25-16.

Junior standout Mya Leach led the Zeps with 12 kills, 11 digs and 10 assists.

The Panthers were led by Madison Zeroski’s four kills, three blocks and two digs. Brynn McKeever had seven assists and five digs. Shayleigh Hornyak posted three blocks.

Frontier sweeps Beallsville

BEALLSVILLE — The Blue Devils dropped three sets by scores of 25-16, 25-18 and 25-22.

The Devils were led by Kaylee Hagan’s eight kills and seven digs. Kinley Hughes posted nine assists, four digs and two kills. Emily Crooks posted five digs and Grace Perkins posted four blocks.

GOLF

Linsly def. John Marshall

WHEELING — The Cadets and Monarchs got one final practice round in before the OVAC tournaments start with Linsly winning 277-302 at Crispin Monday.

JM’s Ehtna Cook was the match medalist with a 62, but Linsly’ Adam Gill and Jaime Romeral tied for second with 68 each.

Buckeye Local prevails

RAYLAND — The Panthers picked up another dual win, firing a round of 170, which was 21 shots better than Indian Creek.

Indian Creek’s Noah Tweedy was the medalist, firing a round of 39.

Union Local prevails

BEALLSVILLE – The Jets fired a 181, which was three shots better than Barnesville during an event held Monday at Switzerland Golf Course. Also taking part were Martins Ferry (207) and Magnolia (210).

Union Local senior Beezer Porter was the match medalist with a round of 41.