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Defending champs face tough task at state

By MICHAEL S. BURICH 3 min read
Oak Glen defeated Ravenswood in three sets on Thursday to claim one of Class AA, Region 1's state tournament berths. Members of the team are (front, from left) Ellie Smith, Kylie Robinson, Mikalyn Balch, Mattie Carney, Keira Vick, Kendall Six; (back) Jordan Beshara, head coach Morgan Saddler, Lilli Cole, Zoey Caughey, Caetlyn Six, Naomi Ayers, Layla Skavenski, Audrina May, Bryson Adams, Laikynn Eckleberry, Katie Kliner, Elynn Rogers, assistant coach Ray Six, assistant coach Emma Renfro and Darias Price. (Photo by Michael Burich)

The defending Class AA West Virginia champion Oak Glen volleyball team will go into this year’s edition of the state tournament as an underdog.

The Golden Bears (26-12) earned the No. 4 seed in the eight-team tournament scheduled for Tuesday and Thursday at the Vandalia Health Coliseum in Charleston.

The Golden Bears, who are going for their 10th volleyball state title in school history, will go up against No. 5 seed Charleston Catholic (20-15) out of the gate at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday in the quarterfinals. According to MaxPreps West Virginia Class AA rankings, Oak Glen is fourth, while Charleston Catholic is fifth. Oak Glen’s strength of schedule according to MaxPreps is rated a 5.0, while The Irish are 9.3.

If the Golden Bears manage to beat Charleston Catholic, they would get the winner of No. 1 Wheeling Central and No. 8 Independence in the semifinal slated for 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

The Crusaders (26-4) have won 21 straight matches entering the tournament and beat Oak Glen in two-set match in August. Central is ranked as the top team in Class AA by MaxPreps and have a strength of schedule rating of 7.6.

On the other side of the bracket is No. 2 seed Philip Barbour (45-9-1) who will face off against No. 7 Wayne (23-15). No. 3 seed James Monroe (37-11-2) will take on No. 6 South Harrison (32-7-1) in the other quarterfinal. Oak Glen lost to James Monroe in 25-16, 25-18 on Sept. 12.

If the Golden Bears win both matches on Tuesday, they will return for the championship at 3 p.m. on Thursday.

Oak Glen is led by senior Mattie Carney who is averaging 1.6 kills per set with a 34.9% kill rate. Senior Mikalyn Balch does a bit of everything for the Bears as she is averaging 4.8 assists per set, 0.8 aces per set, 2.9 digs per set and 1.6 kills per set. Junior Zoey Caughey is fourth on the team in overall kills but she leads the team in kills per set (2.4). Sophomore Naomi Ayers is the Bears’ kill leader and she is averaging 2.0 kills per set with a 31.7 kill percentage. Libero Kiera Vick organizes the defense for the Bears as she receives 3.9 serves per set while getting 4.0 digs per set. Junior Caetlyn Six also is a solid attack option for the Bears with 1.8 kills per set and a 33% kill rate. Sophomore Bryson Adams also sets up the offense as she averages 4.2 assists per set. Senior Kendall Six is second on the team in service aces at 0.6 per set. She also receives 1.8 serves per set and has 2.5 digs per set.

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