Oak Glen’s strong season ends in state tourney
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CHARLESTON -- The Oak Glen volleyball team began its defense of its state championship against Charleston Catholic.
Unfortunately, the Golden Bears could not overcome the luck of the Irish as No. 5 seed Charleston Catholic rallied to take down No. 4 seed Oak Glen in four sets, 22-25, 25-20, 25-16, 25-20, in a West Virginia Class AA State Quarterfinal Tuesday morning inside the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center.
With the loss, Oak Glen ends the season with a record of 26-13.
Charleston Catholic improved to 21-15 with the win as the Irish advanced to the state semifinals Tuesday night.
The girls from Hancock County got off to slow starts in all four sets as they fell behind in each one. The girls in white were able to overcome their early deficit in the first set to take a 1-0 lead in the match, however, the girls in green responded and went on to win the next three sets to win the match.
Individually for Oak Glen, Mikalyn Balch dished out 30 assists to go along with five kills, 14 digs and once, Naomi Ayers contributed 12 kills, two digs, one block and one ace and Bryson Adams added 10 assists, two digs and two aces. Also, Caetlyn Six collected 10 kills, two digs and one block, Kendall Six tallied one assist, seven digs and three aces and Laikynn Eckleberry recorded three kills, one dig and one block. Next, Zoey Caughey chipped in with seven kills and one dig, Layla Skavenski produced six digs and two aces and Mattie Carney ended up with six kills and one block. Finally, Keira Vick picked up 15 digs and Katie Kliner had two digs.
Junior Nora Aliff finished the match with 27 kills to lead the way for the girls from Kanawha County, while classmate Bree Gruse recorded 42 assists.
The Golden Bears opened the match with the opening serve in the first set. Oak Glen came out strong as it took an 8-2 lead. The girls from Hancock County extended their advantage out to seven points, and Charleston Catholic called a timeout trailing 21-14. The Irish fought back and pulled to within four points at 23-19 causing Oak Glen head coach Morgan Saddler to call a timeout.
Charleston Catholic ended up cutting its deficit down to two points, however, Oak Glen was able to score the final point of the set to win it by three points to take a 1-0 lead in the match.
The Irish served first in the second set, and the girls from Kanawha County built a 9-4 advantage forcing Saddler to call a timeout. The Golden Bears battled back and took the lead at 17-16, but they were not able to hold it. Charleston Catholic was able to regroup, and the victors netted nine of the final 12 points of the set to win it by five points to level the match at 1.
Oak Glen opened the third set with the serve, however, it was Charleston Catholic that took the early lead as the Irish built an 8-3 advantage. Charleston Catholic was able to keep the momentum on its side as the Irish built a 20-10 lead causing Saddler to call her second timeout of the set. Charleston Catholic ended up building an 11-point advantage before winning the set by nine points to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Irish kept on rolling in the fourth set as they took advantage of the opening serve as they built a 5-0 lead causing Saddler to call a timeout. The Golden Bears responded and cut their deficit down to two points at 10-8, however, the Irish had an answer as they pushed their lead out to 20-13.
Oak Glen refused to throw in the towel, and the Golden Bears stormed back into the set as they cut their deficit down to one point at 20-19. Unfortunately, the Golden Bears were unable to get over the hump, and the Irish ended up winning the set by five points to win the match, 3-1.
The match was the last one for Oak Glen’s six seniors – Kylie Robinson, Ellie Smith, Kendall Six, Balch, Carney and Vick.