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Golden Bears top Edison, Big Red

STEUBENVILLE — The Oak Glen volleyball team has a storied history.

The Golden Bears have won multiple state titles, and the team from Hancock County is having another strong season this year.

Oak Glen’s talents were on display during a tri-match with Big Red and Edison Saturday inside the Crimson Center.

The Golden Bears dropped the first game against the Wildcats only to rally and win the next two games to win the match, 23-25, 25-23, 25-21.

Oak Glen then swept Big Red in two games, 25-15, 25-14, to go to 2-0 on the day.

“Yes, it was a good day,” Oak Glen (12-5) head coach Morgan Saddler said. “We had two very good team wins.”

The match between Oak Glen and Edison could have gone either way, but the Golden Bears made enough plays down the stretch in Games 1 and 3 to pull out the victory.

“This is my first year back, and I did not have a good scout on Oak Glen,” Edison (4-6) head coach Leah Eft said. “I’ll take that one. That’s a coaching error.

“I wish we played them again at the end of the season. It was a battle. It would be cool to play them again at the end of the season, but we don’t.”

McKenzi Martin contributed 16 kills to lead the way for the Golden Bears against the Wildcats. Also for the victors, Ashlyn Six collected 14 kills, Jersey Smith tallied 32 assists and Addison Smith added five digs. Finally, Averi Martin delivered two blocks.

For Edison, Rebecka Evans collected six digs, four kills, two points, one ace and 11 assists to lead the way, while Alexandra Ash added five points, one ace, one block, nine kills and two digs and Hailey Teichman tallied nine points, five aces, nine assists and one block. Also, Kendra Teichman contributed nine points, four aces and one block, Ellie Joynson delivered two digs, two points and one ace and Ali Shrieve recorded six blocks one kill and one assist. Next, Katie Fluharty finished with one block, one kill and one dig, Audrey Scott scored three points to go along with nine digs and Olivia Huff delivered seven blocks and four kills. Finally, Pressly Meadows produced three digs and one block, and Morgan Martin ended up with three points and one dig.

The first game between the Golden Bears and the Wildcats was close before Edison ripped off a run to build a 17-11 advantage forcing Saddler to call a timeout.

The timeout paid dividends for the girls in White as they pulled within 21-18 forcing Eft to call a timeout.

The timeout failed to slow down the momentum of the Golden Bears as Oak Glen ended up building a 24-21 lead before winning the first game by two points to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

“We came out very slow against Edison, but after the first set we picked it up and played as a team,” Saddler said. “I thought Edison looked to place the ball in the first set. They placed ball very well in the first set.

“We did a better job in the second and third sets. We did a good job of picking up the ball, and we capitalized on the free balls.”

The second game was also a back-and-forth affair. The game was tied at 8, and later it was tied at 12.

The Wildcats took a 15-13 lead, but Eft had to call a timeout after the Golden Bears knotted the score at 16. Oak Glen built a 20-17 advantage forcing Eft to call another timeout.

This time, the girls from Jefferson County were able to turn the tide in their favor as they battled back to draw even at 20. The score was also deadlocked at 22 before the Wildcats managed to win the game by two points to even the match at 1-all.

“The girls finally played with the confidence they should have all along,” Eft said. “They did a good job. Hopefully, we have turned the corner, and we can do this the rest of the season.”

The Wildcats jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the third and deciding game, but the Golden Bears answered with four straight points to take the lead.

Edison responded and scored the next five points to build an 8-4 advantage, but Oak Glen battled back and tied the score at 9. Later, the score was tied at 14. The Golden Bears ended up breaking the tie and taking a one-point lead resulting in Eft calling a timeout.

Oak Glen extended its advantage to 21-15 and eventually 24-17 before winning the game by four and taking the match, 2-1.

“It has been a great season so far,” Saddler said. “We have had to battle injuries, but we have had a lot of girls step up and embrace their role. To be successful, you need kids to embrace their roles, and these girls have done that very well.”

The Golden Bears continued their strong play against Big Red as they won both games by double digits.

“I haven’t seen Oak Glen since I was in high school,” first-year Big Red (4-8) head coach Logan Colabella said. “They are a great team. They are always solid. They are fundamentally sound. They move well. They block well.”

Individually, McKenzi Martin collected nine kills, Averi Martin tallied seven kills and Tia Vick collected three kills. Also, Jersey Smith contributed 18 assists.

Oak Glen took an early 9-3 lead in Game 1 forcing Colabella to call a timeout. The visitors lead grew to 15-6, and Colabella called another timeout with her team trailing, 20-12. Oak Glen went to win the game by 10 to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

It was more of the same in Game 2.

The Golden Bears led 6-3 early on, and then they increased their advantage to 12-5 resulting in Colabella calling a timeout.

Oak Glen ended up building a 23-11 lead before winning the game by 11 to win the match.

“I don’t think wearing the Oak Glen jersey adds pressure,” Saddler said. “Wearing an Oak Glen jersey means a lot to the girls. There is a lot of tradition at Oak Glen, and the girls want to be a part of that tradition. We are a family.”

The Wildcats defeated Big Red in the opening match of the tri.

Edison is scheduled to play Beaver Local on the road today, while Big Red and Oak Glen are off today. Big Red is set to play Harrison Central Tuesday night at home, while Oak Glen will play Indian Creek Tuesday on the road.

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