SHINGLEHOUSE – Oswayo Valley displayed some championship-caliber
heart Thursday night, rallying to earn a trip to the District 9
Class A volleyball semifinals.
The Lady Green Wave found themselves in an 0-2 hole, after
losing 15-25-17-25 in the first two games, and down 20-10 in the
third game. Digging deep, the hosts rallied to a 25-23 win in that
game and picked up 25-16, 25-10 wins in the fourth and fifth to
secure the semifinal trip.
With the win, OV will next face Clarion-Limestone. C-L defeated
Johnsonburg in the other quarterfinal 25-15, 25-15, 25-11 to move
into the semis.
Oswayo head coach Rachelle Kellogg simply couldn’t say enough
about her team.
“What a night!” Kellogg exclaimed. “I’m so proud. After we beat
them in that third game, I knew we were going to win the match. The
momentum totally switched sides, it all came our way. We started
playing defense and passing the ball – something we didn’t do in
the first two-and-a-half games. It was outstanding.”
Tarra James (20 kills, 16 blocks), Brittany Kellogg (16 kills, 4
blocks, 11 points, 3 aces), Jessica Visseau (10 kills), Brittany
Mertsock (49 assists), Dani Bell (11 points) and Randi Pearsall (14
points) powered the winners.
“My weakside hitter Jessica Visseau just dominated all night. It
was an excellent job on her part,” Kellogg emphasized. “Brittany
Kellogg, my freshman, stood right out and hit the ball very
well.
“Tarra’s 20 kills and 16 blocks, how can you stop that? And that
was mainly in the last two games. The first two we didn’t have
much.”
Northern Potter was led by Kayla Bice (12 kills, 1 block, 11
points, 5 digs), Sherri Thompson (11 kills, 8 points, 7 digs, 3
aces), Brittany Rounds (9 points, 8 kills, 7 digs), Emily Gamble (7
kills, 23 assists, 6 points, 3 digs, 4 aces), Laura Kalasnik (6
kills, 11 points, 6 digs, 5 aces) and Nikki Thompson (4 kills, 14
assists, 14 points, 5 digs, 5 aces).
“It was a huge night for everybody,” Kellogg noted. “Northern
Potter is a great ball team, but we knew that being at home would
be to our advantage.
“We had a big crowd and had a lot of support. Everybody got
their money’s worth. I’m very proud of all of the girls. What a way
to finish off a season.”
With the win, the Lady Green Wave will take an 18-1 record into
the semifinals Saturday (11 a.m.) in St. Marys.
