Jay, SA to meet in ACAC semifinal

MONROEVILLE — The Patriots weren’t able to win the conference during the regular season.

They’re one step closer to the tournament title.

The Jay County High School volleyball team swept the Bluffton Tigers on Tuesday in the opening round of the Allen County Athletic Conference tournament at Heritage.

South Adams also won its first match of the tournament.

Jay County (17-8), which is the No. 2 seed, advances to the tournament semifinal at 6 p.m. Thursday against South Adams (18-9). The other semifinal pits top-seeded Heritage against Adams Central, which defeated Woodlan 2-0 another opening-round match Tuesday.

The championship is slated for 7:15 p.m. Thursday.

Jay County knocked off the Bluffton Tigers 25-9, 25-12. Kaelyn Weaver led the JCHS offense with 10 kills, and Olivia Kunkler was second on the team with four. Alana Kunker and Hallie Fields had three kills apiece, while Chloe Trissel, Natalie Miles and Kailee Denney totaled two kills each.

Trissel led the squad with eight digs and two aces, as Maggie Pryor and Olivia Kunkler tallied seven digs apiece. Denney contributed 23 assists.

In its opening-round match, South Adams defeated Southern Wells 25-11, 25-19. Madi Wurster led the Starfires with 14 kills, and Addie Wanner was second on the team with six kills. Shaelynn Bowman followed with five kills.

Hannah Dull and Shania Neal shared the team high of four digs. Julia Grabau had a team best 22 assists and four aces.

The tournament semifinal between Jay County and South Adams is a rematch of a Sept. 19 contest in Berne during which the Patriots won in five sets.