CENTRE COUNTY — SJCA advanced after a reverse sweep of Claysburg-Kimmel.
The St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy’s girls’ volleyball team didn’t panic after losing the first two sets to Claysburg-Kimmel in the Quarterfinals of the District 6, 1A Girls’ Volleyball Tournament in Boalsburg on Monday night.
Although it is a long road to travel when a team is down 2-0 in a five-set match, but somehow the Lady WolfPack found a way to get it done.
After losing Set 1, 25-17, and then Set 2, 25-20, SJCA regrouped and began its comeback with a tense, 25-17 win in Set 3.
With the momentum shifting, the ‘Pack kept it going with a 25-27 victory in the crucial Set 4 and set up a winner-take-all showdown in the final set.
Led by Monika and Claire Peters, the WolfPack toughed out an overtime, 17-15 win in Set 3 and in the process earned a ticket to the D6 Semifinals.
The final set was close the entire way, with the teams trading the lead, but SJCA broke through with two winning points after the teams were tied at 15-15.
Setter Monika Peters led the ‘Pack with 32 assists and 17 digs, while Claire Peters nailed 25 kills with 3 aces and 9 digs.
Kate Laskowski had 5 kills and 8 digs, Julia Albertine had 3 aces, 2 kills, 2 blocks and 3 digs.
The WolfPack will now advance to the District Semifinals on October 29 against Conemaugh Valley at home.
Conemaugh Valley is seeded No. 10 in the bracket and came into the tournament with an 8-10 record.
However, CV won all four of its final regular season matches, and in the tournament so far it advanced to the Semis with wins over No. 7 Juniata Valley, 3-1, and No. 2 Purchase Line, 3-0.
The No. 10 over No. 2 victory was the biggest surprise in the tournament so far, and Conemaugh will be coming into Boalsburg full of confidence.
The winner will advance to the Finals on Saturday, November 1 at 12 p.m. at Altoona High School.
Bellefonte fell to Central Mountain in the AAA Semifinals.
The Bellefonte girls’ volleyball team entered the District 6, AAA Girls’ Volleyball Tournament as the No. 4 seed and immediately faced off with No. 1 Central Mountain.
Playing at Central Mountain on October 27 to open the tournament, Bellefonte began strong but eventually fell to the 14-1 Wildcats, 3-0.
The Raiders played the first set close until the Wildcats went on a 10-2 streak and closed it out with a 25-16 win.
That momentum carried over into the second set which was all Central Mountain and which ended at 25-8.
To its credit, Bellefonte kept at it, and in Set 3, the Raiders staved off seven set points before finally falling 25-23.
The loss ended the match along with the season for the Raiders with a final record of 5-12.
For Bellefonte, Colbie Frailey led the offense with 9 kills, while Aubrey Schreppel had 7 assists and Brooke Carlini had 5. Bella Pereira and Schreppel each had 3 aces, and Schreppel led the team with 9 points.
Central Mountain will now go on to face Hollidaysburg in the District Final on October 29 at a site to be announced.
State College ready for the Regional Championships.
In the District 6, AAAA Bracket, Mifflin County and Altoona chose not the enter the District Tournament which left 13-1 State College as the District Champion.
State College will now await the announcement of the team it will face in the Regional Finals along with the date and site.
