John Marshall Loses First Set, But Rallies Past Wheeling Park

Monarchs Avenge Earlier Loss To Rival Patriots In Four Sets

MOUNDSVILLE - With the cut-off date for the OVAC Volleyball Tournament looming at the end of the week, John Marshall needed a win Tuesday night and some help in order to make the Class 4A top four.

The Monarchs (19-13) did their part with a come-from-behind victory over visiting Wheeling Park in four sets. After dropping the elongated first set, which was tied 11 times and had a dozen lead changes, 23-25, John Marshall rattled off 25-18, 25-22 and 25-10 victories on Senior Night.

"After losing the first set, I told them to just bounce back. We play as a team," John Marshall head coach Chelsea Eikleberry. "I told them to be aggressive at the net, that's when we're at our best. They did a great job of that."

This was the nine seniors final regular-season game inside the Monarch Fieldhouse, and Eikleberry had tears in her eyes after talking to her team in the locker room.

"I told the girls I wasn't going to get too sad tonight because we've got a lot of volleyball left," she noted. "Nine seniors is obviously a lot of girls. They've been playing together for 6 to 8 years. Not only are they great athletes, they are great students in the classroom. I've been blessed with this group and I can't wait to see what we can do in the rest of the season.

"We're still trying to get into the OVAC Tournament. We were fifth coming into tonight and those standings are final on Thursday," she added. "If we don't make it, we'll work towards getting down to Charleston and the state tournament again."

The top four teams in each of the five classes (1A, 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A) qualify for semifinal action. John Marshall trailed Steubenville by less than 5 points entering last night's action. Big Red lost in four sets at Beaver Local on Tuesday, so the Monarchs now play the waiting game.

The win allowed the Monarchs to avenge a loss in five sets to the Patriots back on Sept. 8 inside the 'Palace on the Hill.'

Wheeling Park (9-18-1) snapped a 19-all stalemate in the first set by reeling off four of the next five points for a 23-20 advantage. However, John Marshall scored three of the next four to pull to within 24-23, but following a timeout by the Patriots, a return volley by the Monarchs was long.

John Marshall evened things by dominating the second set. It broke the lone tie at 1 with an early surge in building a 10-4 margin. The Monarchs would hold a 5-point lead throughout much of the set before pulling away late.

In the pivotal third set, the two rivals were deadlocked at 18, 19, 20 and 21 before John Marshall scored four of the final five points as Ella Finley had the set-clinching kill.

The teams went back-and-forth to start the fourth set before the Monarchs broke away from a 5-all knotting to score 10 straight points with Gianna Polsinelli at the service line. Junior Paislee Babiczuk and sophomore Cassidy Blake combined for six kills in the rally that the Patriots could not recover from.

"We got stuck in the serve-receive position a few times and couldn't get out of it," Wheeling Park head coach Samantha Gentle said of the difference between the first set and the final three. "I was happy with how resilient my girls were ... they fought until the end. There were times when we just couldn't get out of the serve-receive and that was our downfall."

Isla Urbanek led John Marshall with 10 kills, one more than Finley. Sarah Hess charted 36 assists.

Morgan Zoladz and Italy Schroeder each finished with eight kills to lead Wheeling Park. Olivia Hengler added 18 assists and Andrew Lowe had 19 digs.

The Patriots host Marietta and Weir in a tri match on Thursday, which is Senior Night. The Monarchs aren't scheduled to play again until Oct. 20 at East Fairmont and Grafton in a tri match.