Photo by: Kim North
Tiarah Sutphin (25) of Wheeling Park soars through the air as she returns a volley against the defense of Nicole Hammerquist (24) and Maddie Lucas (12) of Martins Ferry during Wednesday night’s high school volleyball game at Tolbert Gym high atop the Purple City. The Purple Riders won 25-12, 25-22 and 27-25.
MARTINS FERRY – There was something for the youth on Wednesday night as a young team from Martins Ferry cruised past the visitors at Wheeling Park in a high school volleyball game.
The Purple Riders, making their debut and featuring two freshmen and two sophomores in their starting lineup, won the first set 25-12 before defeating the Patriots (0-1) 25-22 and 27-25 to complete the sweep at Tolbert Gymnasium high above the Purple City.
“I always accept constructive criticism and valuable advice from my previous coaches,” said Martins Ferry head coach Jaela Koller. “I spoke to one of them before the game and she told me, ‘Sometimes you have to have faith in the newbies. If they’re good, you have to keep up with them.’ That’s exactly what I did tonight.”
These freshmen – Olivia Harkness and Nicole Hammerquist – played well above their class level in their high school openers. Harkness tallied 17 assists and six points, two of which were aces. Hammerquist finished with seven kills and a half-dozen blocks.
“I’m excited about what I saw tonight. There was a lot of good out there, but there was also a lot we struggled with,” Koller added. “A lot of our passing could be better and we need to get better at receiving serves. We also didn’t hit as much as I thought we would. The team that hits the best is the team that wins.”
Sophomore Giana Chirpas led the Purple Riders with nine points, seven kills and four blocks. Her classmate Maddie Lucas contributed 12 digs, five kills, three blocks and two aces. Senior Lindsey Best added 11 digs, five points, four kills and two blocks. SJ Koller had 18 digs.
After three early stalemates in the opening set, Martins Ferry scored 14 of the next 20 points to take an 18-10 lead. After the Patriots scored, the Purple Riders took a 7-1 run to close out the set.
Trailing 18-11 in the second set, Wheeling Park head coach Samantha Gentle called a timeout. Whatever she told her team worked, as the Patriots fought back and tied the game at 21-21, with Lexi Irwin serving three straight aces during the run.
However, a perfectly placed tip from Hammerquist and a kill from Chirpas sparked a 4-1 run that decided the game.
In the third set, it seemed like the hosts were running away and hiding as they overcame a 10-5 deficit to take an 11-10 lead. Then, leading 12-11, the Purple Riders, with Lucas at the service line, took five points in a row to take a 17-11 lead.
The Patriots showed that never-give-up attitude by scoring five of the next six points to get within 18-16. A four-point run extended the lead again to 22-16, but Wheeling Park fought back again. An ace from Rowan Gillespie tied the game at 22 and a tip-in from Lily Brinker put the Patriots ahead 23-22. The game was tied at 23, 24 and 25 before Martins Ferry saw two Wheeling Park returns fly out of bounds for the win.
“There are always moments like that, and we had them, but it’s about fighting back,” added Koller. “We always want to be on top, so we have to learn to fight back in situations like that. We did that and I’m very proud of the girls and how they fought, especially towards the end of the third set.”
The victory was extraordinarily big considering the Purple Riders don’t have another home game until visiting Bellaire on Sept. 11. That’s a streak of six straight away games.
“Not only are we playing our next six games on the road, but they’re all tough games. We have a really tough schedule,” Koller acknowledged. Martins Ferry travels to Steubenville on Saturday before visiting Beaver Local, River, Buckeye Local, St. Clairsville and Steubenville Catholic.
“Obviously you want to win the opening game of the season, but I’m very optimistic about where my girls are,” Gentle said. “We still have a lot to work on, but I saw a lot of heart. I saw a lot of energy. They really came together and fought. That impressed me and I’m excited to see what we can do down the road. I think we should have a successful season.”
The Patriots were led by Irwin with 34 of 35 caught serves and 13 digs. Delaney Randolph added five kills and two blocks, while Gracyn Davis had a dozen assists and Grace Tamburin had seven kills. Gillespie served four aces.
Wheeling Park will join Weir and John Marshall in the Country Roads Classic at Oak Glen on Saturday, starting at 9 a.m.
