Pleasant High School’s volleyball team puts a perfect season on the line Wednesday night, November 4, when the undefeated Spartans face Centerburg in a Division V regional semifinal at Ontario High School — Pleasant’s fourth straight regional appearance, the Marion Star reported. The Spartans are 25-0 and, remarkably, have yet to lose a single set this season.
That unblemished run is the headline number, but the Marion Star’s reporting makes clear the Spartans themselves expect it to be tested this week. Head coach Kory Ute told the Marion Star the level rises at regionals: “It does get ramped up and we talk about that a lot. We have to bring extra power and extra smarts,” Ute told the Marion Star.
The rankings underline how unusual Pleasant’s season has been. The Spartans are ranked No. 9 by MaxPreps.com and No. 7 in Division V in the state coaches association poll, according to the Marion Star. Their opponent is no soft draw: Centerburg, champions of the Knox-Morrow Athletic Conference, is 23-2, received votes in the coaches poll, and is ranked No. 6 in Division V by MaxPreps’ formula, the Star reported.
Pleasant’s preparation has included rehearsing the moment its streak of straight-set wins finally ends. Senior setter Macy Hamper told the Marion Star the team has talked through what happens if a match goes to a fourth or fifth set, and works hard in practice so it is ready when that moment comes.
The Spartans also carry the kind of experience November volleyball rewards. Pleasant’s seniors have won four straight district championships; after a regional loss in 2023, the Spartans were regional champions in 2024 and 2025, finished as the Division VI state runner-up to Coldwater two years ago, and reached the Division V state semifinals last year before falling in a five-set reverse sweep to New Lexington, the Marion Star reported.
Ute credited that experience — and the mental side of the game — for the run, telling the Marion Star her players study where opponents go for the ball and how to balance the court, an emphasis she said has made a big difference over the last two seasons.
There is also a home-court quirk working in Pleasant’s favor. The Spartans play at Ontario once every season because the Warriors are fellow members of the Mid Ohio Athletic Conference. Senior libero Kam Roberts told the Marion Star the Ontario gym is a harder place to play, but that familiarity should give Pleasant an edge over a Centerburg team newer to it.
Individually, Pleasant is led by one of the most productive hitters in the country. Kam Cocherl owns a .524 hitting percentage — the best in Ohio and No. 11 nationally — with 431 kills at 6.2 per set, 62 aces, 31 blocks and 184 digs, and she reached 1,000 career digs in the district final to go with her 1,000-plus career kills, according to the Marion Star. Around her, Faith McCants has 88 blocks, Lexi Hutchinson 160 kills, Kaivyn Cocherl 115 kills, and setters Hamper and Cassie Ice have combined for 726 assists.
Centerburg has its own firepower. Sedona Weisbrod leads the Trojans with 318 kills, 76 aces and 272 digs, Jazmyn Larimore adds 306 kills, and middle hitters Zoe Evans and Marybeth Vines have combined for 227 kills and 73 blocks, the Marion Star reported. Utica coach Lisa Ritzer, whose team lost the district final to Pleasant 25-10, 25-18, 25-11, told the Marion Star it was Pleasant’s defense — balls that normally go down staying up — that made the difference.
Central Ohio’s tournament week is busy beyond volleyball, too — Ohio State’s women’s basketball team opened its season Monday with an 81-34 rout of UIC in Columbus, while Marion County readers are also following Knox Community Hospital’s agreement to join Kettering Health in neighboring Mount Vernon.
What happens next is Wednesday’s 6 p.m. semifinal at Ontario. Coldwater plays Huron in the other semifinal, and the winners meet for the Division V regional championship at 2 p.m. Saturday, November 7 — with a trip to the state semifinals on the line, and Pleasant’s perfect record still intact.