Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WELLSTON — Back in the 2018 tournament, South Webster was a No. 7 seed in Division III and suffered a first-round sectional loss to No. 10 Piketon.
Since that loss, the Jeeps have turned themselves into one of the most successful and feared programs in Southeast Ohio.
They haven’t lost a sectional or a district game in the past five years.
And after Saturday, that streak has been pushed to six years. South Webster captured its sixth consecutive district championship with a straight set — 25-19, 25-22, 25-13 — victory over Southeastern.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
“These kids have grown up watching players like Mariah Sullivan, Haley Potters and Brooklyn Scott from years ago, and they fell in love with the competition,” South Webster coach Darcee Claxon said. “They grew up around success and seeing the kids they wanted to emulate, but also saw the level of hard work it takes to reach this level. These girls have watched for the last five years the amount of work it takes to be at the top. They’ve all bought into the program and have that desire to want to be great.”
Year after year, Claxon has wondered if it was the year the Jeeps would take a step back — not because of the lack of talent, but because of the work it takes to have the type of success they’ve become accustomed to.
If Saturday showcased anything, it’s that the dropoff isn’t happening anytime soon.
“Not every group wants to put the work in to be great because it is a lot. And I’m very demanding as a coach, which also isn’t easy to deal with if I’m being honest and I drive myself crazy at times,” Claxon said, with a laugh. “But at the same point, the girls embrace the challenge. We lose big players every year, yet I never ask the girls to be those players. I asked them to just fill a role and be their best selves. That’s how we find our success.”
SW’s Mia Crum and SE’s Kylee Dunn each had three early kills in the first set, but the Panthers committed back-to-back errors that put the Jeeps ahead 14-10. The Panthers narrowed the deficit to 17-16 after two aces from Jozy Lougheed, but that was as as they got.
PHOTOS: Images from South Webster’s district title win over Southeastern
Makayla Raynard became a force at the net with four kills down the stretch, Addi Claxon ripped back-to-back aces, and Raynard powered the final kill for a first set win.
“We knew coming in that we can’t just send free balls over the net because Southeastern will smash them down,” Raynard said. “Tipping the ball wasn’t an option. We had to swing hard and make them go out of system. They have great hitters on their team, so we had to limit their chances from our side by swinging and serving more aggressively.”
Southeastern (16-9) jumped ahead early in the second, but the Jeeps (21-2) took a 7-6 lead after Addi Claxon pushed a ball to the deep corner. Brea Shupert had three kills and Kerija Sauliete later ripped a kill for a 17-10 lead.
“Our bread and butter has been our defense all year long, and it all starts with our serving,” Claxon said. “We’re a scrappy team that doesn’t let balls hit the floor, although there were some times that I lit the girls up because we were letting too many fall. That’s been a big thing for us since it keeps us in our system and allows us to execute.”
However, the Panthers fought back behind multiple Jeep errors, alongside a pair of kills from Dunn to cut SW’s lead to 21-19. But Crum powered three kills and the Panthers committed an unforced error to end the set.
Determined to not go to a fourth set, Raynard served up a pair of aces, sandwiched between a kill from Crum, to take an early 5-1 lead. That advantage only continued to grow as Sauliete had a pair of kills to go up 11-6 before the Jeeps turned on the burners with a 9-1 run that sealed the deal, punching their Sweet 16 tickets.
“Kerija has been amazing and has improved so much throughout the season,” Shupert said of her teammate. “We had no idea who she was at first, since she’s a foreign exchange student, and she’s played beach volleyball. So we were interested to see how she’d adjust to everything. But she’s picked the game and all the changes up so well.”
While Southeastern’s season comes to an end, South Webster advances to a Division VI regional semifinal at 8 p.m. on Thursday at Heath High School against Sugarcreek Garaway.
“We have so much community support, and it really helps us excel knowing they’re behind us all the way,” Shupert said. “We know we have the skills and the talent to go as far as making state. That’s the goal, and we’ll use that as fuel knowing we’re two games away to help us get there.”
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