Photo by Andrew Grimm Weir High’s Marissa Mascio (11) goes up to attempt a kill past Big Red’s Tori Mitchell, right, during Thursday’s match inside the Crimson Center.

STEUBENVILLE — With it being senior night inside the Crimson Center, Weir High came into Thursday night knowing Steubenville was going to come out with a lot of energy.

The hosts did, taking the first set, but the Red Riders were able to respond and take the last three for an 18-25, 25-13, 25-14, 25-17 victory.

“We responded after the first set,” Weir High head coach Fran Capaldi said. “I did have a little bit of a moment of ‘oh no, this is not how we wanted to start,’ because we talked started well, we watched film, looked at matchups .. I’m so happy we came out in the second set and kept pushing forward. We never looked back from there.

“The message between the first and second sets was that we came here to play. We switched some things up, changed the lineup a little bit. We reminded the girls we came here to play, we came here to make a statement. Our season has been about showing that Weir High volleyball is on the map and we’re not a team anyone can look past.”

The victory on the road was a big difference from the first meeting, a Big Red sweep earlier this season in Weirton.

“It’s a huge confidence booster for us to come in here and beat them after they beat us 3-0 at our place,” Capaldi said. “Every team we play the second time that we lost too, we hope to compete better against and beat them.”

The difference this time, Capaldi thought, was being able to put sets away.

“That is something against good, quality teams we haven’t been able to do enough,” Capaldi said. “Big Red is a good team, so it’s big for us to be able to finish against them.”

On the Big Red side, the momentum from the fast start quickly wore off as the visitors found their groove.

“We came out with a lot of energy in the first set, then it kind of dwindled,” Steubenville head coach Logan Colabella said.

While Weir (9-13) was able to finish, for Big Red (5-14), not being able to was equally a factor.

“It all goes back to finishing, we just couldn’t finish,” Colabella said. “We put up a good fight (in the fourth set) but we didn’t finish. We make mistakes and we just can’t come back from them like we need to. We’ve got to practice it better, I’ve got to make sure we are practicing it better. It’s stuff we have to improve on.

“Some of it is confidence, I think sometimes they’re not as trusting in themselves as they should be. They’re talented, they should have all the confidence in the world, but they don’t right now.”

Despite the loss it was still an important night for Steubenville as it celebrated its three seniors, Mea Lulla, Janyah Withers and Tori Mitchell.

“They have all the heart you could ask for and give it their all,” Colabella said of the trio. “There is not a ball that Mea Lulla doesn’t dive for, I mean I couldn’t tell you how many times I didn’t think she was going to get up and she popped up and went after another one. She gives it her all.

“Tori and Janyah are the same way, they give it their all, they always do.”

For the Red Riders, Brayley Lash recorded eight kills and six blocks, Mea Kaufman recorded 23 assists, seven digs, two blocks, three kills and an ace, Janai Turner tallied 18 digs, two assists, three kills and an ace, Maleea Faulks racked up six kills and six blocks and Marissa Mascio finished with six kills, two aces and five digs.

Big Red’s efforts were led by Tejah Montgomery with 12 kills, two aces and five digs, Analesa Perdue with 10 kills and five blocks, Carmen Nocera with 23 assists and four digs, Lulla with 11 digs and Mitchell with four kills and eight blocks.

Weir waits to see how the OVAC standings shake out to find out who its next opponent will be.

Big Red hosts Indian Creek on Monday.