By Cort Reynolds

Traditional arch-rivals Ada and Upper Scioto Valley met in the Div. IV volleyball sectional finals Thursday night, October 19, in New Bremen.

After two tightly contested 25-23 sets with the Bulldog girls taking the first, the match was tied 1-1. But then Ada forged ahead to win the last two games 25-22, 25-15 and capture the grudge match.

The Bulldogs improved to 13-10 with the hard-fought win.

Ada advances to face top-seeded MAC tri-champion New Bremen (19-4, 8-1 MAC) Tuesday, October 24 at 6 p.m. in Wapakoneta.

Revenge-minded USV ends its season 10-11 after the tough loss.

“It was a great win after a back-and-forth battle,” said Ada head coach Kyleigh Woodruff. “USV had great hustle and scramble plays to keep the ball alive, and fought really hard.

“We had a lot of errors in the first set but continued to fight to earn the win,” she continued. “We had energy and momentum in set four.

“I am proud of the team for accomplishing our beginning of the season goals of having a winning season, and winning a sectional title,” she added.

Ada senior setter Autumn Andreasen dished out 33 assists and mustered 26 digs. She also served four aces. 

Sophomore Anna Conley led the Bulldog offense with 11 kills and four blocks.

Seniors Mariah King and Daicy Robinson hammered nine and six kills, respectively.  

Junior Tess Griffith drilled five kills, hustled up 18 digs and dealt three aces. Freshman Dailah Preston contributed four kills.

Junior libero Jenna Bassitt mustered 32 digs. Defensive junior Alyssa Madison came up with 20 digs.

“It was a complete team effort and all 12 girls helped earn the win,” said Woodruff. “We worked really well together as a team.”