photo by: Kim North

Martins Ferry’s Giana Chirpas (4) guides the ball over the net past the defense of Buckeye Local’s Danika Bauknecht (6) during Tuesday night’s match inside Tolbert Gymnasium high atop the Purple City. The Purple Riders ran their winning streak to five straight with a 25-7, 25-16 and 25-13 sweep of the Panthers.

MARTINS FERRY – Starting the season without its starting six due to injuries, Martins Ferry lost its first two high school volleyball matches. However, ever since the Purple Riders have been at full strength, they’ve been unbeatable.

Tuesday night inside Tolbert Gymnasium high atop the Purple City, Martins Ferry (5-2) swept past visiting Buckeye Local (0-6) by scores of 25-7, 25-16 and 25-13 for their fifth consecutive triumph.

The difference … being healthy.

“We started the season with injuries, so my normal starting six – which I am using now – weren’t playing, but that’s not to be used as an excuse because the bench has to be ready to come in at all times,” Martins Ferry head coach Jaela Thoburn said. “I think it was a combination of things. We weren’t expecting those injuries, and they caught up with us.”

Since those losses to Cambridge and St. Clairsville to begin the campaign, the Purple Riders have been rolling through the opposition. Tuesday night was no different.

“In matches like this, you want to keep the momentum up, but we also want to work on things that we can’t work on in practice because you don’t have the same competition,” Thoburn continued. “That’s what we used tonight for, to get ready for Thursday because that’s a big match for us.”

Martins Ferry hosts Wheeling Central in a tripleheader on Thursday, with the freshman teams starting things off at 4:30 p.m.

The Purple Riders led the first game 4-3 before going on a 9-0 run for a 13-4 margin they never relinquished.

In the second set, Martins Ferry broke open a 10-9 game with seven straight points and were never threatened. It led 23-12 before the Panthers scored four in a row.

The Purple Riders roared to a 10-2 lead in the third set and breezed to the sweep in a little more than an hour.

“That’s been the case so far this season,” Buckeye Local head coach Abbey Wilson said. “We like to dig ourselves a hole to try and get out of, but it’s not working our way. Martins Ferry is a solid team. They’ve got hitters all around the court.”

Giana Chirpas led the way with a dozen kills, five service aces and a pair of blocks. Maddie Lucas added half-a-dozen kills and a trio of aces, while SJ Koller charted 10 digs and four aces. Olivia Harkness finished with 22 assists and three aces.

Jenna Delvecchio paced Buckeye Local with four kills and two blocks. Karlie Glover registered eight digs and Sammi Westfall notched four assists.