The senior members of the Whitko volleyball team pose with the sectional trophy Saturday night at Central Noble. The Class of 2017 (from left) with coach Mike Howard and assistant coach Tricia Howard are Lyndsey Sapp, Brooke Christoffel, Kaity Reed, Haley Yohe, Brianna Tackett and Andrea Snavley. The Wildcats won the program’s first sectional championship and will play at South Adams in a regional match Tuesday night (Photo courtesy of Whitko Athletics Twitter).

ALBION – The Whitko volleyball team etched its name into the school’s history books Saturday night.

The 2016 edition of the Wildcats made that history in impressive fashion to claim the first sectional championship for the program.

Whitko beat host Central Noble 3-0 in the title tilt of the Class 2-A Central Noble Sectional. The Wildcats advanced to the finale by defeating LaVille 3-1 in the semifinals earlier on Saturday.

Whitko, now 25-12, will travel to South Adams (25-8) Tuesday night for a regional match. South Adams won its fourth sectional title and second in a row by beating Bluffton 3-0 Saturday night to win the Bluffton Sectional title.

The regional winner will advance to the Bremen Semistate on Saturday. They will play either No. 7 Rochester or No. 14 Covington in the first semistate semifinal match at 11 a.m.

The Wildcats, under the direction of first-year coach Mike Howard, topped the Cougars 25-19, 25-20, 25-19 in the finale. Whitko bested LaVille 25-15, 21-25, 25-19, 25-18 in the semifinals. Central Noble topped Prairie Heights 20-25, 25-18, 25-15, 25-16 in the other semifinal match.

Whitko, which went into sectional play as the favorite, was familiar with their final foe. The Wildcats beat the Cougars 17-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-19 at Central Noble on Oct. 10.

Star hitter Kaity Reed, one of six seniors for the Wildcats, provided the power at the net in the two wins on Saturday. The two-sport standout slammed down 53 kills on the day. Reed also finished with 39 digs and a team-high three blocks for the champions.

Senior Brianna Tackett finished with a total of 29 kills in the two Wildcat wins.

Senior setter Haley Yohe racked up 85 assists for Whitko and also added five aces. Freshman Haley Howard and sophomore Kristina Slater each also had five aces. Slater also led her team with 44 digs.