By Lisa Byers
CNHI News Service
There’s an adage that says it’s hard to beat a team three times in one season. Sometimes it’s proven to be right; other times not so much.
For Wilmington it worked out just fine.
The Greyhounds, who were one game from being eliminated from the tournament on Thursday, knocked off Meadville for the third time this season, downing the Bulldogs 25-16, 25-21, 25-17, to capture their first-ever District 10 Class AA girls volleyball championship on Saturday at Meadville High School’s House of Thrills.
“Our quote at the beginning of the season was that championships are made when the bleachers are still empty,” Wilmington head coach Amber Marett said. “Even a couple weeks the girls were like, ‘Coach, we’re tired.’ But the hard work paid off and we won District 10.”
Even if it came against all odds.
Wilmington (20-1) was one of three teams that finished 2-1 during the quarterfinal round of pool play in Pool A on Thursday. Fort LeBoeuf wound up capturing the pool title on tiebreaking criteria. But according to District 10 policy no team is sent home based on criteria, so Wilmington and Warren, the other two teams tied, were forced to play a one-game playoff to determine who advanced to yesterday’s semifinals to face defending champion and unbeaten General McLane.
The Greyhounds pulled it out then and did it again against the Lancers in the semifinals, rallying for an 18-25, 25-20, 26-24 win, to earn a date with its Region 3 rival in the finals. Meadville went into the match having lost its last five straight against the Greyhounds and hoping yesterday would finally be its day.
But the Hounds, thanks to big games from Alaura Hanssen and Leah Day, were, again, too much.
“We got further than we did last year,” said Meadville coach Tammy Webber, who like Wilmington advances to the first round of the PIAA Class AA tournament on Tuesday. “We’re still going. Being here last year and the finality of it all was frustrating. It’s nice to know that we still get to come back and practice Monday and get ready for a match.”
Obviously, though, the Bulldogs would have preferred the win over the Greyhounds.
“(Hanssen) killed us,” Webber said. “She was tough and we didn’t have an answer. Hopefully, we don’t need an answer for her now.”
Meadville (15-4) will play the WPIAL champion, either West Allegheny or Freeport, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at North Allegheny High School. The Bulldogs are making their first trip to the state playoff since 2004.
The Greyhounds will take on WPIAL fourth seed Blackhawk or Mars at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Penn State Behrend.
“We’re looking forward to driving to Wexford on Tuesday,” Webber said. “We get to see someone new and fresh. That will be good for us.”
General McLane with its loss to Wilmington ended its season at 19-1.
“We had a chance to win the match and we just didn’t execute,” McLane coach Mike Merriam said. “We hit way too many balls out of bounds; tried to be tricky. We just didn’t make the plays.”
Wilmington stats vs. Gen. McLane: Leah Day 9 kills; Alaura Hanssen 9 kills; Ashley Gardner 11 points, 11 digs; Haley Marett 25 assists, 12 digs; Chalyn Kaufman 14 digs; Cassie Duffy 10 digs; Catherine Foltz 7 digs.
Stats vs. Meadville: Kaufman 9 kills, 13 digs, 5 points; Hanssen 13 kills; Marett 28 assists, 19 digs; Day 7 kills, 5 blocks; Emily Romeo 11 points, 9 digs; Duffy 13 points, 7 digs; Gardner 11 digs.
Class A
The Sharpsville High girls volleyball team suffered a 25-12, 25-12 loss to Cochranton in the District 10 Class A semifinals on Saturday at Meadville Area High School’s “House of Thrills.”
Region 1 champion Sharpsville closed out the season with a 17-2 record.
Cochranton is 7th in the state in the latest Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association’s rankings.
Alyssa Scurpa had 5 points and 10 assists, Cassie Mittal posted 5 kills, Katey-Ann Scurpa had 5 points and 6 digs and Ashley Shuttleworth registered 9 points and 5 digs for the Blue Darlings.
“I appreciate all the hard work and effort throughout the season,” said Sharpsville coach Scott Scurpa. “It was a tough way to end the season, but Cochranton is a very good team.
“I’d like to thank my four seniors (Mittal, Alyssa and Katey-Ann Scurpa and Kristen Shuttleworth). I built the program around them and I’ll really miss them in the future. They started with me, so they mean a lot to me.”
Maplewood is the defending District 10 champ, but the Lady Cardinals of Cochranton won four straight D-10 titles before last season.
