LINESVILLE, Pa. – In a matchup of volleyball powerhouses, defending District 10 Class 3A champion Conneaut topped reigning PIAA Class 1A champion Clarion, 3-0 (30-28, 25-19, 25-16).
Rewatch the match:
It was a matchup that saw Clarion have four set points in the opening set, only to watch Conneaut battle back and ultimately take the set, 30-28 on a Mackenzie Wensel kill. Clarion had a pair of service errors with chances to close out the set.
“There was quite a bit of hype surrounding this match,” said Conneaut coach Christine Krankota. “Clarion’s a very good team, they’re well-coached and they have players with a ton of experience in big-time matches. We understood that this was going to be a very good test for us. As the night wore on, I felt like we got more comfortable.
Kaylee Mattera sparked the offense to the tune of 17 kills, with Payten Karastury putting up a strong passing game to set up the attackers, finishing with 33 set assists.
Karastury was named the Allegheny Grille of Foxburg Player of the Match and talked about the win:
Twin sister Paris Karastury celebrated her birthday with 14 digs.
The second set started out much the same as the first, back and forth. Aryana Girvin swung big for Clarion all night to the tune of 13 kills, but it was Mattera, Sylvia Prebor, and Mackenzie Wensel that continued the attack for Conneaut, as they closed the set on an 11-5 run after it was tied at 14-14.
“Serving and passing, that’s something we’ve worked on all week and that’s one of the things we said we needed to do well to win tonight,” Mattera said. “Our serving was a little rough but it came together, our passing came together and everything came together to make it a nice win.
The third set saw Conneaut pull away, taking a commanding 20-11 lead en route to the set and match win.
“It’s a big win for us,” Krankota said. “They made us work tonight and that’s what we wanted. It’s the first time I think that we’ve played Clarion in the regular season. The girls did their job when they needed to.”
Grace Ochs finished with 25 set assists for Clarion, while Bri Pierce had 13 digs, Hadlee Campbell had seven kills and nine digs, and Marley Kline had four kills and three blocks.
Defensively, Ashley Crabb finished with 14 digs for Conneaut, while Mattera added 12 digs and three blocks, Prebor seven kills and nine blocks, and Wensel five kills and four blocks.
“We have room for improvement,” Krankota said. “The great thing about this group is they’re not content, they’re not satisfied with where we are. They understand the only way we’re going to achieve the goals we set for ourselves at the beginning of the season is if we put the work in every single day.”
DUBOIS 3, PUNXSUTAWNEY 0
DUBOIS, Pa. – Using 19 aces, DuBois rolled to a 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 25-13) win over visiting Punxsutawney.
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Emma Delp led the Lady Beavers with six aces with Jessica Pfaff adding five, Morgan Pasternak four, and Madelyn Crabtree three.
Pfaff also had eight kills and a block and was named the Allegheny Grille of Foxburg Player of the Match. She talked about the win.
Pasternak led DuBois with nine kills, including five in the third set, while Delp had six kills. Kenda Cowan also had a solid match with six kills, a solo block, and two tandem blocks.
Ciara Toven had four kills and an ace for Punxsutawney with Kinsee Barnett adding three kills and two blocks. Samantha Griebel led the Lady Chucks on defense with nine digs with Sydney Hoffman adding five.
SHEFFIELD 3, BROCKWAY 1
SHEFFIELD, Pa. – The Wolverines and Rovers battled through four sets, and in the end, Sheffield came away with a 3-1 (25-23, 17-25, 26-24, and 25-22) win over visiting Brockway.
Brockway appeared to have all the momentum after pulling away in the second set and jumping to a 10-3 lead to start the third. The Wolverines clawed their way back in it, won the set in extra points, and held off the Rovers in the fourth to win the match.
Rewatch the match:
“We gave Kassidy (Orinko) a few sets, she got some kills, and we got the energy back up,” Sheffield’s Emily Foster said. “It got too close at times, but we ended up bringing in the energy back up and got the win.”
See Foster’s full postgame interview:
Neither team was able to gain a clear advantage through the first set. Sheffield went on a couple of short runs that gave them three or four-point leads, but Brockway fought back to keep the score within striking distance. The Rovers took a 23-22 lead but kills from Lexi Goldthwaite and Orinko gave the Wolverines set point. Goldthwaite served an ace to close out the first set win.
The teams played to a 9-9 tie in the second set. Brockway then went on an 8-1 run to take control of the set. Sheffield never got closer than five points the rest of the way as the Rovers tied the match at one set each.
Brockway was able to carry that momentum into the early part of the third set. Sophia Schmader served consecutive aces to start the set as the Rovers scored the first four points on their way to a 10-3 advantage. Sheffield responded with a 5-1 run to cut the lead to 11-8.
The Wolverines got within a point several times throughout the set, but the Rovers had an answer each time to extend the lead. An Orinko block tied the set at 19-19, and her kill on the next point gave Sheffield its first lead at 20-19. Brockway answered right back to regain a 21-20 advantage.
The Rovers got to set point, 24-22, but an Orinko kill and ace tied it at 24-24. A pair of Foster kills put the set away and gave Sheffield a 2-1 lead in the match.
In the fourth set, Sheffield got out to the early lead and was up 17-12 at one point. Brockway closed the gap to 22-20 and forced the Wolverines to call a timeout with a 23-22 advantage. A Foster kill gave Sheffield match point, and an unforced error on the final point ended the match.
Lauren Rendos led the Rovers with eight kills, 10 digs, and two aces. Schmader served eight aces to go along with four digs and a kill, while Kalina Powell served six aces and had 13 digs. Savannah Ross ran the offense with 10 assists and had two kills, four digs, and two aces, and Stephanie Stage had six digs and a kill.
Orinko and Foster each had a double-double for Sheffield. Orinko finished with 15 kills, 11 digs, and three blocks. Foster had 12 kills, 14 digs, and three blocks to earn Allegheny Grille of Foxburg Player of the Game honors.
Peyton Wotorson had seven kills and Kadence Steffan had 38 assists and 15 digs.
EISENHOWER 3, IROQUOIS 0
RUSSELL, Pa. – Mikenzie Miller and Caroline Smyth each had three kills to help Eisenhower sweep past visiting Iroquois, 3-0 (25-22, 25-19, 25-18).
Smyth added two aces, while Sammy Briggs had two blocks and Rayna Hulman three aces.
Layla Edwards added two solo blocks, two aces, two set assists, and a kill for the Knights with Carly Christianson chipping in nine set assists and a block.
ST. MARYS 3, CLARION-LIMESTONE 1
ST. MARYS, Pa. – Rylee Nicklas and Alexis Whitesell each had eight kills to lead St. Marys to a 3-1 (25-17, 13-25, 25-20, 25-19) home win over Clarion-Limestone.
Nicklas added five set assists and two aces, while Olivia Smith chipped in six kills.
Lindsey Reiter ran the offense for the Lady Dutch with 15 set assists while adding five aces.
Jenna Dunn led C-L with 10 kills with Abby Knapp adding 23 digs and Ainsley Burke five aces.
Kaylee Smith ran the Lady Lions’ offense with 22 set assists.
UNION CITY 3, GIRARD 1
UNION CITY, Pa. – Lucy Higley had six kills, nine digs, and four blocks to help Union City to a 3-1 (13-25, 25-22, 25-10, 25-11) home win over Girard.
Cathryn Reynolds and Brooke VanTassel each added five kills for the Bears with Reynolds contributing seven digs and three aces and VanTassel seven blocks.
Lilly Vincent had 13 digs in the win with Alyssa Tingley adding six aces.
Michayla Magee ran the offense for the Bears with 17 set assists and added 13 digs and three blocks.
WEST MIDDLESEX 3, FARRELL 1
FARRELL, Pa. – Kennedy Beatty had 13 kills to help West Middlesex to a 3-1 (25-14, 18-25, 25-9, 25-14) win at Farrell.
Lexi Babcock added six kills for the Big Red with Emma Mild and Alaina Bowers each contributing five kills.
Izzy D’Onofrio led the West Middlesex defense with 10 digs, and Caitlin Stephens ran the offense with 39 set assists and added eight digs.
WILMINGTON 3, SHARON 1
WILMINGTON, Pa. – Wilmington overcame a slow start to top visiting Sharon, 3-1 (17-25, 25-20, 25-11, 25-14).
Victorya Byler led Sharon with 10 kills with Ondrea Young and Kylee Hasan each adding six kills.
Cameryn Krecek had nine digs for the Tigers, and Kaylee Schell added six digs.
Emmalie Yobe (11 set assists) and Kylie Weirick (10 set assists) ran the offense for Sharon.
Wilmington stats weren’t available.
