CENTRE COUNTY — It’s a race to the District 6 finish line for all of our local girls’ volleyball teams.
The last day to record a match to count for the district rankings is Thursday, Oct. 17, and the tournament will begin with the first round of the A-teams on Wednesday, Oct. 23.
Here is a look at our local teams, their recent results and their district standings:
STATE COLLEGE
Record: 11-2, Mid Penn Commonwealth champions
D6 Rank: #1
The State College girls volleyball won the championship of the Mid Penn Commonwealth Conference with an 8-2 final record despite splitting its last two matches against Mechanicsburg and Chambersburg.
Against Mechanicsburg, the Little Lions prevailed in a tense 3-1 victory, 15-25, 25-18,28-26, 25-23 that clinched the conference title.
The team was led by Jessie Campbell who had a triple-double with 14 kills, 12 digs and 21 assists, while Alex Haskins followed with 13 kills and Annie Lamotta had six.
Emily Lally led the team with 24 assists, and Brynn Lally came through with 25 digs.
The victory was the 11th overall for the team and kept the team two games ahead of Chambersburg in the Mid Penn standings.
On Thursday, Oct. 10, in its final Mid Penn match, the team traveled to Chambersburg and took a very close 3-0, 25-20,25-22, 25-22 loss at the hands of the Lady Trojans.
State College was led again by Campbell and Lally, but the loss did not affect State College’s standing because the Lions were two games ahead.
State College still has one game remaining on the regular-season schedule against non-league Trinity tonight at home.
For the No. 1 Lions, the District 6 finals will be at Tyrone Middle School on Monday, Oct. 28.
BALD EAGLE AREA
Record: 13-3
D6 Standing: #4 in 2A
The Bald Eagle Area girls volleyball team had a bit of a lull in mid-September with three straight losses, but since then the team has won nine consecutive matches with the last one being a 3-0 victory over Bellefonte at home on Thursday, Oct. 10.
The Lady Eagles prevailed in that match 25-18, 25-12 and 25-12 and were led by junior Leah Bryan’s 15 kills and senior Gabby Perry’s 10.
Taylor Habovick handed out 32 assists, and Olivia Taylor led with 16 digs.
Bald Eagle Area still has two regular season matches to play, one against non-league Williamsport at home and a final conference match at 0-12 Central Martinsburg.
At No. 4 in the District 6 2A rankings, Bald Eagle Area will most likely get a bye in the first round of the tournament and begin district play on Tuesday, Oct. 29, in the quarterfinals.
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA
Record: 10-5
D6 2A Rank: #7, just behind #6 Bellwood-Antis
The Philipsburg-Osceola Lady Mounties prevailed over Huntingdon, 3-1, on Thursday, Oct. 10, and broke a late-season two-match losing streak.
The Mounties lost the third set to the Bearcats, but still came through with a 25-21, 25-23, 17-25, 25-13 victory after playing an exceptionally strong fourth set to take the win.
Adi Jarrett smashed 20 kills, Megan Johnson had 13 and Crosby Holt had 10 as the Lady Mounties improved to 10-5 for the season.
Emily Gustkey had 23 digs for the team, while Natalie Betz handed out 46 assists.
Jarrett and Betz received 50 serves between them.
The win moved Philipsburg-Osceola into second place in the LHAC 1 conference ahead of Bellwood and two games behind Bald Eagle Area.
With one more conference match remaining against 1-13 Penns Valley, the Mounties will have to wait until after Thursday, Oct. 17, to find out their pairing for the D6 playoffs.
BELLEFONTE
Record: 6-9
D6 Rank: #4 out of 5 in 3A
Coming in ahead of winless Greater Johnstown, the Bellefonte Lady Raiders will advance into the D6 playoffs at the No. 4 position and match up with No. 1 Central Mountain (11-1) on Monday, Oct. 28, in the semifinals.
In the past week, the Raiders split two matches with a 3-1 win over Bishop Guilfoyle and a 3-0 loss to neighborhood rival Bald Eagle Area.
In the Guilfoyle match, a 25-23, 15-25, 25-8, 25-18 win, Keira Clarkson spiked 10 kills, Delaney Gray had 15 digs and Aubrey Schreppel handed out 29 assists as the team took its sixth win.
The Raiders still have 3A No. 2 Hollidaysburg and Bellwood-Antis on their regular-season schedule.
SAINT JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC ACADEMY
Record: 7-7
Rank: #7 in Single-A
The Lady Wolfpack has three wins in their last five matches with victories over East Juniata, Moshannon Valley and Juniata.
They came out with a 25-16, 25-19, 21-25, 25-19 over MoValley on Wednesday, Oct. 2, in Houtzdale for their sixth win.
Now, ranked No. 7 in D6, Single-A, SJCA will likely take the court on Wednesday, Oct. 23, in the first round of the D6 tournament against the No. 12 seed, which is Claysburg-Kimmel (6-14) at a site to be announced on Thursday, Oct. 17.
PENNS VALLEY
Record: 2-15
Rank: #18 in 2A
The Rams have had a difficult season with victories over only Bishop Guilfoyle and Bedford and will likely not qualify for the postseason.
The Rams still have Philipsburg-Osceola and Bishop Carroll still to play in the regular season.
