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MINERAL RIDGE -- Perennial volleyball power and 11th-seeded Independence powered past ninth-seeded United, 25-19, 25-20, 24-26, 25-17, in a Division VI district semifinal Monday at Mineral Ridge High School.
Both teams are 17-7. The Blue Devils have won six in a row, while the Eagles lost three of their last five matches.
The Eagles were led by Baylee Smith with 28 digs, seven points and seven aces; Maelee Smith eight kills and seven points; Chloe Angelo six kills and two blocks; and Rileah Phillips 20 assists, 14 digs and six points.
Independence shared the Chagrin Valley Conference Metro Division title with with Fairview, which will play Crestview today in a Division V district semifinal.
Independence advances to playsecond-seeded Mineral Ridge in the district final at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Burton Berkshire High School.
The Rams (23-1) beat 21st-seeded Springfield Local, 25-4, 25-16, 25-10, in Monday’s nightcap at Mineral Ridge.
Mineral Ridge, the Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference Scarlet Tier champion, has won 17 matches in a row since suffering its lone loss to Canfield.
Springfield finishes at 8-16, including a trio of 3-0 losses to Mineral Ridge.
BEAVER LOCAL 3, EAST LIVERPOOL 0
CALCUTTA -- Beaver Local came into Monday’s Div. IV district semifinal volleyball match with East Liverpool having lost two of three to the Potters this season.
After losing in five sets to the Potters in the regular season finale on Oct. 15 at Potter Fieldhouse, the Beavers went to work on getting into tournament mode and did it pay off.
The Beavers never trailed in a 25-10, 25-14, 25-11 win over the Potters that took just 63 minutes to play.
“When you get to this point in the season this is what you’ve worked toward,” Beaver Local coach Sarah Lowe said. “All year long we’ve talked about being consistent, staying in the moment, keeping our heads focused and not letting serve-receive runs go. Tonight we capitalized on all of those things.”
Fourth-seeded Beaver Local (16-6) will face top-seeded River View (23-1) at 6 p.m. on Wednesday in a Div. IV district final at Tuscarawas Valley High School. The Black Bears were ranked fifth in Div. IV in the final Ohio High School Volleyball Coaches Association poll.
East Liverpool (14-8) won its first meeting at Beaver Local in five on Sept. 1. On Sept. 10 at Potter Fieldhouse, Beaver Local won in four. Even with the Oct. 15 match fresh in everyone’s minds, the Beavers and Potters were prepared for a much longer match in this meeting. It just never materialized.