Carson Francis, Staff Writer
Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by OhioHealth.
WELLSTON — Throw the regular season out the window.
The tournament cleans the slate and, this time, you’re playing every game like it’s your last — something that isn’t unfamiliar to the South Webster Jeeps.
The Jeeps came into this season on the heels of six straight district championships, including a regional title in 2021. And after a roller coaster regular season, South Webster came into the postseason not wanting to put that streak to rest.
In Tuesday night’s Division VI district semifinal at Wellston High School, the Jeeps flipped a switch in their matchup against West — a team they split the regular season series with.
Trailing for just one serve in the entire match, South Webster (14-9) came out on fire from the get-go in a 25-7, 25-11, 25-15 sweep of the Senators, earning a spot in Saturday’s district title game.
CREDIT: Raymond Gleadle/SOSA
“This is a whole new season. Every team is dangerous, and you have to show up from point one and take control of the match, and set the tone for how it’s going to go. I felt like we really did that,” SW head coach Darcee Claxon said. “They’ve been excited to play, and I was just really excited and really proud to see them go out there. We watched film and we had a game plan, and I feel like they went out there and executed it well.”
No stranger to the stage, South Webster flexed its muscles from the get-go. Ava Claxon started the night by assisting Addi Claxon before she scored on an assist from Sidney Keslar for the first two points. The Jeeps then built the lead to 10-3 before West (9-15) climbed its way back and cut the deficit to 11-7, capped off by back-to-back Jeep errors.
From there, SW threw out any sign of life the Senators had in the opening set. With freshman Emma Campbell at the service line, the Jeeps embarked on a 14-0 run that finished with a service ace from Campbell, putting an exclamation point on a 25-7 first-set win.
“We knew the minute we give a team like West confidence, we’re in trouble. When you look across the net, they’re bigger than we are, and we knew that we needed to keep them out of system and we needed to keep them kind of out of sorts,” Claxon said. “We couldn’t let them get into any kind of rhythm, so we knew it was important from the start of the match to jump on them.”
The Jeeps picked up right where they left off in the second.
After a West attacking error, Keslar cashed in a service ace to give SW an early 2-0 lead. When the Senators got on the board, the Jeeps responded with a 5-0 run, including three Addi Claxon aces. They built the lead to 12-3, an advantage that stayed at that margin throughout the rest of the way.
PHOTOS: Images from South Webster’s district semifinal win over West
Sparking the offense for the Jeeps in the second set was Keslar, who dished out six assists in the frame. With her team leading 17-8, the senior setter assisted on four straight SW points to extend the lead to 20-9.
Another Addi Claxon ace from the service line put a close to the second as South Webster nailed down a 25-11 victory, taking a 2-0 match lead.
“I think we have to talk about how precise we were from the service line, because that’s really what set the tone for us. We work a lot on spot-serving, and knowing that we have to keep them out of system, so we do that by being aggressive,” Claxon said. “We’ve got a lot of young girls out there, but we’re anchored by Addi. She was a three-year libero and we had to transition her outside, but she’s all over the floor and she does a great job.”
South Webster had been showing off all night, but there was still a job to finish.
And despite scoring the opening point of the third set, West proved to be no match for the red-hot Jeeps. SW’s hitters continued to cash in on the passes Keslar set up for them, and the Jeeps continued to find success from the service line to give themselves a comfortable lead.
With West serving to South Webster’s match point, Keslar took matters into her own hands and tipped the ball over the net for the match-clinching kill, sealing a 25-15 win and completing the sweep — sending the Jeeps back to the district final.
“I was really proud of our execution. We talk a lot about energy, and that’s something that I guess has been kind of our Achilles heel this year. Which team is going to show up?” Claxon said. “The first time we played West, we showed up and we just went through the motions, and it bit us. The second time, there was a little bit of pressure there, because we felt like we should have won and we knew we needed to execute.”
The Jeeps will be back in action on Saturday in a Division VI district final. There, they’ll square off with Lynchburg-Clay, who swept Fairfield to advance. That matchup is slated for a 12 p.m. start back at Wellston High School.
South Webster will be in search of its seventh consecutive district crown.
“Every year since we went to state, we lose athletes every year. But I always feel like the next crop of kids that come in, they come in with the mindset that they don’t want to be the team that isn’t successful,” Claxon said. “Success isn’t defined by wins and losses, it’s by your growth, and these kids have grown exponentially from where we’ve started. They’ve trusted the process. It’s just going to take them coming in here, believing in themselves and just playing the way they’ve been trained to play.”
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