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LOGAN — What South Webster lacks in height, it more than makes up for with defense, an unmatched level of scrappiness, grit and adaptability.
It was those intangibles that have pushed the Jeeps to a perfect season — one that’s still going.
For the third time in four years, South Webster (26-0) is back in the Elite 8 after it ousted Adena in four sets on Thursday in a Division III regional semifinal — a 26-28, 25-20, 25-11, 25-21 final.
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
“We came out slow and you could tell there were some nerves involved,” South Webster coach Darcee Claxon said. “But like we’ve done all season long, the girls found their rhythm and they just played with a tremendous amount of grit. They have such heart. Adena is a great team and they’re well-coached. But I felt like our girls came in here and they weren’t going to be denied.”
Back and forth action saw Adena (18-8) control the lead in the early going, eventually pushing it to 14-10 following an ace from Brooke Bossert. The Warriors continue to press on, eventually building the lead to 20-12 behind Katie Burns, Brinlee Preston and Eva Kruger.
However, South Webster dug deep and fought back. Point by point, the lead began to dwindle — to 20-16 and 21-18 — until the Jeeps tied the set at 23-23 behind Bella Claxon and Makayla Raynard.
That trend continued as the set was tied at 26-26. That’s when Adena’s Brinlee Preston notched a kill, which was followed by an ace from Kruger, to give the Warriors the first set win.
It marked just the fifth set the Jeeps have lost throughout the entire season, but they weren’t phased.
“More than anything, they were just playing really tense and they were questioning themselves,” Darcee Claxon said. “They know their roles and responsibilities. My back row is really good and they work really hard on pursuit and getting their feet stopped. It was just one of those things where we had to settle in. I felt like we did that.”
Claxon’s crew went right back to work, further understanding the task at hand.
In the second, they ran their offense through Mia Crum at the net, and it showed to be a correct decision. The lefty mixed her swings between power, finesse and tipping at the net, keeping the Jeeps in front at 11-10.
Later tied at 13-13, South Webster started to create distance behind kills from Claxon and Skylar Zimmerman to take a 19-15 advantage. Though the Warriors attempted to power back, the hole was too deep to climb out of as a kill from Maryn Smith gave the Jeeps the second set and tied the match at 1-1.
SW started the third set hot and Zimmerman was a question mark the Warriors had no answer for. She powered down six kills in the early going, helping her team to a 6-0 lead, which later went into double digits at 12-2. The lead never dipped below seven points in the set as the Jeeps took a 2-1 match lead.
That momentum carried over into the fourth as SW darted out to a 9-3 lead early. That lead was still intact late in the game at 20-13 before South Webster put a cap on an Elite 8-clinching win.
“Defensively, the girls were phenomenal,” Darcee Claxon said. “I can’t say enough about all of them just stepping up and filling their roles. We had a game plan and we’ve been working on that all week. They executed it. You can’t ask more of your players than that.”
The Jeeps were led by Bella Claxon with 17 kills while Zimmerman had 14, followed by Raynard’s 10. Crum and Smith also helpoed out with nine kills each.
Adena was led by Burns with 15 kills, while Kruger and Preston each had 10 kills.
While Adena’s season comes to an end, South Webster will now play in a Division III regional final at 3 p.m., Saturday at Logan High School. The Jeeps’ opponent will be Byesville Meadowbrook, who defeated Nelsonville-York in four sets to advance.
“If you’d have told me in June when we started that this is where we were going to be, I’m not sure I’d have believed you,” Darcee Claxon said. “It’s credit to them for buying into this culture, for believing in each other and for putting in the work. This program isn’t for everyone. We have really high expectations. But they show up day in and day out and they’re highly competitive amongst themselves. It doesn’t matter if they’re ahead of behind. They’ll keep battling.”
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