Warren players celebrate after defeating Circleville in Saturday’s district final match at Southeastern. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

CHILLICOTHE — For the first time in a quarter-century, the Warren volleyball program will add a district championship plaque to its trophy case.

After dropping the opening set (25-22) to Circleville in Saturday’s Division IV district championship match at Southeastern High School, Warren rallied for three straight wins (25-17, 25-20, 25-17) to claim its first district title since 1999.

It’s been a long time coming for the Warriors, who improved to 21-2 and will take on Meadowbrook Thursday in the regional semifinals.

“These girls have bought into a culture,” said Warren head coach Ann Skufca. “They come in day-in and day-out and do every little thing possible for this success. For the seniors, they were the start of this change. I couldn’t be happier for them, as well as every member on this team.”

Madyson Long was unstoppable at the net, amassing 26 kills to lead the Warren attack.

Warren players celebrate after defeating Circleville in Saturday’s district final match at Southeastern. (Photo by Jordan Holland)

“I’m super proud of our team,” Long said. “We’ve worked all season for this — on season, off season — we’ve worked for it. I think we’ve exceeded what we thought we’d do.”

Sydney Starcher added 11 kills while Elayna Greenwalt finished with nine and Bailey Saliba chipped in six.

Payge Cornell tallied 33 assists and consistently set her hitters up for powerful spikes throughout the match. Warren’s passing was a strength, which starts in the back row with libero Sarah Pettey.

“It’s a lot of hours in the gym,” Skufca said. “With the seniors being able to work with each other for the past two seasons, especially with Madyson and Payge, countless hours of trying to find that right communication of what each wants. And Payge can’t get set unless we make a good pass in that back row. I commend our back row play for stepping up and being able to start us off with a good pass.”

The Tigers (17-8) jumped out to an early 8-3 lead, prompting a Warren timeout. The Warriors rallied to tie it at 18-all, and then again at 20-all, 21-all and 22-all before Circleville won the final three points, capped by Drew Hoskins’ kill, to grab a 1-0 advantage in the match.

Warren was unfazed by the setback.

“Sometimes in the sport of volleyball you need to have that first one out of the way to really get your blood pumping,” Long explained. “That was the spark for us. We came in wanting this, and we got it.”

The Warriors started rolling in the second set. They led 13-10 before creating some separation and going up by as many as seven. Circleville cut it to 22-17 before Long closed it out with three straight kills to even things up.

“They have heart,” Skufca said. “One thing we always talk about is ‘take one point at a time,’ and they certainly did that. For any team that plays a sport, it’s always a couple minutes to get them going and see the flow of the game. For us, it took us that first set, but we were right there with them. We were just like, ‘all right. Let’s hone in and take control.'”

That momentum carried into the third set as Warren claimed the first five points. The serving of Kayla Fleck helped Circleville rally to tie it 9-9, but Starcher’s kill put the Warriors back in front and they never looked back. Again, a kill by Long sealed the deal to put Warren up 2-1.

In the fourth and final set, Circleville got kills from Ally Thornsley and Maddie Blakeman to get within 13-12, but Greenwalt answered with a tip kill which seemed to flip a switch for the Warriors as they went on a 7-1 run to take control. Warren’s final two points came via kills by Mya Stemple and Greenwalt, both assisted by Cornell, to clinch the championship.

“We haven’t done this in around 25 years, so this is really crazy, like really big for us,” Cornell said. “This past season has been amazing. The best I’ve ever had. Continuing senior year like this is crazy.”

The Warriors will look to keep this ride going against the Colts Thursday in the Sweet 16. The match is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. at Pickerington Central.

“Today is the day these girls are able to enjoy something special,” Skufca said. “Come (Sunday) we’re going to be ready to get back down to work. I know (Meadowbrook’s) a very good team. We’re going to be taking that game very seriously. Hopefully we’ll know a little bit more come Thursday.”

Contact Jordan Holland at jholland@newsandsentinel.com