Photo/KRISTIN MAZGAJ PICTURED IS the Shadyside High School volleyball team, which claimed the Division IV Eastern District championship last Saturday, rallying from two sets down to defeat Tuscarawas Central Catholic. The Tigers will take part in the Division IV regional at New Lexington High School against South Webster on Thursday.

NEW LEXINGTON – Successful athletic teams are nothing new at Shadyside High School where the Tigers can boast of countless Ohio Valley Athletic Conference banners as well as Ohio sectional, district and regional championships in any number of sports.

However, when Coach Eric Mercer’s 22-2 record Lady Tiger volleyball team takes the court Thursday night at 8 p.m. for an Ohio Division IV, Region 15 semifinal contest against South Webster (21-1) at New Lexington High School, it will mark unchartered waters for the newest success story at the Belmont County school.

The program, less than a decade old, captured its first-ever OVAC championship earlier this season and last Saturday fell behind 2-0 to a quality Tusky Central Catholic team only to rally for a cherished 3-2 victory and an initial district championship. Coach Darcee Claxon’s Lady Jeeps, meanwhile, were busy rolling to a 3-0 blanking of Portsmouth Notre Dame that same day and their fifth trip to the regionals since 2002, and third since 2016 including last year.

Shadyside did advance to the district championship contest last year, but fell to Shenandoah.

“These girls are super excited about where they are right now and they just love playing this game together and being able to walk past that trophy case at school and view their accomplishments,” Mercer said. “It has been so much fun watching them improve and getting to this point and it honestly is an honor for me to be a part of it in any way, shape or form.

“The program has been here eight or nine years now and has gone through several coaches, but the bottom line is that this school, this town really seems to generate some pretty good athletes.”

Shadyside will bring a 10-game winning streak into the match and have lost to only Fort Frye (20-5) and Linsly (16-4) this season, both coming after the Tigers had earlier beaten each team by identical 3-0 scores.

There are plenty of leaders on the court, but the front line has been the catalyst all season long led by 5 ft. 7 in. sophomore sensation Gentry Brown. In all Shadyside has collected a total of 879 kills on the season, a whopping 340 of those belonging to Brown. But she has received plenty of help in the form of 5-6 senior Tory Hendershot (175), 5-8 junior Paige Gorby (150) and 5-10 senior Kylie Jo Baker (146).

Brown is also amongst the team leaders in aces (45), blocks (53) and digs (147).

“I have watched a couple of films online of them and seen their schedule and know some of the teams they have played against and they are a very good team,” Claxon admitted. “Obviously you don’t get to the regional semifinals if you aren’t doing something right.

“One of the biggest things I noticed is their ability to put the ball away and how strong they are on the outside. They have plenty of offensive weapons and we are busy working on ways to try and slow or shut them down.”

Getting the ball to that front line falls mainly into the hands of the coach’s daughter 5-3 junior Caroline Mercer, who leads the team with 713 assists. Baylee Wach, a 5-8 senior, is next with 50 helpers. Mercer is also second in aces with 56 and second on the team in digs with 107 while Wach has 55 aces.

Hendershot has a team-high 68 aces and is fourth on the squad with 87 digs while Gorby has added 52 blocks and 98 digs and Baker has a team-high 55 blocks. Senior Kamdyn Elerick can also be a force on the court for the Tigers.

“Our front row really does a nice job of adjusting to the other team’s offense,” Eric Mercer added. “And they are the first line of our defense. Those girls do a nice job in transition and they are always ready to swing. They react and do their jobs when needed.

“I tell them all the time that first contacts, serves and passes are the keys to success and if you are struggling in any one of those areas at any given time you are going to struggle in the others also, usually significantly.

“The key to this group is that they get along so well together. There is no in-fighting, no egos and no attitudes. Every girl on this team when they are on the court are doing whatever it takes to win and help their teammates out. It is just so big for us, or any team, when you have players that accept and are willing to go all in.

“Our setter does a good job distributing the ball, and with four girls all near or over 150 kills on the year, she can mix-it-up and we don’t have to be one-dimensional. When the other team doesn’t know where the ball is going it can really tell the story, their defense has to be ready for anything and everything.”

The Jeeps have a strong lineup of their own and a go-to player in 5-11 junior Faith Maloney. Like Brown, Maloney is amongst the leaders in numerous categories for South Webster including kills (287), Aces (69), Blocks (38) and digs (147).

“Faith (Maloney) is just a dynamic athlete,” Claxon added. “She is an absolute powerhouse that has a lot of kills and her skills really opens things up for our other hitters. If teams don’t stay on her she will make them pay the price. “

But also like Brown, Maloney is not a one-girl show and has plenty of help, including Claxon’s three daughters in juniors Briana (5-0) and Graci (5-0) and freshman Isabella (5-7). The youngest of the three, Isabella Claxon, is second on the team in kills with 168, third in digs (177) and second in assists (338).

Briana Claxon has accumulated 137 kills, 39 aces and 199 digs while Graci Claxon has 27 aces and a team-high 288 digs. The other girl to be aware of in the front row is 5-8 senior Gwen Messer who has 126 kills and also has added 61 aces. Senior Kendall Bender has 44 aces and a team-best 343 assists while 5-11 sophomore Natalie Adkins is second in blocks with 18.

The Jeeps’, who have won seven matches in a row, lost only to 23-1 record Wheelersburg by a 3-1 margin. The Pirates are currently in the Division III regional tournament.

Eric Mercer, meanwhile, doesn’t know a lot about South Webster, but he knows they will come to play.

“Physically, I know where they are on the map,” Mercer joked. “I know they are perennially good in a lot of sport across the board and I know they have some pretty special players and just one loss as a team. I have seen a little bit of them on film, but the biggest thing I know is that this is going to be a battle of No. 1 seeds coming out of their district tournaments.”

Thursday night’s survivor will move into Saturday afternoon’s 2 p.m. regional championship game against either Glouster-Trimble or Newark Catholic, with a berth in next week’s state tournament on the line.