Tyler Harris, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WHEELERSBURG — If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
For quite some time now, Wheelersburg has had a recipe for success in place — teamwork, maturity and leadership.
The Pirates (22-1) went back to the cookbook on Thursday, using that same list of ingredients to sweep Coal Grove in a Division III sectional final by a 25-10, 25-8, 25-20 final.
“The senior leadership that I have, they have a lot of experience and when it’s time to turn it up, they can turn it up,” Wheelersburg coach Allen Perry said after the win.
The Pirates cruised in sets one and two, outsourcing their opponents by a combined score of 50-17.
With very little resistance, it looked like they’d make quick work of the Hornets in the third as well. But that was not the case.
It’s tournament time and the Pirates were expecting to face adversity at any given moment.
It was a balanced team attack early on that helped ‘Burg take the first two sets, with five different players recording a kill. Senior Lexie Rucker led the way through the first set with five kills alone. The second would be spearheaded by the tandem of Madie Mays and Gracie Perkins, who used their height to find holes in the Hornets’ defense.
“We work on that [balance] all year round,” Perry said. “We have a great coaching staff and we really push that balance through our individual instructions, and we rep those things all the time. But our athletes make it easier.”
When Perry’s group needed experience to get through a rough patch in the third, Mays and Makenna Walker stepped up when the Pirates needed them to the most.
After finishing the first two sets in just 30 minutes, Coal Grove was not about to roll over. The Hornets came out with some extra juice for the third set, taking a 10-9 lead early on.
Wheelersburg then responded with two quick points via an ace and kill, forcing a Coal Grove timeout.
The Hornets would hang around the whole way, staying within four points, but the bevy of experience for the Pirates proved to be too much to handle. When it needed to, Wheelersburg turned its five seniors and made sure to put the game away.
The victory was sealed with strong, consistent net play to finally close out the third, following a block and big-time kill from Mays, something Perry said has been a major focus over the last few weeks.
“We really started pushing our net play two or three weeks ago,” coach Perry reiterated. “We are throwing up some different blocks and we have really come a long way, especially Gracie Perkins who has gotten stronger and is blocking a lot stronger now.”
The Pirates were led by Mays, who had 12 kills and two blocks, while Rucker followed with 11 kills. Perkins chipped in with eight kills while Madison Whittaker tallied six assists, five kills and three aces. Kiera Kennard led the team defensively with 14 digs.
Coal Grove’s Gracie Damron racked up nine kills and two blocks, and Kelsey Fraley set up her teammates with 13 assists. Olivia Kingery and Kenadee Keaton each recorded seven digs.
While the Hornets’ season comes to an end, Wheelersburg advances to a Division III district semifinal against Northwest — a team they’ve beaten twice this season in Southern Ohio Conference play.
That matchup will take place at 6 p.m., Tuesday at Valley.
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