MONROE CENTRAL’S Haylynn Hiles goes up for a return during Tuesday’s OVAC Class 3A volleyball semifinal inside the Stifel Fieldhouse on the Linsly School campus. The Cadets swept the Seminoles to advance to Saturday’s OVAC championship match.

WHEELING — The Ohio Valley Athletic Conference title is highly sought after by all 50 members, but it’s especially important for the student-athletes at Linsly.

After all, unlike the other 49 members, the Cadets are not members of the West Virginia SSAC, so there is no deep run in the post-season tournament in the offing.

Linsly demonstrated the intensity that it takes to win a conference title Tuesday evening when it swept second-seeded Monroe Central, 25-23, 25-21, 25-15 before a boisterous crowd inside the Stifel Fieldhouse.

“The girls are really excited and they’re ready,” Linsly head coach Ashlee Jividen said. “(The OVAC) is our goal. We want to get a 2020 on that (championship) banner (on the wall).”

None of Linsly’s players were alive or even thought about when the Cadets last won an OVAC title. It came in 1995 and is one of three volleyball crowns the school owns. However, this is the second straight season the Cadets are in the title game. They fell to Buckeye Trail last season.

If the Cadets are to make it a fourth title, they’ll have to go through top-seeded Fort Frye, which dispatched Magnolia in Beverly in five sets.

Meanwhile, Monroe Central will begin preparations for Division IV sectional play against River. That match is slated for Monday,

The OVAC semifinal was shifted to Linsly’s campus on Monday when it was announced that Monroe Central was shifting to remote learning at the high school due to a couple of COVID-19 cases.

On top of the venue change, both schools agreed to play in masks out of an abundance of caution.

“It’s obviously something we’ve never dealt with before, but everyone is trying to get through it the best they can,” Monroe Central head coach Troy Baker said of the few distractions his team dealt with. “It didn’t matter where we played this game because (Linsly) was the better team and good luck to them (in the final).”

Monroe Central seemed to be in control of the first set, owning a five-point lead at a juncture. However, the Cadets — with senior Charlie Allison leading the way — came roaring back to claim victory in that set.

And basically never looked back.

“(Winning) the first set was big because it gave us the momentum and confidence we needed to take it all the way,” Jividen said.

Allison was simply too much for the Seminoles. Hitting the ball exceptionally well and hard, Allison finished with a game-high 24 kills. She was complemented at the net by junior Milica Sekulovic, who had 14 kills.

The hitters were the beneficiaries of some solid setting thanks to sophomore London Podobnik, who had 44 assists.

The Seminoles were led by Trista Morris who had 8 kills. Abby Thompson added eight kills and four blocks, while Haylyn Hiles added six. Kalista Friday had 17 digs, four points and two aces. Regan Hamilton had 13 assists and six points.