On Saturday, November 4th, the Lady Warrior volleyball team and their fans traveled to the Altoona Fieldhouse to battle Homer-Center for the D6 Class A title. Before the start of the game, the Warriors knew it would be an exciting contest and that Homer-Center was a really skilled team. West Branch led the game winning the first two sets with the scores of 25-22 and 25-17. These were very close sets with opponent Homer-Center. After a tough battle in the third set, the Lady Warriors fell 21-25. The set didn’t discourage the Warriors though, because they had been in this situation before and knew that they could battle back. Going back onto the court at the beginning of the fourth set the Lady Warriors topped Homer-Center in a close set of 25-23, to not only win the game but also to be named the 2023 District 6 ‘A’ Champions.
In the first set, West Branch had a 14-10 lead. Katrina Cowder finished the first set for the Warriors by getting two kills in a row to end the frame 25-22. Katrina also led the teams’ offense with a total of 21 kills, along with recording 10 service points and 6 blocks. West Branch was up 17-13 and then 23-15 in the second set. Senior Brooklyn Myers was up to serve for the Warriors and got an ace for game point which finished the second set 25-17. During the game, Brooklyn had 17 assists, a total of 8 service points, and 15 digs. West Branch still held the lead at the beginning of the third set 12-10, but Homer-Center had a three-point run which put them in the lead with a score of 13-12. After a little bit of gameplay, Homer-Center was still in the lead with a score of 18-15. The Warriors were not able to come back and fell to Homer-Center 25-21 in the third set. At the start of the fourth set, the Warriors headed back out on the court to hopefully finish the game. Junior Makiya Mack got a big kill for the game point which finished the fourth set and the game. Mack recorded 5 other kills during the game. The Warriors were very excited to capture the 2023 Class A D6 Championship. Coach Trude stated, “I am so proud of our team. They continue to be calm under pressure and play with a lot of poise and confidence. We are an experienced team and definitely battle-tested.” This wasn’t the end of the season, as the Lady Warriors have now moved on to the PIAA state playoffs.
