LOW MOOR – Alleghany, the reigning regular season Three Rivers District Champions are moving onto the district tournament championship match following a straight-set victory over Carroll County in the district semifinals in Low Moor winning: 25-15, 25-13, 25-19.
The top-seeded Cougars were led by senior Kaiya Lian who had a match-high 12 kills along with 22 digs, while senior Savannah Cash added 17 digs. Senior Laken Tingler executed 10 kills and sophomore Kendra Dressler dished out 29 assists.
Following their straight set semifinals win, Alleghany has now won 17 straight sets dating back to the regular season and also never trailed in their semifinal win over Carroll County.
In the other semifinal match, the No. 2 seeded James River (Buchanan) were also victorious in straight sets as they defeated the No. 3 seeded Radford 25-20, 25-10, 25-23.
Alleghany (21-3) will now host James River (18-7) in the district tournament final on Wednesday.
While the Cougars have defeated the Knights three times during the regular season. Twice in district competition and once during a tournament, JRHS has battled and given AHS some hard-fought wins.
Lian had 45 kills across all three matches against James River. She was the only Alleghany player to have double digits in kills in all three games. The Cougars had 56 kills in their third win over the Knights, including 20 from Lian, 13 from Tingler, and 11 from senior Bryce Leitch. Meanwhile Dressler had 102 assists during the three matches against JRHS, including a 48-assist performance in the Cougars last win over them.
Prior to the district tournament final on Wednesday, the junior varsity district championship will be held as Alleghany hosts Glenvar.
Below are the results from Alleghany against James River during the regular season.
September 12: Alleghany 25-21, 25-20, 25-14
September 21: Alleghany 24-26, 25-22, 15-7
October 8: Alleghany 25-23, 20-25, 25-23, 25-22