Coach Morgan Johnson and the Manchester Lady Greyhounds will be the #10 seed in Division VII in the upcoming district volleyball tournament. (Photo by Mark Carpenter)
By Mark Carpenter
People’s Defender
This is the final week of the volleyball regular season which can only mean on thing- next week the postseason trail opens up. With the release of the Southeast District volleyball brackets, players, coaches and fans now know where and when their seasons will either continue or come to a close. The Adams County volleyball squads are scattered throughout three divisions, North Adams and West Union in Division V, Peebles in Division VI and Manchester in Division VII.
The Southeast District Division V volleyball bracket may be one of the toughest in the entire state and a monumental task to navigate through. Coach Katie Ragan at North Adams knows this all too well as she beefed up her non-conference schedule just to help prepare her girls for the tournament gauntlet. With a record of 14-6. the Lady Devils could only grab a #8 seed and will open district quarterfinal play on their home floor on October 15, hosting #17 seeded Eastern Meigs. If the Lady Devils handle business in their tourney opener, they will move to the district semifinals at Waverly High School on October 21, likely facing #5 seeded Zane Trace, a team that North Adams lost to back in early September.
“Southeast Division V volleyball is ridiculously hard,” says Coach Ragan. “We were happy to receive a home match and we will play hard and hope for the best.”
The #21 seed in the loaded Division V bracket is Coach Kiersten Rowe and her 4-13 West Union Lady Dragons. The Lady Dragons will travel east for their an October 15 district quarterfinal match up with the #4 seeded Alexander Lady Spartans. If West Union can spring the upset, they would advance to the district semifinals at Waverly High School on October 22.
“Unfortunately, my team’s record doesn’t show how good of a team we truly are when we come to play,” said Coach Rowe. “I’m hoping the girls come to play and give it everything they’ve got because anything can happen at tournament time.”
In Division VI, the 6-12 Peebles Lady Indians are the #10 seed and will be on the road in a district opening round game, traveling to Federal Hocking to face the #7 seeded Lancers. That match is set for October 14 at 7 p.m. If the Lady Indians get by that first round, they will move to the quarterfinals and face #2 seeded Beaver Eastern (15-4) on October 22 at Wellston High School.
In Division VII, Coach Morgan Johnson and her Manchester Lady Greyhounds have been playing well lately, four wins in five matches, and will be a #10 seed in the district, opening on the road with a quarterfinal match on October 14 at 7 p.m., facing #7 seed New Boston (7-10). If the Lady Hounds get past the Lady Tigers, they move to the district semifinals on October 21 at Southeastern High School, likely meeting #2 seeded Southeastern.
“I think we got a good first match,” said Coach Johnson. “I’m not so sure about the second one though. I was kind of hoping for a 7 or 8 seed but we’ll live with the 10.”
All of the Southeast District volleyball district brackets can be found at https://www.ohsaa.org/Southeast-Sports-Tournaments/Volleyball.
