Five of the six local girls volleyball teams qualified for this year’s District 6 tournament and began playing as early as Wednesday, Oct. 23 for the single A teams.
St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy, Bald Eagle Area, Bellefonte, Philipsburg-Osceola and State College all have matches coming up in the tournament, and here is a closer look at each team:
NO. 1 STATE COLLEGE (11-2) VS NO. 2 ALTOONA (4-11)
The Mid Penn Commonwealth champion, State College Lady Little Lions, will play in the District 6, 4A championship game on Tuesday, Oct. 29 at Tyrone Middle School.
The championship match will be against Mid Penn foe Altoona (4-11) with the winner advancing to the regional tournament.
State College and Altoona have already played two matches in Mid Penn play with SC winning both.
On Thursday, Aug. 29, SC took a 3-0 win over the Lady Mountain Lions, and then on Monday, Sept. 23, they met again with the Little Lions prevailing 3-1.
State College will come into the match having lost two of its last three, but before that the team put together an impressive 10-game winning streak to begin the season.
SC is led by all-everything Sarah Tate and assist leader Emma Lally, who were both instrumental in the Lions’ last victory over Altoona in September.
The winner will move on to the regional tournament with hopes to qualify for the PIAA state tournament.
NO. 9 SJCA (8-9) AT NO. 8 BISHOP MCCORT
The St. Joseph’s Catholic Academy girls volleyball team finished its regular season with a strong three wins in its last five matches and qualified for the tournament as the No. 9 seed in single A.
SJCA had wins over Moshannon Valley, 3-1, Juniata, 3-2, and Sugar Valley, 3-1, before falling to Williamsburg in its final match, 3-0, at Williamsburg.
The season ended with the WolfPack at 8-9, and the team will now take on No. 8 Bishop McCort in the first round on Wednesday, Oct. 23, in Johnstown.
McCort finished its season at 7-9 and with a 3-0 victory over Bedford on Tuesday. Oct. 15.
The D6 match will send the winner to face No. 1 West Branch (13-1) on Monday, Oct. 28, at West Branch in the quarterfinals.
NO. 10 SOUTHERN HUNTINGDON (13-7) AT NO. 7 PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA (11-5)
The P-O Lady Mounties finished their season with wins over Huntingdon, 3-1, 25-21, 25-23, 17-25, 25-13, and Penns Valley, 3-0, 26-24, 25-18, 25-20, and qualified as the No. 7 seed in the D6, 2A tournament.
At 11-5 for the season, the Mounties will match up against Southern Huntingdon, 13-7, on Thursday, Oct. 24, in Philipsburg in the 2A first round.
SHS comes into the match with three wins in its last four matches. On Monday, Oct. 7, the Rockets beat East Juniata, 3-0, and then on the 8th they bested Mount Union, 3-1. Their only loss in the stretch came to Tussey Mountain, 3-1, on Thursday, Oct. 10, but they rebounded with a win on the 14th over Fannett Metal, 3-0.
P-O as usual will rely on its big hitters, Adi Jarrett, Megan Johnson and Crosby Holt along with setters Natalie Betz and Emily Gustkey.
The winner will advance to take on No. 2 West Shamokin (16-0) on Tuesday, Oct. 29, at West Shamokin in the quarterfinals.
NO. 13 CENTRAL CAMBRIA (9-9) AT NO. 4 BALD EAGLE AREA (15-3)
The Lady Bald Eagles have not lost a match since Thursday, Sept. 12, and will come into the first round, 2A contest against No. 13 Central Cambria on an 11-match win streak.
BEA hasn’t lost a set since its 3-1 win over Chestnut Ridge on October 3 and has shut out its last four opponents: Tyrone, Bellefonte, Williamsport and Central Martinsburg.
As the No. 4 seed, the Eagles just missed out on a First-Round bye, but they still match up against the highest seed in the tournament, Central Cambria at No. 13.
CCHS has three wins in its last five matches, but it lost the last two to Somerset, 3-2, and Penn Cambria, 3-1. Before those, there were wins over Tyrone, Bedford and Bishop Carroll.
BEA will be led by kill and block leader Leah Bryan, assist leader Taylor Habovick and dig and reception leader Olivia Taylor.
The winner of the match will advance to the Quarterfinals against either No. 5 Huntingdon or No. 12 Westmont-Hilltop. Should the Eagles win, that match will be at BEA on Tuesday, Oct. 29.
NO. 4 BELLEFONTE (6-11) AT NO. 1 CENTRAL MOUNTAIN (12-2)
The Bellefonte Lady Raiders struggled coming down the stretch in the regular season with three losses to end their season.
Those losses came at the hands of BEA, Hollidaysburg and Bellwood-Antis, all top level teams, and with their last victory coming on Tuesday, Oct. 8, with a 3-1 win over Bishop Guilfoyle.
The Raiders took the final playoff spot in D6, 3A and will travel to face No. 1 Central Mountain on Monday, Oct. 28, in the semifinals.
Central Mountain has only one blemish on its record since Friday, Aug. 27, and that was a 3-1 loss to ICC power West Branch, 3-1, on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at West Branch.
Otherwise, all wins, including ones against top teams like BEA, Berwick and Shamokin Area.
Bellefonte’s Keira Clarkson leads the team in kills along with Colbie Frailey and Aubrey Schrelppel is the leader in assists.
The winner of the match will advance to the finals on Wednesday, Oct. 30, against either No. 2 Hollidaysburg (16-2) or No. 3 Somerset (12-4).
