Lynchburg-Clay finishes as district runners-up 

WELLSTON — It wasn’t the ending the No. 4 seeded Lynchburg-Clay Lady Mustangs wanted to have, but all in all their outstanding season came to a close Saturday afternoon, falling to the No. 1 seeded Valley Lady Indians in three sets at Wellston High School in the Division VI SE District Finals. 

This season the Lady Mustangs finished with an overall record of 19-5, with a second’place finish in Division I of the Southern Hills Athletic Conference at 10-2, plus they were 2-1 in the postseason with wins over Belpre (quarterfinals) and conference rival and champion North Adams (semifinals). 

In the match on Saturday, Valley won the three sets by scores of 25-14, 25-18 and 25-14. 

“For our program (to play in the district finals and earn district runners up), I think they've done it two years in a row, and I give all credit to the seniors on the team with their leadership,” LCHS head coach James O’Connor said. “I'm a new coach as far as the varsity level goes. My wife is a new coach as far as the varsity level goes. So, a lot of it is solely on their leadership and their abilities.

“We’ve had a great season. We got through the SHAC with only two losses. Unfortunately, both those losses were to North Adams, but you know, a lot of people have a lot of losses to North Adams. We beat them here in the semifinals, which was huge. They're a great team, and that win was a huge accomplishment for our girls.”

O’Connor spoke about how big of a win it was for the Lynchburg-Clay program when they defeated NAHS and advanced to the district finals. 

“The girls would have loved to have won the league, but the win in the semifinals was a nice alternative,” O’Connor said. The girls called it their Disney movie moment, where you beat the guy at the end. Their coach is a great coach, and they (NAHS) are a great team. It's always fun to go against a team you're equally matched with.”

In Saturday’s district final match, the first set included Valley never trailing, but the Lady Mustangs tied the score at 7-7 after trailing by a 5-1 score with serves by senior Halle Greene helping LCHS tie the score. 

Valley jumped up to a 9-7 lead, but Lynchburg-Clay tied the score once again, this time at 9-9, which included serves from senior Jules Vesey. Valley’s lead jumped to 17-10, but the seven consecutive points scored by the Lady Indians were stopped with a kill from LC junior Bre Rosselott, followed by a kill from Greene for a 17-12 deficit. 

LCHS scored their 13th point of the set with a kill by Greene, but eventually Valley broke away to win the first set at 25-14. 

Valley started the second set by scoring the first seven points and then built a lead of 13-6, until LCHS scored a point off a block by junior Hydee Green. 

Valley kept adding points to their side of the scoreboard at Wellston High School, until senior Addy Carraher scored a point off a kill for Lynchburg-Clay. Greene then served three straight aces for a 23-16 score with VHS leading. Valley then scored their final two points needed to end the set with a score of 25-18. 

The third set saw two early tied scores at 1-1 and 2-2 with the Lady Mustangs having their first lead of the match at 2-1. Valley then gained a 7-3 advantage, but LC’s fourth point was scored by a kill from Carraher. Greene later had some serves that helped score points for LCHS, bringing the Lady Mustangs to a 13-7 deficit. 

LCHS junior Maddie Pierce had a serve for a point, and later it was a kill from Greene for a 21-12 score. Carraher scored LC’s final point of the season with a kill late in the match, but Valley ended the match with a kill of their own for the 25-14 set-three win. 

Seniors for Lynchburg-Clay are Melany Stephenson, Addy Carraher, Halle Greene, Kylie O’Connor and Jules Vesey.

“I enjoyed coaching my daughter Kylie O'Connor. She was a four-year varsity player. Halle Greene was a four-year varsity player, and Jules Vesey, I actually coached when she was on JV, so that was fun for me,” O’Conner said of his senior class. “The same with Melany Stephenson, and Addy Carraher, another four-year starter on varsity, and I think she had every assist we had this year. 

“She got her 1,000th assist this year, and all those girls had milestones. You know, Melany had 500 digs, Addy had 1,000 assists and 500 digs. Kylie had 500 kills. Halle had 500 kills for her career, so lots of lots of accolades. I know this hurts now, but hope they remember all the good stuff, too.”

Coach O’Connor wrapped up the season with positive thoughts. 

“As I told the girls, if you're going to lose a game, lose one with a medal around your neck, and lose it with people watching and cheering in the stands,” he said. “I told the girls too, I didn't expect to be their coach this year, but I wouldn't want to be anywhere else now that I've done it. I enjoyed it so much. I got to coach with my wife, which was awesome, and coached my daughter as well. It was a great experience.”