WOODSFIELD – Tied at one set apiece and 22-22 in the third, sixth-seeded Shenandoah ran off three straight points to take a 2-1 lead and rode that momentum into a dominating fourth set win to earn an 18-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-10 victory over second-seeded Monroe Central in the Division IV Sectional Championship match on Thursday.

Shenandoah (13-11) advances to the D-IV District semifinals to take on No. 3 seed Tuscarawas Central Catholic (16-7), which swept Caldwell by 25-10, 25-10 and 25-19 scores. The Lady Zeps and Lady Saints will play Wednesday at 6 p.m. in New Philadelphia, with the winner advancing to the D-IV District Championship next Saturday (Oct. 31).

“We didn’t play very well at all in the first set,” said Shenandoah coach Megan Grywalski. “We’ve done that a lot this year, but we’ve improved our toughness and regrouped after that and played well.

‘Our hitting really picked up, we served well and we did a nice job digging and blocking,” she continued. “We’re excited to get this win and look forward to playing next week.”

After Shenandoah led 4-1 early, the rest of set one belonged to the hosts who took advantage of several hitting and serving errors by the Lady Zeps for a 25-18 win.

Set two saw Shenandoah go on top 8-2 and maintain a six-to-eight point lead throughout to win, 25-17, and even the match at 1-1.

The Zeps led 12-8 in the third set, but the ‘Noles worked their way back to even at 17-17 and the points see-sawed from there until it reached 22-all.

Shenandoah closed it out with a kill by freshman Mya Leach; an ace by junior Ryleigh Sherman and a MC hitting error to claim the all-important set, 25-22.

Like sharks sensing a wounded foe in the water, the Lady Zeps then raced to a 7-0 lead and were never challenged in the 25-10 fourth set clincher.

“That third game was key,” said veteran Monroe Central coach Troy Baker, who found out afterwards he became a grandpa for the third time as the match was unfolding.

“It’s 22-all and they win it, so that was huge, and it took a lot out of us and we started second-guessing what we were doing at the net and our defense at times got us off of what we want to run.

“Shenandoah’s got a nice team with some weapons offensively,” he added. “Both teams struggled defensively, so it was which team was going to get their offense going the best and they finished strong.”

Haylyn Hiles led the Lady ‘Noles – who bowed out with a 17-6 record – at the net with 15 kills while Kynsi Bishop and Abby Thompson each had eight.

Kalista Friday collected 27 digs, Trista Morris had 19 and Regan Hamilton had 18; Hamilton dished out 15 assists and Thompson and Hiles each had three blocks.

Bishop served up 10 points while Hamilton and Thompson each had five.