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6 County Volleyball Players Earn All-State Honors

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A season filled with success brought a few more honors for the State College, Penns Valley and Bald Eagle Area girls’ volleyball teams, with players for each earning All-State honors from the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association.

The Lady Eagles’ Madison Rockey, Grace Hugar and Lexi Skripek, and Penns Valley’s Jadyn Butler, were singled out in Class 2A. Honors went to the Lady Little Lions’ Kacy Sekunda and Vanessa McGhee in Class 4A.

BEA’s three picks led District 6’s nine Class 2A selections. The Mountain League had five girls honored, with Tyrone’s Makenna Bauer also making the list.

The PVCA honored 50 girls in each of the state’s four classes on the annual lists.

For the BEA trio, it has been an annual event to cap the season. Seniors Rockey and Hugar became the first two Lady Eagles to make all-state three times, and Skripek, a junior, earned a second selection. The Lady Eagles fell short in their defense of their 2018 PIAA Class 2A title, losing to eventual state champion Pittsburgh North Catholic in this season’s quarterfinals.

Bald Eagle Area senior Madison Rockey, the program’s record holder for career assists, won All-State honors for the third time following the 2019 season.

Hugar will graduate with a program-record 1,202 kills, only the second Lady Eagle to surpass 1,000 kills, plus 190 aces and 920 digs. She had team-highs of 266 kills and 65 aces, plus 228 digs this fall. Rockey is the only Lady Eagle with over 3,000 career assists, finishing with 3,204. She also had 627 digs and 141 aces over four seasons, with 872 assists, 207 digs and 35 aces this year. Skripek had a team-leading 447 digs to go with 41 aces, and will be building on her school-record 1,042 career digs come next fall.

BEA senior Grace Hugar set a program record for kills en route to her third All-State honor.

They finished with a 20-1 record, and the seniors finished their careers with a 78-4 record.

“The last three years of their careers they went 62-2 with the two loses to the state champion of that season,” BEA coach Larry Campbell said. “Lexi returns as our libero, and she will be one of the leaders we rely on as we transition into next year’s team.”

BEA junior Lexi Skripek was named All-State for the second time following the 2019 season.

State College closed with a 19-1 record and a quarterfinal loss to North Allegheny, also the eventual state champion. Both the Lady Little Lions and Lady Eagles are No. 5 in the PVCA’s final polls in their respective classes.

The all-state selection is the second of Sekunda’s career. She led her team with 298 kills, .375 hitting, 103 aces and 440 assists. The junior also was second on the team with 166 digs and third with 35 blocks.

McGhee, a junior middle blocker, was third with 222 kills, second among regular players with .303 hitting, and led the Lady Little Lions with 59 total blocks.

The pair has helped State College amass a record of 40-2 over the last two seasons, with both losses to the eventual state champion Tigers.

“It’s always nice to see our girls recognized for their efforts,” State College coach Chad Weight said. “Both Kacy and Vanessa are returning starters from a year ago who had a lot to do with the team’s success. … We’re proud of their diligent work and we look forward to more next year.”

State College junior middle blocker Vanessa McGhee (1) earned All-State honors following the 2019 season after leading the team in blocks.

Butler has been a steady rock in the back row for the Lady Rams. The junior already owns the program records for digs in a season (415) and career (850) on her way to her first all-state honor. She also delivered 28 aces.

“Jadyn is obviously a very talented player, but more importantly than that I’m proud of all the hard work she puts in year round to get to this level,” Penns Valley coach Jayme Ishler said. “She anchors our defense, constantly keeping the ball up, allowing us to stay in points we might otherwise lose. She makes my job much easier.”

Penns Valley junior Jadyn Butler set program records for digs in a season and career on the way to her first All-State honor in 2019.