Staff photo / Dan Hiner Mineral Ridge’s Brystal Mills (17) spikes the ball during a Division VI, Northeast 1 sectional final against Mapleton on Thursday at Mineral Ridge High School.

WEATHERSFIELD — After falling in an early hole, Mineral Ridge tried everything possible to keep its season alive. However, the sixth-seeded Rams were upset by 32nd-seeded Mapleton in a Division VI, Northeast 1, sectional final.

The Mounties won 25-17, 25-18, 22-25, 25-22.

“I knew coming in that their record wasn’t really representing how good they actually were,” Mineral Ridge head coach Ron Lesko said. “They’re in a tough conference, and they came in and performed. My hat’s off to them. They did a nice job.”

Mineral Ridge (17-6) had a back-and-forth stretch with the Mounties (6-17) to start the match. The score was tied at 5-5, then 10-10, but the Mounties broke the tie at 12 and started the string some points together.

An attack that went into the net gave Mapleton a 17-13 lead, forcing the Rams to take a timeout. The break didn’t do much, as the Mounties continued to add to their lead, with each point providing more energy for the Mapleton bench.

Mapleton scored eight of the final 12 points and took the first set 25-17.

Mapleton carried that momentum into the second set. The Mounties grabbed an 8-3 lead after a few communication breakdowns by the Rams.

Mineral Ridge battled its way back into the set, but every time the deficit was cut to two, the Mounties bumped their lead back up to four or five.

The Rams made one last push, cutting the lead to 21-18, but a Mineral Ridge attack sailed long and missed the back line by a couple of inches, giving the second set to Mapleton 25-18.

Ridge finally got a little breathing room early in the third. It led 9-6, but an ace by Carlee Osborne gave Mapleton a 10-9 lead.

After a series of lead changes, the third was tied at 17. However, Mineral Ridge fought with its back against the wall and won the third set 25-22.

“You make some defensive plays, you get some defensive stops, somebody makes a solid kill – really thumps the ball, puts it down – those are momentum-swinging plays that can kinda get things going your way. Kids can just kinda build off of it,” Lesko said when asked what changed in the third set.

With some new life, the Rams came out with energy to start the fourth, jumping out to a 6-0 lead and forcing a Mapleton timeout. But once again, the Mounties made it tight, cutting the lead to 8-7 and eventually tying it at 10.

The teams traded points, and the fourth was later tied at 18. Mapleton held a 24-22 edge, but a soft push into the center of the Ridge defense gave the Mounties a 25-22 win to take the set and the match.

Mineral Ridge had two seniors on the roster in Maddy Gerberry and Thalia Stanton. Each brought a different type of senior leadership to the team in 2025.

“Maddy Gerberry never came off the floor. She hasn’t come off the floor in two years,” Lesko said. “Obviously, her leadership and her abilities, that never-quit attitude. She’s a great leader. And Thalia Stanton, she’s a role player, but there’s a kid that wanted to be on the team. Would have done anything we asked her to do, and that’s another great example of leadership.”

With only two seniors, the majority of the roster is coming back for the Rams next fall. And with the Rams missing two players due to injuries suffered this week, Lesko hopes his girls grow from the tournament loss.

“It’s almost like a life lesson,” Lesko said. “You get thrust into these situations like this, and you have to perform, no matter what. That’s how sports can teach you life lessons.

“It didn’t turn out the way we wanted to for this week, but my kids just pushed through. My kids got pushed into new situations and they had to compete as best they could. And they did, they went out and competed.”