UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – A dream season for Cochranton came up one win short of a state title, as Lower Dauphin won its third-straight PIAA Class 2A boys’ volleyball title with a 3-0 (25-21, 25-20, 25-19) win over the Cardinals at Penn State’s Rec Hall.
Each time, the Falcons have beaten a District 10 team for the title, having knocked off Meadville the previous two years.
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“When you’re Cochranton, a small school, you’re going to be the underdog no matter what even though we’ve had a really good volleyball program,” said Cochranton coach Rob Cierniakoski. “We definitely embraced it, but we weren’t scared of them and we went out and fought.”
The Cardinals certainly did fight.
They went down five twice early in both the first and third sets, 9-4 in the first and 5-0 in the third, each time, they rallied to take the lead.
In the first set, Chase Miller’s kill capped a 10-4 run to give the Cardinals a 14-13 lead.
Cochranton had the answers but Lower Dauphin, like champions do, had a counter-punch each time.
Toby Waters, who finished with a team-high 14 kills, had three of them to help the Falcons rally for the first set win,m which was capped by a kill from Arun Gopinath to end it. Waters had six kills in the first set, as did Miller.
“They were definitely effective in the middle,” Cierniakoski said. “Their setter (Will Sierer) did a great job getting it to them in any situation. We just weren’t able to get the stop when we needed it.”
Cochranton jumped out to a 12-10 lead in the second set, which was quickly prompted by a 5-0 run from Lower Dauphin (with three of those points coming on Cochranton errors), marking the first time either team led by more than two points. The Falcons never trailed again after the run, as Henry Smullen, who had five kills in the set, had three to help close it out.
The Cardinals got within two, 19-17, after an ace by Landon Homa, but the Falcons responded with back-to-back points. Miller had five kills in the set and Homa four, as setter Andy Custead, who finished with 32 assists, continually put them in a good position to attack.
Cochranton, which made it to the PIAA quarterfinals in 2021 and the semifinals last season, continued to battle.
“You can’t beat experience,” Cierniakoski said. “Lower Dauphin showed that today. “Our guys (current seniors) were sophomores and got to the quarters, got to the semis last year, so being able to go through that definitely helps.”
Cochranton got down 5-0 in the third set, but respond with an 11-4 run to take a two-point lead. Miller keyed the charge in the run with two of his team-high 17 kills.
Once again, Lower Dauphin had an answer, as they took a 12-11 lead on a kill from Gopinath. They never trailed again.
Cochranton got it as close as three, 20-17, but the Falcons closed the match on a 5-2 spurt.
“It was a lot of fun,” Miller said. “It means a lot. We have a lot of people in our community that really support us. It means a lot to them, I’m sure as much as it means to us. It was good to go out there and get to this point for them.”
Homa had 11 kills, while Dawson Carroll finished with eight digs.
Also for Lower Dauphin, Smullen had 10 kills and Gopinath eight.
While they came up short of the state title, the Cardinals left Rec Hall with a tremendous amount of pride, representing such a competitive volleyball district.
“District 10 has a history of success, especially in Crawford County,” Cierniakoski said. “It’s been a hotbed for decades. This year I felt we could have won it, Mercyhurst could have won it, Meadville could have won it, and Saegertown could have won it. Even in 3A McDowell could have made a big run. To have all those teams in one district is pretty impressive.”
And it’s a season that won’t soon be forgotten.
“For me, my favorite memory was beating Mercyhurst Prep just to make it here,” Custead said. “And the community. They’ve been there supporting us from the start.”
