Photo by Andrew Grimm Weir High’s Mea Kaufman goes up to hit the ball while Madonna’s Gianna Bonar tries to block during Tuesday’s match.

WEIRTON — Coming into Tuesday, the Weir High volleyball team had been struggling to stop momentum swings from taking them out of their game.

Coach Fran Capaldi’s Red Riders took what she hopes is a big step in learning how to deal with those key moments in matches Tuesday, and did so in a hostile environment on the road at city rival Madonna to take a 3-0 sweep of the host Blue Dons.

“It feels pretty good to get this win,” Capaldi said. “We have been in a little bit of a slump, so it’s good to get out of that and we always like coming here and playing. It gets our girls fired up. This can be a turning point for us.”

Weir High (3-7) prevailed, 25-14, 25-17, 25-19, but led the second and third sets by just a point or two at multiple points and were able to fend off Madonna (3-3) when it seemed the momentum might be on the verge of shifting.

“There were a couple points where the momentum could have shifted, and that has really what has been holding us down the past few games is points that turn the momentum,” Capaldi said. “I’m happy to see that we were able to push through and ultimately win those sets and the game.

“We always know coming in here that it’s going to be a big game and and a big crowd, so it boosts our confidence to see we can come into an atmosphere like this and get a win.”

Madonna, for its part, seemed to get stronger as the match went on, something that had coach Mike Orecchio optimistic after, but just could not find a way to get a lead and keep the match going.

“We’re scrappy – we’re young and we’re small, but we’re scrappy,” Orecchio said. “We’re going to be alright. We have a lot of season left, and the OVACs and the tournament are what matters most. We’re going to see (Weir) again and we’ll be ready.

“We got better as we went. Nerves kind of set in early and I think that was one of the factors in the early sets.”

For the Red Riders, Maleea Faulks had four aces, six kills, two digs and a block, Brayley Lash had six kills, an ace and two blocks, Mea Kaufman dished seven assists, two digs, two aces and a kill and Kylie Dean had nine aces and seven assists.

“They all hustled and they all did their jobs,” Capaldi said.

Stats were not available for Madonna.

Weir High returns home to host Toronto tonight. Madonna is home again on Thursday hosting Linsly.

Shamrocks Win Again

HANNIBAL — Barnesville made it nine wins in 11 starts on Tuesday, sweeping River by scores of 25-10, 25-14 and 25-10.

The Shamrocks were led by Halle Markovich’s 18 kills, nine digs, 10 points and two aces, while Ava McFarland added nine points, 31 assists and seven digs. Kynlie Cline had nine points, 17 digs and three aces. Blayne Carpenter posted five digs, while Ellie Thompson had three aces and threekills. Jalyn Skinner netted 10 digs.

Tyler def. Parkersburg Catholic

PARKERSBURG — The Silver Knights improved to 8-2 with a sweep of Parkersburg Catholic by scores of 25-18, 25-20 and 29-27.

Braeden Wall recorded 11 kills with three digs and two blocks. Caitlyn Northcraft had 25 assists to go with 19 points, 10 aces and seven digs.

Monroe Central sweeps Shadyside

WOODSFIELD — The homestanding Seminoles rolled to a sweep of the Tigers by scores of 25-18, 25-8 and 25-11.

Monroe Central (6-1) was led by Kynzi Bishop’s nine kills and three blocks. Jacey English added eight kills, while Abby Thompson posted five kills, three blocks. Madison Croft had nine digs, while Kyra English passed out 14 assists and Olivia Valcovic had 10 assists and three aces.

The Tigers were led by senior standout Gentry Brown’s eight kills, two aces and five digs. Bayleigh Harman had eight assists, while Janelle Greenwood netted four digs.

Martins Ferry sweeps Bridgeport

BRIDGEPORT — Martins Ferry posted a repeat sweep of the Bulldogs by scores of 25-19, 25-15 and 25-20.

The Purple Riders were led by Sydney Koller’s 14 digs, 17 kills and six points. Lindsey Best posted 16 digs, five kills, three aces and nine points. Hannah Meeker was charted for 26 assists, five digs and two kills. Kelsi Gillespie had six digs, four aces and 14 points. Jordan Hughes was charted for eight points and two aces.

Wood Co. Christian sweeps St. John

BELLAIRE — Wood Co. Christian swept the Irish in three sets by scores of 25-5, 25-16 and 25-6.

The Irish were led by Gianna Metz’s 15 digs. Hannah Grady had 21 sets and three digs, while Addison Kovach had eight digs.