State College, BEA Girls’ Volleyball Clinch Conference Titles

The final days of the regular season are closing in. Some area girls’ volleyball teams have their eyes on the postseason, and a pair have wrapped up league titles.

Bald Eagle Area and State College each clinched regular-season titles in their conferences, with the Lady Eagles earning a fifth straight Mountain League crown and the Lady Little Lions taking the Mid Penn Conference’s Commonwealth Division — the fifth time they have either shared or won it outright in the last eight seasons.

“It’s a testament to the work ethic, diligence and grit the girls display,” State College coach Chad Weight said. “Traveling as much as we do, while maintaining a high level of play, isn’t as easy as it seems.”

The Lady Eagles, who remain atop the Class 2A rankings in the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association’s weekly poll, are also liking what they see as the postseason looms.

“We are rounding into shape,” BEA coach Larry Campbell said. “We’re playing cleaner.”

State College is No 3 in Class 4A in the state, and also No. 10 in the USA Today/AVCA Super 25 Region 2 rankings (Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia).

BALD EAGLE

The Lady Eagles (14-0, 12-0), who haven’t dropped a conference match since Sept. 30, 2014, locked up the Mountain League on Oct. 15 with a 25-15, 25-13, 25-10 sweep at Huntingdon. BEA used its service game to control the match with 14 aces, led by Lexi Skripek’s six and Madison Eckley’s five. Grace Hugar, Taylor Kilmer and Katelyn Smitchko had seven kills apiece, Smitchko also had two blocks, Skripekposted 11 digs and Madison Rockey gave out 28 assists.

BEA earned least a share of the league title on Oct. 10, delivering 16 aces and sweeping Bellefonte 25-10, 25-13, 25-22. The team was led by Smitchko’s seven kills, Hugar’s six aces, Rockey’s 20 assists and three aces, Skripek’s three aces and Barnhart’s 11 digs.

They also earned a non-conference win by hitting .434 against previously unbeaten West Branch, 25-11, 25-13, 25-16 on Oct. 14. Kilmer was a perfect 8 for 8 on her swings to hit 1.000, Hugar was error-free in her 10 kills and .714 hitting, and Smitchko added seven kills on .500 hitting. Lacee Barnhart also had seven kills, Skripek posted 10 digs and five aces, Hugar added 13 digs and three aces, Smitchko had two blocks and Rockey gave out 32 assists.

BEA has two league matches left, including Oct. 23 against Philipsburg-Osceola. Also, on Oct 19, the Lady Eagles will head to a tournament at PVCA Class 4A No. 1 North Allegheny. The 23-team field features 10 teams ranked in the PVCA rankings, including Pittsburgh North Catholic, which is No. 2 behind BEA in the Class 2A poll.

BELLEFONTE

The Lady Raiders also had a strong service game in their 25-10, 25-13, 25-22 loss to BEA, with four aces for Alexia Mishock and three for Chelsea Robson. Mishock also had 12 digs and three blocks, with two solo, while Eva Helms also had three blocks, and Phoebe Rowland and Sarah Conner each posted seven digs.

“Very proud of how well the team played against a very strong team,” coach Teri Kerr said. “It was nice to have the challenge of playing their starters for a longer period of time. Alexia Mishock played very well for us overall tonight with her aces, blocks and digs.”

Bellefonte also took a loss at Central Mountain 25-18, 25-23, 25-23. Robson and Tayla Miller picked up three kills each, Rowland gave out seven assists, and she and Mishock collected two blocks apiece.

Hollidaysburg prevailed on Oct. 14 in four sets, 25-18, 18-25, 25-23, 25-13. Defense carried the Lady Raiders, with 10 total blocks for Makenna Port, including six solo stuffs, and six blocks for Rowland to go with five assists. Miller delivered five aces to go with 14 digs, Lily Gardner had 19 digs, Mishock posted 10 digs and three kills, and Rowland also had three kills.

PENNS VALLEY

The Lady Rams (8-6, 8-4) lost two straight matches to drop out of second place in the Mountain League. On Oct. 15, they dropped a four-set battle with P-O 22-25, 26-24, 25-12, 25-19. Defense kept Penns Valley in the match, with 35 digs for Jadyn Butler and seven blocks for Grace Bressler. Cammie Upcraft and Kailen Winkelblech led the offense with nine kills apiece, while Hailey Coursen directed the offense with 23 assists.

On Oct. 10, the Lady Rams fell in three sets to Tyrone 25-18, 25-12, 25-13.

Penns Valley has a busy closing stretch, hosting Central and Mifflin County and visiting Central and Hollidaysburg.

PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA

P-O swept past Clearfield 25-22, 25-17, 25-15 behind London Cutler’s 11 kills, Paige Jarrett’s eight aces, Janey Johnson’s 10 digs, Kalista Butler’s 28 assists and Jayden Perks’ two blocks on Oct. 10.

The Lady Mounties had another sweep on Oct. 14 against Central Mountain, 25-12, 25-16, 25-23. Kyleigh Kennedy put down 13 kills, Butler handed out 22 assists, Johnson collected 16 digs, Cutler served up five aces and Perks posted four blocks.

On Oct. 15, P-O (16-5, 9-3) held off Penns Valley 22-25, 26-24, 25-12, 25-19 behind a big performance from Kennedy, who racked up 17 kills and five blocks. Butler gave out 36 assists, and the defense got 18 digs from Johnson, 15 digs from Cutler and five blocks for Abby Lumadue.

The Lady Mounties close the regular season visiting Central and hosting BEA, and in between take part in the Our Lady of Sacred Heart tournament.

ST. JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC ACADEMY

The Wolfpack recovered from an early 11-point firstset deficit for a tough road win at Moshhannon Valley 26-24, 25-20, 25-22 on Oct. 9. Maggie Mangene delivered seven aces from the service line, while the offense was paced by Morgan Wolf’s seven kills and five each from Mangene and Ruthanna McMurtrie.

“They kept fighting even though they were down,” coach Cori Donaghy said. “Point by point the momentum shifted in our favor. It was great to watch.”

St. Joseph’s fell 25-17, 25-19, 25-23 to Glendale on Oct. 14, led by a combined 10 kills for McMurtrie and Emma Mallison. Defense was a big part of the Wolfpack’s night, with 18 digs for McMurtrie and 14 for Mangene.

The Wolfpack (8-4) defeated the Grier School in three sets on Wednesday to close the regular-season schedule. Next up is the district playoffs against an opponent to be determined

STATE COLLEGE

The Lady Little Lions (15-0, 14-0) nailed down their division title with a 25-19, 25-22, 25-19 triumph against Central Dauphin. Kacy Sekunda led the way with 15 kills, 16 assists and three aces, while Vanessa McGhee added nine kills and four blocks.

Sarah Neely distributed 13 assists and Ariana Angus had 10 digs.

On Oct. 9, State College took care of Cedar Cliff 25-18, 25-22, 25-23, with a 10-kill, 18-assist, three-ace performance from Sekunda. Kate Lachendro also had three aces along with eight digs, Elena Spielvogel added nine kills, Neely had 11 assists, Angus tallied 13 digs and Jacqui Gordon had eight digs.

The Lady Little Lions closed their regular season hosting on Wednesday with a three-set win over Mifflin County. State College hosts PVCA Class A No. 1 Clarion on Thursday following the JV game at 5:30 p.m.