WHEELING PARK — Wheeling Park made its 2023 volleyball debut one to remember Wednesday night.

The host Patriots found themselves in a dogfight with Martins Ferry, but earned the victory in a four-set thriller inside the ‘Palace on the Hill’ by scores of 25-20, 24-26, 25-17 and 26-24 before an enthusiastic crowd.

“I thought we played really well. I’m pretty excited,” Wheeling Park head coach Samantha Gentle said. “We did some different rotations, so we’re still trying to figure that out. I thought the girls played super hard.”

After splitting the first two sets, Wheeling Park broke open the third set midway through. Leading 12-9, the Patriots rattled off five straight points for a 17-9 advantage. However, the Purple Riders (1-2) made it 23-17 but an ace by Jillian Huffman gave the Patriots a 2-1 edge in the best-of-5.

With the score deadlocked at 12 in the fourth set, Martins Ferry went on a 11-3 run to bump the margin to 23-15 and it seemed a fifth-and-deciding set was on the horizon.

Wheeling Park had other ideas as it reeled off four consecutive points for a 23-19 reading. After Martins Ferry took a 24-19 lead, the Patriots’ Faith Randolph’s nice touch shot landed just inside the sideline and touched off a game-ending surge.

Lexi Irwin stepped to the service line and proceeded to lead the Patriots on an amazing comeback as they tallied the final six points to stun the Purple Riders, 26-24.

“I told Lexi she had ice water in her veins when she went to serve. She agreed,” Gentle noted.

An ace by Irwin made it 24-21 before Huffman had a left-handed tip and Randolph used a Huffman assist to record one of her six kills for a 24-23 reading. Huffman’s set to Randolph drew the hosts even at 24 and a pair of mis-hits on the Purple Riders side of the net sealed the deal.

“We’re excited about the season, but we still have some things to work on.”

The first set was knotted at 20 before Wheeling Park scored the final five points. Stalemated at 24 in the second set, Martins Ferry used a block that caromed out of play and a long hit by the hosts for their two-point win.

Huffman handed out 32 assists while Irwin charted 26 digs. Lily Brinker was credited with 18 kills.

Gentle was pleased that at least five of her players had at least one block. Huffman led the way with a trio.

“That was good to see. I thought our blocking was strong,” she added.

“We were up 7 points and then we let it get away from us. Sometimes I think volleyball is 85 percent mental, and I think that’s what happened to us,” Martins Ferry head coach Jaela Koller said. “It’s hard when you make an error to constantly push yourself back, so we’ve got to work at it. We’re playing some really good teams early in the season, so, hopefully, that helps us at the end of the year.

“This (Wheeling Park) is a good team, but we gave them a match they didn’t think we could.”

Sydney Koller led Martins Ferry with 14 kills, 25 digs, three blocks and a pair of aces. Lindsey Best chipped in 22 digs and eight kills, while Mackenzie Carte had 13 kills and five blocks. SJ Koller added 29 digs; Maddie Lucas provided 20 assists, 18 digs and half-a-dozen kills. Hannah Meeker finished with 28 assists and nine digs.

Wheeling Park competes in the Oak Glen Tournament on Saturday in New Manchester.

Meanwhile, Martins Ferry treks to Harrison Central today.