Still perfect: Wooster finishes undefeated in OCC play for third straight year

ASHLAND — The Wooster High School volleyball team completed an undefeated season in the Ohio Cardinal Conference by defeating Ashland 3-0 Thursday, finishing a perfect 14-0 in conference play.

The Generals are also 20-0 overall on the season with the Arrows falling to 5-9 in the OCC and 10-10 overall. Wooster has now won 40 straight OCC games and didn't drop a set in league play all year.

The match was played on Pink Out Night, to honor Breast Cancer Awareness but a moment of silence was also given in remembrance of Ashland senior Andre Harrison, who died unexpectedly Tuesday night.

Wooster was put to the test by Ashland in the first set as the Arrows were up 23-20 before the Generals tied the set at 23-23.

Wooster junior middle hitter Grace Jones then came up with a key block to put her team up 24-23 before Ashland ended the game by hitting a ball out of bounds.

Wooster coach Jen Snowbarger credited Ashland for playing well in the first set but also praised her team for its comeback efforts.

“That first set, that was the closest to dropping a set this season, and to be down three like that, I just saw a little pulling away from each other than I wanted, rather than pulling together,” Snowbarger said. “I think skill, you’re always going to have your good nights and bad nights, but you can always be a good teammate. I don’t think we were being bad teammates, but I think we all just wanted to fix it, and we turned a little more on an island out there.

“And we talked about it, how did we handle it and how were we giving to our teammates, that’s when we need to be at our best,” she added. “And we pulled through and won it, and truly, it was on unforced errors when Ashland hit a few out of bounds. And we challenged them in set two to go out and improve from that and won 25-9, and they responded.”

Ashland was impressive in their play in the first set, getting back-to-back kills from sophomore Kate Aber to take the 23-20 lead.

But the Arrows were unable to finish strong.

“It was very impressive how we came out at the beginning," said Ashland coach Jenise Vaughn. "Wooster is undefeated so to be up 23-20 is very exciting, and I give a lot of credit to Wooster. They know how to finish sets, they’re used to winning. So, we got a little bit of deer in the headlights look and stare at the end and made some errors at the end of set one. And they took that momentum.”

The Generals went on to earn 25-9 and 25-14 wins in the final two sets.

Wooster has many weapons on its team, most notably sophomore outside hitter Sara Snowbarger, who led all players with 19 kills, a trio of aces and 15 digs. Other Generals players also shined in seniors Megan Lantis (eight kills, 11 digs), Josie Wright (seven kills) Tori Pettorini (eight digs), and junior Grace Jones (six kills, eight digs).

And the one who benefitted the most from her strong teammates’ play in her own spectacular way was sophomore setter Bri Hewitt, who registered 28 assists and added a trio of aces, with her also achieving the 1,000th assist in her young career.

“It’s really impressive as a sophomore and I’m proud of her, she does a good job as a player and it definitely speaks for itself,” coach Snowbarger said. “I think as you can see she’s well-liked by her team by their reaction and that’s not something you can kind of fake."

Ashland played solid for the most part but Wooster’s powerful hitters were just too much.

Aber, senior Lilian Pool, and junior Vivian Walter all had eight kills, with Walter earning back-to-back aces in the third set giving Ashland a 6-2 lead. Seniors Jenna Hartson (20 assists, eight digs, two blocks) and Emma Valentine (18 digs) also shined as they hustled all over the court.

“It’s the week where it puts life in perspective and everything the girls have been through but we talk about being good teammates on the court and being good teammates in life and they do that every day,” Vaughn said. “I’m very proud of how they can work together and toward those goals, even when life feels like it’s crashing down all around you. Jenna Hartson’s been an incredible leader for us, so I’m very proud of her and how she’s steady and consistent all of the time, even during an emotional day like today.”

This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Volleyball: Wooster wins 40th straight OCC game