PHOTO CREDIT: Ed Litteral/Portsmouth Daily Times
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WAVERLY — Aside from two regular season losses to South Webster, it’s been a smooth season for the 20-win Wheelersburg Pirates.
Actually, make that the 21-win Pirates.
They had little issue taking care of Chesapeake on Tuesday, rattling off a 25-11, 25-10, 25-13 straight-set victory in a Division III district semifinal.
“The girls came out really focused, handled their business and executed the things they’ve been working on in practice really well,” Wheelersburg coach Allen Perry said. “Coach Kelsey [Glockner] has done a really great job getting them ready for every challenge and we’re certainly looking forward to another one on Saturday.”
The victory marks 13 straight wins for Wheelersburg (21-2), who has also dropped just two sets during that streak.
“After our two losses to South Webster, we knew there was much more work that we had to put in if we wanted to make and win a district title,” Wheelersburg’s Grace Woodward said. “Losing those five seniors from last year, we knew putting in extra work was going to be necessary and we’re all connecting really well on the floor.”
After trailing 5-2 to start, Chesapeake (17-7) rattled off four straight points to take a lead. However, Woodward and company were about to hit their stride.
Woodward powered down three straight kills, Gracie Perkins added two kills of her own, as did Alyssa Mullins, which was all a part of an 11-0 run to provide a double-digit lead before they closed out the set win.
“Once one person gets a big kill or a huge dig to keep the ball, the momentum starts to build for all of us and set the tone,” Perkins said. “It’s hard to shut us down once we feel that energy.”
The hits continued coming as Woodward, Perkins and Laynee Walker dominated at the net to jump the Pirates out to a 10-5 lead in the second. Using their height advantage at the net, that trio, alongside Mullins, continued to power the offense while the defense never felt a serious threat.
The Pirates ended the set on a 20-5 run to put the Panthers on the brink of elimination.
Chesapeake put up a bit more fight to open the third, but Perkins powered down three straight kills to push the Pirates’ lead to 15-10 midway through.
That deficit proved too much for the Panthers to overcome as the Pirates ended the set on a 10-3 run to end the match, punching another set of tickets to a district final.
“We’ve been working really hard on our connections between setters and hitters to better play those free balls we get,” Woodward said. “Having a good relationship outside of volleyball has been really important and we have things set in stone now.”
Woodward led the Pirates statistically with 16 kills, two aces and six digs while Perkins added 12 kills and four blocks. Mullins followed with six kills, Mylee Gleim finished with a team-high 13 digs, Bri Strickland had 10 digs of her own and Ella Chamberlin ended the night with 38 assists.
For Chesapeake, Hannah Webb had four kills and Dakota Cameron added three kills. Abby Isaacs led the defense with 12 digs.
Wheelersburg returns to action in a Division III district final at noon, Saturday back at Waverly High School. They Pirates will meet with Adena, who defeated Westfall to advance.
“We definitely have to work on our serving as well as our serve receive,” Woodward said. “Once we get a good pass, it gets us in our offense and I really think we’re unstoppable when everything clicks.”
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