CLARION, Pa. – For a short minute, 11th-seeded Sheffield looked like it was going to have a chance to stun sixth-seeded and two-time defending PIAA 1A champion Clarion.
Rewatch the match
The Lady Wolverines fought their way out of an early 7-1 hole to tie Clarion at 17 in the first set forcing Lady Cats’ coach Shari Campbell to use a timeout, something that hadn’t happened in a postseason contest for Clarion in a long time.
But out of the timeout, Clarion showed why it is the gold standard for D9 volleyball having won four straight 1A titles by going on a 7-0 run on its way to a 25-18 win. That set the stage for a 3-0 sweep (25-18, 25-12, 25-13).
“(During the timeout, the message was) let’s not score points for the other team,” Clarion head coach Shari Campbell said. “Let’s play our game, and let’s get in control, just find some balance in our body position so that we’re finding the court.”
Aryana Girvan had a monster game for Clarion with 16 kills and eight digs and was named the Allegheny Grille of Foxburg Player of the Match. She talked about the victory.
Adia Needham added seven kills for Clarion with Marley Kline and Taylor Alston each chipping in with four. Grace Ochs set the offense with 30 assists and added five digs, while Bri Pierce had 13 digs.
Emily Foster paced Sheffield with seven kills and nine digs with Peyton Wotorson adding four. Kadence Steffan ran the offense with 11 set assists, and Emily Davidson had 12 digs.
Clarion, which hasn’t lost a postseason game since falling in the 2019 PIAA semifinals and hasn’t dropped a D9 postseason game since the 2017 semifinals winning 13 in a row overall in postseason play and 13 in a row in D9 playoff action, will travel to third-seeded Otto-Eldred for a 6:30 p.m. contest Thursday, Oct. 27.
CLARION-LIMESTONE 3, PORT ALLEGANY 0
PORT ALLEGANY, Pa. – Behind nine kills and 17 digs from Jenna Dunn, 10th-seeded Clarion-Limestone made the long trek to Port Allegany and knocked off the 7th-seeded Gators, 3-0 (25-20, 25-22, 25-16).
Rewatch the match courtesy of Port Allegany Stream
Ansley Burke and Alyssa Wiant each added six kills for C-L while Kendall Dunn ran the offense with 15 set assists.
Photo by Lauran Dunn
Port Allegany stats weren’t reported.
C-L will turn right back around and make another long trip Thursday when it travels to second-seeded Oswayo Valley for a 6:30 p.m. game Thursday.
COUDERSPORT 3, A-C VALLEY 0
COUDERSPORT, Pa. – Sierra Myers had 15 kills and nine digs to lead eighth-seeded Coudersport to a 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-18) win over visiting ninth-seeded A-C Valley.
“I think our girls played really well tonight,” Coudersport head coach Heather Olney said. “We’ve been trying to clean up some little things for most of the season. Tonight, we were able to see all of that work pay off. They played hard and all played well together. So, overall, I think it was a great game.”
A-C Valley’s Lexi Ruckdeschel (No. 11) hits the ball against the block of Coudersport’s Sierra Myers. Photo by Leo Leo Szczesny of Sunken Branch Photography
Emily Eckert ran the offense for the Lady Falcons with 28 set assists and added eight digs and four kills.
Madyson Dubots-Angood also chipped in four kills, 36 digs, and two set assists in the win.
Bella Ielase paced A-C Valley with 11 kills and 10 digs with Lexi Ruckdeschel adding 10 kills and 11 digs. Mackenzie Parks also had four kills and 13 digs, and Kiera McVay had eight digs.
Jenna Stefanacci ran the offense for A-C Valley with 20 set assists.
Coudy will take on top-seeded Elk County Catholic at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at ECC.
