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Marietta volleyball falls to Parkersburg South

By Kerry Patrick 4 min read

PARKERSBURG - All engines were firing for Parkersburg South in Tuesday's quasi tri-match at Rod Old Athletic Center.

With Marietta in town for a best-of-three and Hurricane hooking up with the Patriots for a scheduled MSAC best-of-five match, South did not drop a set and swept both opponents to improve to 3-1 and remain unbeaten in the conference at 2-0.

"This was such a good night for our confidence because that's something we are always working on," South coach Emily Tracewell said. "Every single game tonight, they finally were able to show how they can play. I didn't see any weaknesses out of this team tonight."

Consecutive kills from the McCombs combination of Adele and Maevry brought Marietta within 22-16 in the opening set before South rattled off three straight points for a 25-16 win.

Behind the serving prowess of Laylah Bradford and the net play of Rylee Wilkinson, Marietta opened the second with an 8-2 lead. Bradford served four straight points and Wilkinson contributed a pair of kills and one block during that span.

A pair of service aces, one by Presley Allen and another by Ella Collins enabled South to climb back into contention. Holding onto a 10-9 lead, Marietta made one last surge thanks to three straight blocks from Adele McCombs which put the Tigers in front by as many as four points at 16-12.

Down 19-17, South pulled ahead 21-20. Over the next several minutes, the set witnessed five ties. At 25-25, middle hitter Jess Price put down one of her patented kills for a sideout. Collins then served out the match for a 27-25 win.

"Not a lot of energy - you can't do that," Marietta coach Ron Kidder said. "We just can't keep making the same mistakes. You can't hide those because it's going to get rougher down the road."

South carried the momentum into the Hurricane match. Despite falling behind 3-0, The Patriots responded with a 5-0 run behind a block and a pair of kills from Olivia Conaway, along with one kill apiece from Allen and Lexi Price.

"We came into this thinking we could win, but we weren't sure," Conaway said. "We just kept our energy up the whole time."

With Addison Auxier at the service line, Hurricane answered right back and took a 9-7 lead which stood until a three-point spurt by South erased the deficit and put the Patriots in front 22-20.

At 22-22, a kill from Jess Pricel forced sideout and Collins took care of the rest with two service points, including an ace and a 25-23 win in set one.

"Whenever the setter was in the front row, we started callin that out - we were able to figure that out," Jess Price said. "We knew where the hitters were going which helped us get to blocks."

Hurricane enjoyed a short-lived lead in set two at 5-3 behind three service points from Peyton Gossett. The Redskins eventually forced three ties but never led the resrt of the way.

Leading 19-15, South overcame a service error and reeled off six of the next seven points for a 25-16 win.

In an attempt to win its first set, Hurrican etrailed 10-9. South then took off and outscored the Redskins 10-1. Allen clinched the match with consecutive aces at points 24 and 25 as the Patriots wrapped up the 25-15 third set victory.

Not only did South (3-1, 2-0 MSAC) hand Marietta (5-1) its first loss of the season, but the Patriots ruined Hurricane's perfect start in the MSAC (4-1).

"Tonight was very exciting - it's good to have a winning streak to begin the season," Allen said.

At Rod Oldham Atheltic Center

Parkersburg South def. Marietta 25-16, 27-25

Individual Scoring

Marietta: Maevry McCombs 2, Ava Prim 2, Addie Graham 3, Addison Clark 1, Laylah Bradford 4, Adele McCombs 1

Parkersburg South: Peyton Gossett 3 (2 aces), Ella Collins 7 (2 aces); Natalie Lauer 3, Lexi Smith 5, Quinn Bolyard 3, Presley Allen 2 (1 ace)

Parkersburg South def. Hurricane 25-22, 25-16, 25-15

Individual Scoring

Parkersburg South: Natalie Lauer 10 (3 aces), Lexi Smith 12 (3 aces); Ella Collins 4 (2 aces); Presley Allen 7 (4 aces), Quinn Bolyard 8 (1 ace), Peyton Gossett 3.

Hurricane: Leah Berner 6, Addison Auxier 7, Madelynn Alford 3 (1 ace), Adalee McComas 2 (1 ace), Emery Ahebwa 1 (1 ace)

Records: Parkersburg South 3-1 (2-0 MSAC); Marietta 5-1; Hurricane 6-3-1 (4-1 MSAC)

Next match: Parkersburg South/Sherman at Williamstown, Thursday; River at Marietta, Thursday; Parkersburg at Hurricane, Thursday

Starting at /week.