WARREN, Pa. – Warren went back and forth with North Catholic for the first two sets, but the Trojanettes showed why they’re one of the top three teams in the state during the final two in a 3-1 (25-23, 21-25, 25-15, 25-16) win in their PIAA first round match.
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“I saw us battling against a really good team,” Warren coach Mike Dolan said. “We knew they were very good but I think we came out with confidence.”
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North Catholic took an early 10-7 lead in the first. Warren used a 5-0 run to go up 12-11, but the Trojanettes answered with a 9-1 run to gain a 20-13 advantage.
The Dragons responded with a 7-0 run to tie the set at 20-20. North Catholic took the next three points, but Warren answered again to tie it at 23-23 before the Trojanettes scored the final two points to take the set.
“We really hung with them that first set,” Dolan said. “We had a good chance of winning that set. And then we came out and took that second one. I’m really proud of the effort.”
After North Catholic took an 11-8 lead in the second set, Warren went on a 10-3 run to pull ahead, 18-14. The Trojanettes responded with a 7-1 run to take a 21-19 lead, but the Dragons closed the set with a 6-0 run to knot the match at 1-1.
North Catholic slowly pulled away in the third set, then used an 8-1 run to take the lead for good in the fourth.
“They served really tough the whole match and kind of maybe wore us down a little bit,” Dolan said.
Kylie Fehlman had 13 kills and a block, Alexia Bowers had 11 kills, 8 digs, and a block, Madelyn Nosel had 5 kills, and 5 digs, and Maddy Jones had 5 kills, and 4 digs for the Dragons.
Summer Lucks had 14 digs and 4 aces, Sophie Walker had 7 digs, and 3 aces, Lilly Newton had 2 kills and a block, Lily Walker had 3 digs, and Lindsay Madigan had 33 assists, 6 digs, and an ace.
WEST BRANCH 3, CLARION-LIMESTONE 0
MORRISDALE, Pa. – West Branch, last year’s PIAA runner-up and the No. 1 ranked team in the PIAA Class 1A this season, swept past District 9 runner-up Clarion-Limestone, 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 25-16).
Maddy Greeley had 11 kills for the Lady Lions, who lost their final two matches of the year to the No. 1 and No. 2 (Elk County Catholic) teams in the state in Class 1A.
Jenna Dunn added 10 kills and eight digs for C-L, while Abby Knapp-Greeley had six digs.
Kaylee Smith ran the C-L offense with 27 set assists.
SERRA CATHOLIC 3, COCHRANTON 1
MCKEESPORT, Pa. – District 10 runner-up Cochranton fell in four sets, 3-1 (25-14, 25-13, 15-25, 25-19) to WPIAL champion Serra Catholic in the Class 1A first round. .
Brooklyn Needler had 11 kills and 10 digs to lead the Cardinals while Dani Hoffman added seven kills and 15 digs.
Macie Williams paced the Cochranton defense with 20 digs, and Maggie Jackson ran the offense with 25 set assists while finishing a double-double with 14 digs.
Serra Catholic will face D9 champion Elk County Catholic in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
QUAKER VALLEY 3, KANE 0
KANE, Pa. – District 9 champion Kane suffered a 3-0 (25-9, 25-14, 25-11) defeat to WPIAL third-place finisher Quaker Valley in the Class 2A first round.
Maya Smith led the Lady Wolves with six kills and seven digs, Mia Anderson added four kills and three blocks, Leah Tigani had nine digs, and Ruby Jekielek chipped in six digs.
Elizabeth Yasurek ran the offense for Kane with 25 set assists.
FREEPORT 3, NORTH EAST 0
NORTH EAST, Pa. – District 10 champion North East struggled against WPIAL runner-up Freeport dropping a 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-23) decision at home.
Cadence Jones led the Grape Pickers with 21 kills and 13 digs, while Briell King had 21 digs.
Grace Sanfilippo ran the offense for North East with 24 set assists and added eight digs.
Alaina Whitlinger had 11 kills for Freeport with Sydney Selker adding 10 kills and Josie Russo and Leah Schreckengost nine kills each.
Whitlinger also had six blocks with Russo adding five blocks.
Brace Beach ran the offense for the Yellow Jackets with 36 set assists.
BEAVER 3, CORRY 1
BEAVER, Pa. – WPIAL champion Beaver took the final two sets from District 10 runner-up Corry to take home a 3-1 (25-21, 15-25, 26-24, 25-21) win in the PIAA Class 2A first round.
Aubrey Chase led Corry with 14 kills and 11 digs with Halle Albers adding 12 kills and seven\ digs and Grace Allen 11 kills.
Makenna Moore paced the defensive for Corry with 26 digs while Payton McCray ran the offense with 31 set assists while adding 10 digs. Kendyll Chamberlin chipped in 15 set assists.
THOMAS JEFFERSON 3, DUBOIS 1
DUBOIS, Pa. – WPIAL third-place finisher Thomas Jefferson used the momentum of a long second set to beat DuBois, 3-1 (25-17, 31-29, 19-25, 25-20), in the Class 3A first round.
Morgan Pasternak had 20 kills and two aces in her final appearance for the Lady Beavers while Ava Baronick added eight kills.
Haley Reed ran the offense for DuBoius with 31 set assists and also contributed a pair of aces.
NORTH ALLEGHENY 3, MCDOWELL 0
ERIE, Pa. – North Allegheny showed why it has won six straight PIAA Class 4A titles with a 3-0 (25-12, 25-11, 25-20) sweep at District 10 champion McDowell.
Halle Guenter led McDowell with 10 set assists and six digs while Sophia Nestor and Lexie Radtke each added six digs. Chase Rech led the Trojans with eight digs.
