The Bridgeport High School volleyball team won the Class AAA Region I, Section 2 championship on Wednesday with a four-game victory against University.

 

The win improves the Indians to 21-9 on the season and they will next be in action on Saturday in regional play at Morgantown High School. The Region I tournament is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m.

 

The sectional tournament brackets were altered following the release of last Saturday’s color map, which had Upshur County in the orange, thus taking the Tribe’s original semifinal opponent, Buckhannon-Upshur, away.

 

As the top seed, the Indians received a bye and awaited the winner of University and Preston. The Hawks prevailed and proceeded to take Game 1 from the Indians by a score of 25-11. BHS however reeled off three straight wins, 25-18, 25-17 and 25-15 to secure the sectional crown.

 

The Indians’ defensive prowess was on display as four different players posted double-digit digs. WVU recruit Shea Hefner led the way with 21, while Jayce Lucas added 13 and the duo of Violet Sickles and Julia Griffith each providing 12.

 

Sickles also posted a team-high 15 kills. Hefner wasn’t far behind with 14 kills and also added four aces and three assists.

 

Alexa Martin had a solid overall stat line with nine kills, five digs, four blocks, one ace and one assist.

 

Lucas finished with 35 assists along with a pair of aces and one block. Griffith also served four aces.

 

Grace Backus chipped in with four kills, two digs and three blocks. Cambria Freeman had six digs and an assist. Addie Phillips finished with two digs, one assist and one block.

 

University also advances to Saturday and will take on Section 1 champion Morgantown on Saturday, while the Indians will face the Section 1 runner-up Wheeling Park.

 

The winners of those two matches will then meet for the regional championship. Both schools who make it to finals will qualify for the state tournament and the outcome of the final will go toward state tournament seeding.

 

Editor's Note: Top photo of Violet Sickles and bottom photo of Shea Hefner by www.benqueenphotography.com