Top-seeded Pleasant stayed perfect Tuesday, Oct. 27, sweeping No. 13 Grandview Heights 3-0 in a Division V district semifinal to reach 24-0 on the season, according to tournament results reported by the Marion Star. The Spartans won by set scores of 25-10, 25-11 and 26-16, the Marion Star reported.
The win sends Pleasant to the district championship match at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 29, at Ohio Dominican University’s Alumni Gym, where the Spartans will face No. 4 Utica, the Marion Star reported. Utica (14-10) advanced with its own 3-0 semifinal sweep of No. 6 Northridge, by scores of 25-23, 25-16 and 25-20.
Pleasant was not the only Marion-area winner in Division V on Tuesday. No. 7 North Union pulled the night’s upset, knocking off No. 2 Madison-Plains 3-1 by scores of 25-22, 17-25, 25-23 and 26-24, according to the Marion Star. The Wildcats improved to 12-11 with the semifinal win.
North Union will also play Thursday at Ohio Dominican, meeting No. 3 Centerburg at 5:30 p.m. for a district title, the Marion Star reported. Centerburg (22-2) dispatched No. 5 Elgin 3-0 on Tuesday by scores of 25-15, 25-7 and 25-17, ending Elgin’s season at 17-7.
The Marion Star reported that after the Oct. 26 and 27 rounds, Pleasant and North Union are the only Marion-area volleyball teams still alive in tournament play, alongside the Pleasant and Highland boys soccer teams. Marion Harding’s volleyball season ended Monday in a Division III semifinal loss at Columbus DeSales, with Harding finishing 9-15.
For Pleasant, Thursday’s final is a meeting of the bracket’s top seed and its No. 4 seed, with a district championship and a regional berth on the line. The Spartans have not dropped a match all season, and Tuesday’s sweep kept that run intact heading into the title match.
A district title would extend a season that has already delivered Pleasant an unbeaten regular season and the top seed in its bracket, and it would send the Spartans into the regional round as one of the few remaining unbeaten teams in Division V. Both Marion-area district finals are set for Thursday evening at Ohio Dominican University’s Alumni Gym in Columbus, North Union first at 5:30 p.m. and Pleasant at 7:30 p.m., according to the Marion Star’s tournament report.