Wood County Christian’s Brooke Arnold (5) celebrates with her teammates during Thursday’s two-set sweep over Valley, Tuesday in Williamstown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

WILLIAMSTOWN – A freshman-ladened Wood County Christian program was introduced to a new brand of volleyball while splitting a pair of matches Thursday night on its home floor.

After sweeping two wins (25-14, 15-19) from Valley, the Wildcats faced a Frontier outfit which threw a constant dose of double blockers and a large assortment of attackers while losing in two straight sets (25-18, 25-17) to the Cougars.

WCCS, which features six freshmen on a nine-player roster, moves to 8-3.

“We had a tough loss last Friday, so I wasn’t sure what to expect today, but the girls came out and were ready,” WCCS coach Sarah Woomer said. “Last time we played Valley, the match was a little closer. So I was pleasantly surprised with that first match.

“Frontier has been solid for a couple of years and honestly we haven’t seen very many double blocks like that. My girls were quick to adjust to the situation. Instead of powering through the block, they were tipping around the block and figuring out where the holes were. Most of the girls are freshmen and haven’t seen that ever.”

Wood County Christian’s Eliza Amos (28) receives a serve from Valley during a high school volleyball match, Tuesday in Williamstown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

WCCS built leads just prior to the midway point in each set against Frontier. In the first set, the Cougars led 12-11, earned a sideout then rattled off six straight points behind the serving of Maddie Smith, who threw an ace into the mix.

The point of the match occurred with Frontier in front 13-11. A lengthy rally was terminated when the Cougars’ leading hitter on the season Kelsey Dye finally recorded her first kill of the match.

Down 19-11, WCCS could not recover and was unable to cut the deficit any fewer than five points.

In the second set, WCCS came out blazing and scored seven of the first eight points on the strength of two aces from Lydia Bazell. Down 5-0, Frontier coach Logan Haught decided to call a quick timeout.

The Wildcats managed to maintain an 11-4 advantage before Frontier struck for 14 of the next 15 points. During that span, Addison Edgar served four points, including one ace, and Bethanie Thompson recorded six points, including two aces.

Frontier’s Kenzie Livingston (10) leads the celebration after a Cougar point during a win over Wood County Christian, Tuesday in Williamstown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Again, Frontier kept WCCS at bay the rest of the way in large part to Willow Smitley, who registered an assist, turned in a tip for a winner and a service point during the span of four points.

Dye added a pair of late kills, but was denied a third when she was called for a carry. From the players on the court to coach Haught, jaws dropped. Dye handled it like a pro as play continued on.

“With the officials, you like to see what you can play – every official calls things differently,” Dye said. “It’s all right, You go on to the next play.”

Smitley hooked up a pair of assists which resulted in a pair of Thompson kills to clinch the match. Dye embraces the contributions from an array of teammates.

“In practice, you got to know how to do everything and work hard – act like you are preparing for the biggest game of your life,” Dye said.

Frontier’s Kelsey Dye (16) makes an attempt to block during a high school volleyball match, Tuesday in Williamstown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

Frontier improves to 6-7 in Haught’s second season with Frontier.

“Honestly, all of our players know how to pass, they know how to set and they know how to hit, so that way it’s an even playing ground,” coach Haught said. “If for some reason someone’s off, someone can go in.”

In the opening match, WCCS and Valley were tied at 9 when the Wildcats reeled off seven straight points thanks to six service points and one ace from Eliza Amos.

Valley never recovered while dropping the first set, but grabbed the early momentum in the second set while building an 11-6 lead. Leading 14-10, service errors came back to haunt Valley and WCCS crept back to take the lead at 18-17. Valley committed 10 service errors for the match.

Amos’ serving again came to the forefront during one juncture where she served four points, including two aces.

Frontier’s Bethanie Thompson (22) eyes a Wood County County hitter during a high school volleyball match, Tuesday in Williamstown. (Photo by Kerry Patrick)

“Eliza is so good at spot serving,” Woomer said. “She knows where to place it and is just so consistent with it.”

As she did throughout the first match, freshman Brooke Arnold made her presence felt as the primary WCCS attacker.

“I love Brooke’s passion that she has for the sport,” Woomer said. “You can tell she wants to get better and wants to win.You can tell when mistakes get to her head a little bit. But she is such a fighter and has such a heart for the sport.

“I just loved seeing her not get intimidated by the seniors she plays against.”

Contact Kerry Patrick at kpatrick@newsandsentinel.com