Marietta’s Reagan Karcher (10) and Ari Buckley get ready to bump the ball during Saturday’s district final match against Dover at Logan High School. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

The road to the Final Four in Ohio Division III volleyball continues tonight for Marietta High School and the Tigers of head coach Ron Kidder.

On Saturday, the Tigers swept Dover to improve to 23-2 and now will try and reach the Elite Eight for a second straight season, but standing in the way first is Bishop Watterson, which will collide with the orange and black at 6 p.m. at Lakewood High School in Hebron.

The senior-laden Tigers are back in the Sweet 16 for the second straight season, but the Eagles of head coach Stephanie Grieshop aren’t likely to be an easy out.

“Bishop Watterson is a talented team,” admitted coach Kidder. “Their record is 19-7, but they have played a tough schedule this season. Their junior outside (Layla Hoying) is already committed to play volleyball at Ohio State. We will need to serve aggressively and play great defense.

“We are looking forward to the challenge. One thing I can tell you for sure these girls have worked hard and they will give it all they got. I am so proud of these kids for what they do on and off the court. They are a special group of kids that I’ll never forget.”

Marietta’s Tori Dawson spikes the ball during Saturday’s district final match against Dover at Logan High School. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Hoying, who has a .214 hitting efficiency, leads BWHS with 351 kills.

The senior trio of Macie Moreland (team-high 46 aces), Chloe Moreland and Isabelle Thomas (team-high 85 blocks) have registered 244, 151 and 100 downed spikes, respectively.

Seniors Makenna Glenn, who has 45 aces and a team-high 369 digs, and Emma Cloran, who paces the Eagles with 577 assists, also have been rotation staples.

Anna Ritter, who is hitting .361 with 233 kills, 39 aces and a team-high 351 digs, was excited following Saturday’s victory for the chance to make another run toward the Final Four.

“It’s nice to know. You always want to go into the game with experience, but we’re not going to play the game any differently than we have been,” admitted Ritter, who has watched fellow senior Ari Buckley put up 291 kills with a .440 efficiency along with 34 aces and 344 digs.

Marietta’s Taylor Karcher sets the ball during Saturday’s district final match against Dover at Logan High School. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

Buckley has enjoyed the ride thus far and hopes it doesn’t end anytime soon.

“We’ve played together for years and this is something we’ve looked forward to clear up to our senior year and to really achieve that, I’m really proud of these girls because we’ve been working on it all season. This is what we wanted and we got it,” Buckley said of helping the Tigers win back-to-back district titles for the first time in school history.

“We came focused and we were dialed in and we knew we had to get down to business fast and if we didn’t then we had a chance to lose a set, and we didn’t want to do that right off the bat. You want to come out strong. It’s been crazy. I’m proud that we pulled through and were able to work that hard and be where we are.”

Lefty Tori Dawson leads the Tigers with 53 aces and has 153 kills with a .293 efficiency.

“It means a lot to us. We pride ourselves on being one big team,” Dawson said after the Dover win. “We work together. Communication is key. We work well together and are always talking. We focus on fixing things and talking to each other about getting the next ball or getting out of it. I think we always know that like on bus rides we are having fun and stuff knowing that it could be our last, but we work so well together.

Marietta’s Emma Middleton serves the ball during Saturday’s district final match against Dover at Logan High School. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

“Like we’ve all played since seventh grade together so we have that strong bond together. I think that really helps. We’re never nervous because we can rely on each other. I think working together is our biggest thing. Just making sure that we can rely on each other and not getting frustrated with each other, just knowing that we have each other’s backs all the time.”

Emma Middleton enters the Sweet 16 with 26 aces, 149 kills and a .264 efficiency.

“It’s so fun. All of us girls have such a great bond,” Middleton said. “We’re so close and we just love each other so much. It’s so fun playing with these girls. Every day is a blast. From the beginning of the season our goal has been to get to the Final Four.

“That’s where we’re going and that’s what we are shooting for. We know from here it’s going to get way harder. Playing Sheridan was such a tough game and even Dover, tough game. They were tough games. We know it’s going to keep getting tougher, but we’re ready to fight and I think we’re ready.”

Coach Kidder has mainly used a rotation of seven during the campaign, which includes lone junior Haley Wilkinson (41 aces, 118 kills, .197 efficiency) along with twin sisters Reagan Karcher and Taylor Karcher.

Marietta head coach Ron Kidder signals do his players prior to a serve during Saturday’s district final match against Dover at Logan High School. (Photo by Jay W. Bennett)

The elder Karcher, Reagan, has 134 digs as the Tigers’ libero, while Taylor has registered 46 aces and 835 assists.

“This is what we worked for,” admitted Reagan Karcher, who had an unfortunate moment known as the “dog incident” after the Tigers won their first Ohio Valley Athletic Conference championship in school history.

“I have a big old bruise and a scratch on the back of my left thigh. I was baby sitting and the German Shepherd came up and bit me. It thought I was an intruder, so that’s why it bit me. He’s very protective of his house, so that’s why I got a big old bruise on my leg.”

The libero added she just wants to do her part.

“It’s really a blessing,” she said of being on the team and playing alongside her younger sister by one minute. “I have a lot of fun playing with her. Over the years we kind of got in trouble for fighting on the court, but now we get along very well.

“It’s all part of the puzzle. We all have our own job to do and if we all do it together we do well. We’re all very grateful to be here and I think we’re super excited to get the opportunity to make it to the Elite Eight and to make it farther if we play well, so yeah it’s very exciting.”

Taylor Karcher concurred about the sisters generally getting along.

“Just a little bit,” admitted the setter when asked if they still bicker much. “It’s (back-to-back Sweet 16s) really cool. I guess the goal was to keep going, keep going as far as we possibly can, so we just tried our best. We just wanted to come out very focused and make sure we took this game seriously because we don’t want our season to end anytime soon.

“We’ve been playing together for a long time now, so the bond and friendship we have is just awesome. I’m really excited to keep pushing forward with these girls. Just keep playing Marietta volleyball. Just keep doing our thing and trusting each other.”

If the Tigers win tonight, they’ll need another victory on Saturday to make school history again.

Although the challenges only will get tougher, the Tigers know they have to keep relying on each other.

“I like to bring my team together in the huddle and say ‘guys, relax, it’s OK, we’ll get the next ball,'” admitted Buckley. “We don’t get down. We push through and we usually get it right after that.”

Contact Jay Bennett at jbennett@newsandsentinel.com