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Ravenswood tops Williamstown in volleyball tri

By Jay W. Bennett 7 min read

RAVENSWOOD – The beat kept going for the Wheeling Central volleyball program of head coach Grace White as the Maroon Knights extended their winning streak to 17 matches here Thursday evening inside the Devilette Athletic Center on military appreciation night after sweeping Ravenswood 25-9, 25-21 and handing Williamstown a 25-13, 25-20 setback.

Chloe Groome led the way for the Maroon Knights in the opening match versus RHS, which knocked off the Yellowjackets 25-14, 26-24, as the setter had four aces, five kills and 14 assists. Jackie Maxwell chipped in two aces and had a match-high 10 kills while teammate Teagan Peters contributed five downed spikes.

Ravenswood, which was the first volleyball team to don the West Virginia Armory National Guard camouflage uniforms, also entered on a 15-match winning streak, but head coach Chris Michael's program fell behind 10-2 in the opening set and couldn't get anything going.

Maddie Slater had consecutive blocks during a rally and followed it up with a kill to square set two at 3-3 early. Marley Cole's kill via one of Bella Ray's eight assists tied things at 10-all after teammate Makenna Creel had previously registered a pair of downed spikes and a block.

Although an Anna Casto service tally tied it at 15 and Ravenswood had it even again at 20 when Creel assisted on a Cole kill, Groome executed a quick set for another Maxwell kill and then followed it up with back-to-back aces.

Williamstown, which slipped to 12-17 and returns to action on Tuesday at Ripley, had their only leads versus Wheeling Central at 1-0 in the opening set and when the 'Jackets scored the first pair of points in set two.

Morgan Miehle led the way for the Maroon Knights, who improved to 22-4 and have a home match Tuesday for an OVAC 3A semifinal, with seven kills while Teagan Peters and Remy Peters chipped in three downed spikes apiece. Groome finished with 14 assists and a quartet of kills while WHS was led by Olivia Buttrey's five kills.

"I mean 17 in a row is great for us and 17 in a row when we're not always playing our best has been nice," admitted White, who got a pair of aces from libero Liv Stephens versus WHS. "Even tonight there were a lot of times where I'm like 'that's not us. That's not our best' and still being able to pull out a win feels good, but I think our mindset is we have to get better and we know what's coming down the road, and that's where our sights are set as nice as 17 in a row is.

"As nice as winning tonight is, there are bigger things on the horizon we're getting ready for. They get the weekend off and we'll go Monday and then into the semis. I think they've had it since last year and with this being my second year they know how things run and how the offense clicks. I think they are more settled this year and I think that shows. They really like each other and they have fun with each other and I think that carries us through a lot more than I think people would give it credit for."

Williamstown was unable to get going in the opening set versus Ravenswood as Creel served for the first seven points, which included a trio of aces. Following a pair of aces by Ariel Curtis, the 'Jackets were doubled up 18-9.

Ravenswood libero Montana Slater used a bump set that led to a Casto kill and a 21-12 cushion as Ray served for the final two points, which included an ace, to finish off the first set.

Although consecutive downed spikes by Casto got RHS going in set two, the 'Jackets of head coach Rachelle Cole got going behind the serving of Jordyn Gains as kills by Kennedy Rush and Lila Bartenschlag made it 5-2.

Back-to-back kills by Buttrey and then a Chloe Mulligan downed spike along with an ace from Maddy Wells put Williamstown up 11-6, but the hosts tied it at 13 on a Casto kill and again at 15 when Curtis assisted on Maddie Slater's kill.

Following a timeout at 18-all by coach Michael, a Siena Strcula kill gave the 'Jackets a side out as Mulligan toed the service line and had four straight points, including three consecutive aces for a 22-18 edge.

Despite leading 24-20 after another Strcula kill, back-to-back attack errors made it 24-22 as Ray ended up serving for the final five points.

Casto had consecutive kills via Curtis assists, which tied it for the final time at 24-all, and then a high pass from Ravenswood while trying to keep a rally alive ended up dropping between two 'Jackets as WHS pleaded the ball had hit the ceiling.

Ray got match point when a Casto/Maddie Slater double block was played into the net and dropped to the floor.

"There was a lot going on tonight, of course, and we were proud to be involved in it," said Michael. "It was an honor to be part of the military appreciation and we knew that Wheeling Central was going to be the best team we faced this year, and they are really, really good. We serve-received so poorly. I think we were nervous and we can't compete with a team when we don't serve-receive. We pushed them to the limit in the second set.

"I thought we showed a lot of resiliency and bounce back and I told the kids they are capable of playing with the best teams when your serve-receive is there, and then we carried that over to the first set against Williamstown and we serve-received well and we played well. Then we got behind and stuck in, and this team has done that all year long where you feel like this can slip away, but it doesn't, so that's a good sign a team can persevere. Not just once or twice. They've done that five or six times this year and that's a characteristic that should help us moving forward."

Ravenswood, which got a match-high nine kills from Casto, will carry a 32-4 record into Tuesday's match at Wahama.

"This is the heart of our schedule and everything is preparing us for this," added Michael. "We had this big night tonight. We have the LKC championships coming up next Saturday.

"We got the Ripley dual match coming up. It's a heated rival and they are talented and then right into the toughest region in Class AA. We're where we want to be. Now we just got to finish."

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com

Military Appreciation Night

at Devilette Athletic Center

Wheeling Central d. Ravenswood 25-9, 25-21

W. Central (21-4) stats: Chloe Groome 6 pts, 4 aces, 14 AST, 5 K; Morgan Miehle 8 pts, 1 ace, 3 K; Jackie Maxwell 8 pts, 2 aces, 10 K; Teagan Peters 5 pts, 1 ace, 5 K; Olivia Stephens 1 pt, 2 AST; Elexis Riley 1 pt; Emma Dean 1 K; Remy Peters 1 K

Ravenswood (31-4) stats: Ariel Curtis 5 pts, 1 ace; Montana Slater 1 pt, 1 ace; Bella Ray 1 pt, 8 AST; Anna Casto 1 pt, 4 K; Makenna Creel 2 pts, 1 AST, 5 K; Marley Cole 3 AST, 3 K; Maddie Slater 3 AST, 4 K

Wheeling Central d. Williamstown 25-13, 25-20

W. Central (22-4) stats: Groome 1 pt, 1 ace, 14 AST, 4 K; Miehle 9 pts, 7 K; Maxwell 4 pts, 2 K; T. Peters 3 pts, 1 ace, 3 K; Stephens 14 pts, 2 aces; R. Peters 3 pts, 1 ace, 3 K

Williamstown (12-16) stats: Olivia Buttrey 4 pts, 5 K; Riley Haines 5 pts, 1 ace; Kennedy Rush 1 pt, 3 K; Siena Strcula 1 K; Lila Bartenschlag 2 AST, 2 K; Jordyn Gains 2 pts, 9 AST; Chloe Mulligan 2 pts, 1 AST, 1 K; Maddy Wells 1 pt

Ravenswood d. Williamstown 25-14, 26-24

Williamstown (12-17) stats: Buttrey 1 pt, 1 ace, 6 K; Rush 3 K; S. Strcula 1 AST, 5 K; Bartenschlag 3 K; Gains 5 pts, 19 AST, 1 K; Mulligan 4 pts, 3 aces, 4 K; Wells 7 pts, 1 ace, 1 K

Ravenswood (32-4) stats: Curtis 3 pts, 2 aces, 4 AST; Mo. Slater 2 pts, 1 AST; Ray 11 pts, 1 ace, 8 AST; Casto 1 pt, 9 K; Creel 11 pts, 3 aces, 2 K; Cole 2 AST, 1 K; Ma. Slater 1 pt, 1 AST, 5 K

Next matches: TBA at Wheeling Central on Tuesday in OVAC 3A semifinal; Ravenswood at Wahama on Tuesday; Williamstown at Ripley on Tuesday.

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