South Adams wins conference

BERNE — The sweep is complete.
The South Adams High School volleyball team finished with a clean slate in conference play, defeating the Adams Central Flying Jets 25-17, 25-14, 25-15 on Thursday.
The victory secured the Starfires’ first regular-season Allen County Athletic Conference title since 1997.
Madi Wurster led the Starfires (18-5, 6-0 ACAC) with 11 kills and three aces. Caralie Farlow and Addie Wanner chipped in with nine kills apiece, and Jade Farlow added six to go with her three blocks.
Shania Neal registered a team-high 19 digs, while Julia Grabau totaled 36 assists.
South Adams’ junior varsity team also on 25-19, 25-16 for an unblemished conference record.
Shaelynn Bowman had eight kills, while Lydia Loshe recorded 13 assists and 13 digs. Hannah Dull had a team-high 22 digs.

Jay spikers fall
MONROEVILLE — The Jay County volleyball team fell in its conference finale Thursday, losing to the host Heritage Patriots 25-17, 20-25, 26-24, 25-17.
Jay County dropped to 12-9 on the year and 3-3 in Allen County Athletic Conference action.
Senior Abby Barcus led the visiting Patriots with 21 kills and 18 digs. Kaelyn Weaver was second on the team with six kills, while Audrey Shreve and Randi Ferguson both notched four.
Chloe Trissel had 14 digs and a team-high three aces. Kailee Denney racked up 24 assists.
Jay County returns to Heritage on Tuesday for the ACAC tournament. The first round is Tuesday, with the semifinal and final rounds slated for Thursday. A bracket has not been released yet.
The Patriots’ junior varsity team also lost, 25-22, 23-25, 15-8.
Calli Stigleman led Jay County with 10 kills, and Hanna Dillon followed with eight. Maggie Pryor totaled seven digs and Allison Jobe tallied 21 assists.

Rally comes up short
FORT RECOVERY — Fort Recovery’s volleyball team forced a fifth set but couldn’t keep the momentum in a 25-20, 21-25, 29-27, 20-25, 17-15 loss Thursday to the Parkway Panthers.
The Indians dropped to 10-6 (2-4 Midwest Athletic Conference) on the year.
Carley Stone led the Indians with 15 kills. She also had a pair of blocks and was a perfect 17-for-17 from the service line. Alexis Bubp and Kiah Wendel recorded 22 and 16 digs respectively, while Paige Jutte tallied a career-high 13 kills.
Devin Post also had 11 kills, and Cassy Martin chipped in with 10 kills and a team-best six blocks.
The Tribe’s junior varsity team won, 25-10, 18-25, 25-14. Stats were not provided.
Panthers pounce Stars
BERNE — A pair of goals in each half helped the Eastbrook Panthers pounce on the host South Adams boys soccer team Thursday, 4-1.
South Adams (4-8-2) and Eastbrook were scoreless through the first 20 minutes, but the Panthers scored twice in the span of four minutes for a 2-0 advantage.
Then midway through the second half the lead doubled.
With 40 seconds remaining in the contest, SAHS senior Brian O’Donnell scored on a penalty kick for the lone Starfire goal.
Lars In’t Groen had a dozen saves as goalkeeper for the Starfires, who host Manchester at noon Saturday for senior day.

Jay boys blanked
ANDERSON — Jay County’s boys soccer team fell to 4-8-2 with a 2-0 loss at the hands of the host Liberty Christian Lions on Thursday.
Liberty Christian scored a goal in each half, the first on a penalty kick that got by goalkeeper Zach Chaney. The Lions then tacked on another goal during the second half to put the Patriots out of reach.
Jay County travels to Converse to take on Oak Hill on Saturday before beginning sectional play Wednesday.

Chiefs top Patriots
The East Jay Middle School eighth grade volleyball team defeated the Heritage Patriots on Thursday, 25-12, 25-12.
The win pushed the Chiefs’ record to 9-5 on the year.
Natalie Miles and Alaina Kunkler had three kills each to lead the Chiefs. Grace Saxman had five aces on her way to eight service points, and Miles tallied seven points on five aces. Ashlyn Dow chipped in with four points, two aces and a pair of kills.
The Chief seventh graders also won. 25-7, 25-13. Ralyn Chaffins and Madison Dirksen tallied three kills apiece and Grace Brewster notched four digs. Maddy Wenk had eight aces, and Lilly Hedges chipped in with four aces.