In the ‘Jills opener against Weirton Madonna, Valley started out on fire and never looked back. After gaining an early lead, the Lumberjills coasted, while beating Madonna handily, 25-15.

In the second set, the ‘Jills had to hold off a late Madonna rally to win 25-21. Valley didn’t waste any time of disposing of the Blue Dons in the third set, 25-10,

Tiffany Hayes led the ‘Jills with 19 points, while Kristen Wolfe added 17 in the victory. Aly Weber and Leah Morris each netted 13 points for the ‘Jills.

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In the second match, the Lumberjills — last year’s champion — ran into a very talented Paden City team that dethroned the ‘Jills in straight sets 9-25, 14-25 and 11-25 to finish the season.

Hayes led the ‘Jills offensively in this match, too, with nine points. Weber ended her outstanding career with eight points, three of which came via service aces. Wolfe contributed six points and four digs, while Rachel Ice and Morris each finished the match with five and four points, respectively.

Paden City was paced by junior Amber Palmer with 13 points and three digs, while senior back row specialist Shauna Durant chipped in with 13 points and three digs.

In the kill department, it was junior Alli Bertozzi with 20 that proved to be one of the main reasons that the Wildcats have beat quite a few good teams this season, including Valley. She also contributed nine points and got down and dirty with three digs.

Senior front line player Kim Davis added seven kills, while junior Amanda Tallman chipped in with three kills and three digs. Setting up these three killers was junior setter Amanda Sellers with 34 assists. She also knocked home five points.

Coming off the bench and making an impact in this match were Dominique Craft and Amanda Heasley. Heasley scored six points, half of which came from services aces, while Craft netted four points.

Valley will lose seniors Aly Midcap, Megan Midcap and Alyson Weber to graduation. Weber has been a starter for three years, while Midcap has started the past two seasons. Weber has been both a setter and a front row attacker. She is a versatile player that Valley Head Coach Gary Partridge will surely miss.

Midcap has been a Libero and a setter, and has been a leader both on and off the floor. Her cousin, Megan Midcap, has played both junior varsity and varsity matches the past several years. Megan was named the Lumberjills’ 2008 Homecoming Queen and is well liked by all the players.

Valley lost five starters from last season’s Sectional and Mason-Dixon Conference championship team and it was tough for them to overcome. The ‘Jills won some good matches and lost some heart-breakers this season, but the experience that the younger players received will surely be valuable to them next season.