North Adams girls soccer coach Dave D’Avignon and his troops will be looking for a return trip to the Division III District Tournament when they open tournament play on Oct. 17, battling the West Union Lady Dragons for a sectional title.

 

Story and photo by Mark Carpenter – 

Quickly, the regular season have again flown by and it is now time for the local high school sports squads to focus their sights on postseason play. The brackets for volleyball and soccer tournament action were released late Sunday afternoon and now the local squads know their path to tourney success in the Southeast District. The records shown here for each team were their records at the time the brackets were formed.
In Division IV volleyball, a pair of local squads will suit up, beginning with Coach Kaci Compton and the Manchester Lady Greyhounds. The Lady Hounds (6-12) will be a number seven seed and earn a home match at 6 p.m. on Oct. 16, facing the number ten seeded Green Lady Bobcats in their sectional opener. A win in that match moves Manchester to the sectional finals where they would travel to face number two seeded Portsmouth Clay on Oct. 19 at 6 p.m.
Earning a number four seed in the Division IV brackets were the Peebles Lady Indians (14-5), under the guidance of first-year head coach Rachel Sims. The Lady Indians will battle for a sectional championship on their home court on Oct. 19 at 6 p.m., facing number five seed Western Latham. A victory in that match sends Peebles to the district semi-finals at Jackson High School on Oct. 25 at 6 p.m., likely facing number one seeded Waterford (17-1).
The other county volleyball squad will be competing in the Division III tournament, as Coach Katie Ragan and her North Adams Lady Devils will look to translate regular season success into postseason success. The Lady Devils (12-3) earned a number four seed and will face a tough matchup in a sectional final on their home court on Oct. 21 at 4 p.m., facing a fellow member of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference, the Eastern Lady Warriors, a team the Lady Devils defeated twice this season. If the Lady Devils survive that sectional final, they will move on to the district semis at Waverly High School on Oct. 24 at 6 p.m., staring at a match up with number one seed Wheelersburg (15-1). Those two teams played last Saturday with Wheelersburg winning in three sets.
In Division III girls soccer, all three of the county teams ended up in the same bracket and unfortunately two of them will be matched up with each other. On Oct. 17 at 5 p.m. the number two seeded North Adams Lady Devils (9-3-0) and Coach Dave D’Avignon will host the number seven seeded West Union Lady Dragons (4-10-0) under the direction of Coach Kevin Hunter. The winner of that game will be crowned as the sectional champion and move on to the district semi-finals on Oct. 24, where they will face the winner of the matchup between number three seed Minford and number six seed Chesapeake.
Also in Division III girls, the Peebles Lady Indians (6-6-0) and Coach Gus Denzik will be the four seed and host five seed Westfall (4-5-3) in a sectional final on Oct. 17 at 5 p.m. If the Lady Indians grab that sectional crown, they will be in district action on Oct. 24 at 5 p.m., likely facing number one seeded Wheelersburg (13-0-1).
Just as in the girls bracket, two Adams County boys soccer teams will have the misfortune of playing each other in the sectional tournament. On Oct. 18 at 5 p.m. the number three seeded North Adams Green Devils (7-6) and Coach Ike Wooten will host the number six seeded Peebles Indians (6-6-2), led by Coach Brian Seaman. That match up will determine a sectional champion and send one of those teams to the district tourney in Waverly at 1 p.m. on Oct. 21, with the potential opponent being number two seeded Rock Hill (12-0-2).
Finally, Coach Hunter and his West Union Dragons (2-8-3) are the number eigh seed and will play a home game on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 11 a.m, facing number nine seeded Portsmouth West, a team they just recently defeated 2-1. If the Dragons win, they will move to the sectional finals and face a very tough number one seed in Northwest (14-0-0). That sectional title game will be played at Northwest on Oct. 18 at 5 p.m.
Follow all of the tournament trails right her in the sports pages of The People’s Defender.