Gallia Academy ends historic season with loss to Bishop Fenwick in state semifinal

Brock Netter, Editor

Southern Ohio Sports Authority is presented by Holzer Health System.

BEAVERCREEK — If nothing else, Gallia Academy proved one thing on Thursday evening.

It belonged. 

The Blue Angels belonged on a state tournament stage, they belonged in the moment, and they belonged in the conversation of who the best team in Ohio is — in any division.

The state stage may have been overwhelming at first.

But they settled in, competed in their hardest-fought game of the season and put their school on the map.

It just didn’t end the way they wanted it to.

“No one knew who we were. We went to Centerville, and everyone was asking who we were. I mean, they even said our school name wrong during introductions,” Gallia Academy’s Aubree Frazier said, with a slight laugh. “But it’s so insane to have no one know who you are, be the underdogs and play on this stage to show who we are.”

Despite pouring every ounce of energy into the match, Gallia Academy (26-1) fell to Bishop Fenwick (26-2) by a 25-11, 18-25, 25-23, 25-22 decision in a Division IV state semifinal at Wright State University.

“We believed we could win, we knew we could have won, but somedays it just isn’t your day,” Gallia Academy coach Ashton Webb said. “Those last three sets, we played our game and to the best of our ability, but a couple things didn’t go our way and that’s part of the game sometimes.”

The greatest season in Gallia Academy history comes to an end with conference, district and regional titles — the program’s first-ever district and regional crowns.

“Going back to the summer when we were playing in tournaments, I knew we could have a special season,” Gallia Academy Gracyn Clark said. “I didn’t know how far we could go, but I knew we had something. I’m so proud of my teammates and all of the work we put in to make it to this point.”

Early on, Bishop Fenwick’s duo of Andrea Ptaskiewicz and Morgan Meiring created havoc, powering down three kills each as part of a 9-4 run to start things off.

The Blue Angels began to find footing behind kills from Piper Pugh and Aspen Barnes before an ace from Gracyn Clark cut the deficit to 13-8. 

However, the Falcons just wouldn’t be denied.

Ptaskiewicz posted a kill and a block, Mia Schmitt added two kills, and Meiring finished off the set with four kills as part of a 12-3 set-ending run to give the Falcons a 1-0 lead in the match.

With the nerves out of its system, Gallia Academy went on the attack in the second set. 

Barnes had a kill and an ace, Pugh had three kills, and Abby Clark came up with a block to power an 8-1 lead.

“We served a little more aggressive starting in the second set, and that kept (Bishop Fenwick) out of system a little bit,” Webb said. “Serving and serve receive was something we talked a lot about throughout the week, we knew it was going to play a huge role in the game.”

Although the Falcons cut that lead to 10-5 behind Meiring, the Blue Angels had more gas in their tank. 

Two kills from Frazier, alongside one each from Clark and Barnes, helped push the advantage to 14-5, and later, to 17-8. 

Barnes added a kill and an ace before Pugh took it over from that point, scoring the last six Blue Angel points on five kills and a block to close out the win and tie the match. 

“Aside from being such an excellent player, she’s so positive and uplifting, but plays with such a calm demeanor on the floor,” Clark said of Pugh. “Even in times of stress, she’s remains even keel and simply says ‘Next ball’. I know that I was always able to rely on her to get a kill when we needed. She has such a bright future and I’m glad that I was able to set to her for at least one year.”

Neither team was budging an inch to open the third set. 

No lead was larger than two points with ties taking place at 5, 7, 8, 10 and 11. That is, until Bishop Fenwick scored the next three points for a 14-11 advantage. 

The Falcons continued to keep the Blue Angels at an arm’s length, pushing their lead as large as 21-16.

But the fight was just beginning. 

A service error, followed by two kills from Pugh, one from Clark, and an ace from Barnes, cut the deficit to 22-21. 

Bishop Fenwick got the next two points via Ptaskiewicz, and Pugh answered with the next two for Gallia Academy.

But Ptaskiewicz got the final kill to put the Falcons ahead 2-1 in the match.

Fenwick took an early lead in the fourth set until a kill from Clark, an ace from Mallory Petro and back-to-back kills from Barnes put the Blue Angels ahead at 9-6. 

The Falcons later tied the set at 9-9 and 12-12 before three kills from Meiring and another from Sam Long put them ahead 16-12. 

Meiring helped extend the lead to 18-13, but Gallia Academy answered with a block from Rylee Saunders, a kill from Barnes and multiple Fenwick errors, producing a 20-19 count in the Blue Angels’ favor.

Long and Meiring each posted kills to put the Falcons back in front at 23-20 and, although the Blue Angels cut that lead to 23-22, a kill from Schmitt and an ace from Abby Kiser ultimately handed the Blue Angels their first loss of the season. 

“It didn’t go our way, and it definitely hurts to not have one more game, but I’m proud of how we competed and fought until the end,” Gallia Academy’s Abby Clark said. “This sets a standard for the program and hopefully we showed the younger players who will be back next season that putting the work in does pay off. It’s a lot for sure, but completely worth it when you see how far we made it. They can make it back next season, I believe in them”

Pugh finished the night with 24 kills and nine digs, Gracyn Clark passed out 36 assists and registered 12 digs, Barnes had eight kills, seven digs and three aces, and Chloe Bennett added 20 digs to the mix.

The Blue Angels say goodbye to four seniors in Frazier, Gracyn Clark, Mallory Petro and Abby Clark, who have laid a new foundation Gallia Academy’s volleyball program.

“I know how hard I was on them, but I wanted to prepare them for those type of moments when they go off to play at the next level,” Webb said. “There were a lot of tough conversations and accountability talks we had, but I always had their best interest in mind. I love them, they know that and they’re going to be so great at whatever they choose to do with their lives.”

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