Derrick Webb, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
LOGAN — Late-game comeback complete. Final Four ticket punched.
Adena is back.
After a three-year absence from the big dance, the Warriors are heading back to Dayton following a four-set 25-21, 23-25, 25-22, 25-20 victory over Wheelersburg in a Division V regional final — the program’s 11th trip to the Final 4.
“I’m just so, so proud,” Adena coach Laura Smith said. “I’m just so pleased and happy for these girls. If anyone deserves this, it’s them. Seriously. I’ve had other groups make it [to state] and they deserved it. But these girls … it’s different. It’s hard to explain. They’re all good kids and they pick each other up constantly.”
CREDIT: Derrick Webb/SOSA
All night long, senior Corinne Day had her way at the net. The Pirates may see her in their nightmares after she dropped 29 kills and four blocks.
“She’s invested. She cares about every one of her teammates,” Smith said of Day. “She pays attention to what’s going on when she’s [on the bench] and watching. She listens to her back row people and where they feel like she has a hole to hit in and she’s constantly talking to her setter. She knows what she wants to do and she remembers where she’s gotten kills before. She just keeps going after it.”
In a five-set match that had everything, Day left her fingerprints all over the first set.
Adena’s all-district middle consistently found holes in Wheelersburg’s defense, helping the Warriors (24-3) grab leads of 11-9 and 14-10.
PHOTOS: Images from Adena’s regional title win over Wheelersburg
Burns then took over, willing the Warriors to an 18-15 lead late. She then handed the torch back to Day, who powered down three consecutive kills for a 21-17 score before later polishing off a 25-21 victory.
In the second, the Pirates (24-3) used a 5-0 run to force an 8-8 tie. Alyssa Mullins led that run and then turned to Gracie Perkins and Ella Chamberlin, at the service line, who combined to power a second 5-0 run, putting ‘Burg ahead 17-11.
Adena scratched its way back into things, cutting the deficit to 20-18 before, eventually, taking a 23-22 lead on a kill from Day.
But the Pirates wouldn’t be denied. They scored three straight points — a burst that ended with a kill from Perkins — to force a 1-1 tie in the match.
After Wheelersburg took a 3-0 lead in the third, the two pulled even at 7-7. Adena then took an 11-9 lead on back-to-back aces from Kimmy Dalton, but the Pirates went back in front at 15-14, thanks to a kill from Walker.
The Warriors jabbed back, taking a 17-16 lead, which was later extended to 21-19. That two-point cushion stood at 23-21 and was enough to hold off ‘Burg by a 25-22 tally.
Mullins paced the Pirates to a 6-2 lead in the fourth and Adena, led by Burns, forced a 6-6 deadlock. After a 5-1 burst gave Wheelersburg an 11-7 lead, the Pirates later went ahead 18-14, thanks to back-to-back kills from Mullins and another from Walker.
It was far from finished, though.
The Warriors stormed back to tie it at 18-18 and took a 20-19 lead before ending on a 5-1 run behind Day, sealing the win and bringing the regional plaque back to Frankfort.
Statistically, following Day’s numbers, Burns added 21 kills, 10 digs and four blocks while Kimmy Dalton anchored the defense with a game-high 32 digs. Jacey Smith added 19 digs, Kamryn Sowers had nine, and Kayla Grooms finished with eight.
“Our blockers slowed things down on occasion and that really helped things,” Smith said. “[Wheelersburg] was going after our non-primary passers and trying to get Jacey [Smith] shaking in her shoes. She was for a little bit. That’s the biggest lesson she took tonight. I’m just glad she learned that. She’s never had to take that many passes. But she adjusted well and learned tonight.”
As for Wheelersburg, Perkins ended the day with a team-high 19 kills while Mullins added nine of her own alongside 11 digs. Mylee Gleim led the Pirates’ defense with 22 digs, Grace Woodward chipped in with six kills and 21 digs, and Chamberlin had 16 digs.
Adena advances to a Division V state semifinal at 6 p.m. on Thursday at Wright State’s Nutter Center against Mentor Lake Catholic, who defeated Elyria Catholic to advance.
“The atmosphere there is different. The crowd is kind of removed from you and the benches are far away from the court,” Smith said. “There’s all kind of room. But you just have to take it like it’s another match. It’s just with high stakes.”
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