WINGATE — Bald Eagle Area is off to the hottest start among area high school girls volleyball teams, posting a 6-0 record and dropping only three sets along the way. A key to that success has been a balanced offense.
The Lady Eagles took down Huntingdon 25-17, 25-17, 27-25 on Sept. 7 behind nine kills for Leah Bryan, eight for Taylor Hall and seven for Myia Brooks. Bryan also put up three blocks while Hall delivered a pair of aces, Taylor Habovick gave out 29 assists and Olivia Taylor collected 21 digs.
Two days earlier, the Lady Eagles swept Clearfield 25-13, 25-14, 25-18, with six kills for Rachel Bryan and four each for Hall, Leah Bryan and Gabbie Perry. Habovick distributed 22 assists to go with three aces, Taylor also had three aces, Brooks and Leah Bryan each had a pair of blocks, and Nora Eppley picked up seven digs.
The tightest match of the season came Sept. 11 with a 25-16, 25-17, 20-25, 23-25, 15-11 victory against Williamsport, as Bryan had 13 kills and two blocks, Brooks posted 11 kills, Hall had eight kills, Perry and Olivia Boone each had a pair of aces, Habovick gave out 49 assists and Taylor picked up 15 digs.
“It’s just the way we’ve been playing it out,” coach Zach Rote said of the balanced offense. “Not necessarily a focus, but we have a good setter who is smart and distributes the ball well, and it helps having great hitters as well.”
Bellefonte
Carlee Pepperman delivered an all-around performance over a seven-day stretch. In three matches, the senior outside hitter had 39 kills, 58 digs and 11 aces.
The Lady Raiders earned their first win of the season Sept. 7, knocking off Central 25-19, 25-21, 21-25, 25-21 behind 14 kills, seven aces and 17 digs from Pepperman. Grace Novitsky also had 14 kills and Aubrey Schreppel notched 34 assists. Bellefonte also had a strong performance from the service line, with 18 team aces. Kiera Clarkson and Sadie Ripka had three aces apiece to join Pepperman’s total. Kiera Clarkson also had two blocks, Ella Novitsky collected 16 digs and Delaney Gray had 10 digs.
Pepperman put up 17 kills, three aces and 14 digs during a 23-25, 25-17, 25-20, 16-25, 15-9 loss to Huntingdon on Sept. 5. Grace Novitsky added nine kills and three blocks, Schreppel had 24 assists and seven digs, Ella Novitsky recorded three aces and eight digs, and Ripka also had three aces.
Bellefonte lost to Central Mountain 22-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-18 Sept. 11 as Pepperman recorded eight kills and 27 digs. Grace Novitsky led the team with 16 kills, Schreppel gave out 29 assists, Keira Clarkson had three blocks, Carley Clarkson posted three aces and 10 digs, and Ella Novitsky added three aces and 16 digs.
Penns Valley
The Lady Rams have rolled off a three-match win streak after opening the season with losses to defending District 6 Class 2A champion Philipsburg-Osceola and 3A champion Hollidaysburg.
Penns Valley captured its first win of the season Sept. 5 against Tyrone, 25-17, 23-25, 25-17, 21-25, 15-8, behind 15 kills, five aces and 23 digs for Ella Hadley, with Kendall Guisewhite adding nine kills. Ella Aston posted 27 assists and 17 digs, Maddie Butler had 25 digs and three aces, and Moriah Hurd put up three blocks.
Win No. 2 for the Lady Rams came Sept. 7 with a 25-11, 25-12, 25-20 sweep of Bishop Guilfoyle. Hadley collected 11 kills and eight digs, with six kills for Hurd, five kills for Ava Reeder, 22 assists and eight aces for Aston, 17 digs and three aces for Butler and seven digs for Guisewhite.
Penns Valley cruised past East Juniata on Sept. 11, 25-7, 25-5, 25-7 behind seven kills from Hadley and three each for Hurd, Reeder, Paige Auman, Callie Riddle and Carlee Emery. Aston posted 19 assists and six aces, Reeder also had six aces and Guisewhite delivered three aces.
“It’s nice to get some wins in a row,” coach Brad Baldwin said. “I believe that we have worked through some of our areas of growth and are becoming a strong, cohesive team. I’m proud of the girls and the coaching staff for remaining positive and resilient.”
Philipsburg-Osceola
In a matchup of defending district champions, the Lady Mounties prevailed against Hollidaysburg 24-26, 25-16, 26-24, 25-20 on Sept. 7. Reese Hazelton racked up 23 kills and 19 digs, Maddy Lumadue distributed 16 assists, Natalie Betz handed out 15 assists, Annie Johnson had 19 digs and Ava Ropert added five kills and three blocks.
P-O beat Chestnut Ridge on Sept. 5, 25-20, 25-14, 25-13, with 10 kills and eight digs for Hazelton, eight kills and three aces for Granville, 12 assists and three aces for Betz and 10 assists for Lumadue.
The Lady Mounties faced some of the state’s best at a tournament Sept. 9 at Wilson, and the state’s No. 1 team in the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association’s Class 2A rankings found there is work to do. They had a 3-5 record during pool play, losing 2-0 to Bishop Shanahan and Southern Lehigh, splitting 1-1 with PVCA Class 3A No. 1 Pope John Paul II and defeating Class 3A No. 6 Twin Valley 2-0. P-O did not advance to the elimination bracket. Hazelton led the way with 40 kills, 23 digs and five aces, while Adi Jarrett added nine kills and 11 digs. Lumadue had 26 assists and Betz gave out 25 assists, Johnson made 15 digs and Ropert put up three blocks.
“We were hoping for a little better performance at this tournament,” coach Dave Eckberg said. “We were missing one of our six-rotation players (Granville), so we struggled to find our offense at times. More importantly, our serving and passing numbers were below our season average. We were able to stay competitive throughout the day but just didn’t have enough to get through to the playoff round.”
State College
The Lady Little Lions’ schedule began later than the rest of Centre County’s teams, not playing its opener until Sept. 6, and the initial matches have not been the best for a team than opened the campaign No. 10 in the PVCA Class 4A rankings.
State College lost that first match to Cumberland Valley 22-25, 25-17, 25-15, 25-15 as Sara Tate picked up 15 kills and 18 digs, with 10 kills for Annie LaMotta, three aces for Alexis Fisher, four blocks for Alex Haskins, 18 assists for Jessie Campbell, 10 assists and six digs for Emma Lally and six digs for Brynn Lally.
In the tournament at Wilson on Sept. 9, the Lady Little Lions lost to Class 4A No. 2 Parkland 21-13, 21-15, and to Class 3A No. 4 Allentown Central Catholic 23-21, 21-13. They defeated Garden Spot 21-17, 21-13 and split with Central Dauphin 21-19, 18-21. Tate led the way with 27 kills and 18 digs, followed by LaMotta’s 16 kills, Olivia Smith’s nine kills, Fisher’s three aces and 14 digs, Haskins’ four blocks, Brynn Lally’s 16 digs and Lily D’Altrui’s 16 digs. Campbell collected 36 assists, six blocks and 12 digs, and Emma Lally added 15 assists, four aces and 13 digs.
In their third bus trip of two-plus hours in a span of six days, State College fell 25-18, 25-27, 25-13, 25-19 to Cedar Cliff on Sept. 11. Tate had 18 kills on 60 swings and two aces, while Haskins added six and Campbell notched five to go with 14 assists. Emma Lally had 13 assists, two aces and 10 digs. The team had the floor covered defensively with 86 digs, with 21 for Tate and Brynn Lally, 13 for D’Altrui and 10 for Campbell.
“It hasn’t been a great start,” coach Chad Weight admitted. “Our hope is that we can stay the course, keep working at it, and get better.”
Saint Joseph’s Catholic Academy
The Wolfpack played a marathon against Sugar Valley Charter School on Sept. 8 but came up just short, 25-23, 25-23, 18-25, 20-25, 15-13. Saint Joe’s put up a fight thanks to a service game that produced 24 aces, led by nine by Gianna Folmar, four each for Katie Pase and Trinity Kline and three apiece for Jordyn Rose and Monika Peters. Kaige Hutchings led with four kills and four blocks, with three kills for Kline, 11 assists for Pase, two blocks for Peters, five digs for Sachi Ohmoto and four digs for Folmar.
Mount Union knocked off the Wolfpack 25-10, 26-28, 25-19, 25-21 on Sept. 6, as Peters posted three kills and two aces, Pase had six assists and Folmar and Leah Ridenour had nine and seven digs, respectively.
SJCA lost to Juniata 25-5, 25-16, 25-18 on Sept. 5, with two kills for Kaige Hutchings, five assists for Peters and six digs for Sachi Ohmoto.
Millersburg swept the Wolfpack 25-18, 25-12, 25-18 on Sept. 11, with three kills and two blocks for Hutchings, three assists each for Peters and Pase, five digs and two aces for Folmar and four digs for Rose.
