This was the start of a tough week for the Lady Warriors: a strong win against Central Mountain followed by an intense match on Thursday at Berlin for the ICC Semi-finals.
The Lady Warrior volleyball team played Central Mountain on Tuesday, October 15th at home. This was a big win for the girls. They’re currently competing with Northern Cambria for the top seed in District 6. The Central Mountain game started close. There was a one to two-point difference the whole first set. It was back and forth, leaving everybody on the edge of their seats, but the Warriors pulled through to earn set one.
In the second set, the Warriors were down 6-3. Kyla Kephart served. She had two aces bringing them up, but they lost the lead and the game was tied 8-8. The score was tied many times throughout the second set. After battling the whole time, Central Mountain won the second set 25-22.
The third set also started close. There were a few serving runs throughout but nothing consistent. The Warriors and the Wildcats continued to trade the lead back and forth. With a score of 24-22, the Wildcats served. Brielle Bainey took the dig, Kephart set, and Bella Koleno ended the set with a kill.
In the fourth set, it seemed that Central Mountain’s performance decreased. They started to fade and the Warriors took advantage staying up for most of the game while Central Mountain called many time-outs. Haley Woodling finished the last set with a kill, winning the game with a score of 25-18.
Out of the frying pan and into the fire, the Warriors played Berlin Brothers Valley on Thursday for the ICC Semis. They had lost to the Mountaineers earlier in the season so people expected another tense meeting, and it was. The Warriors needed the full five sets to dispatch Berlin.
The game started fast, there were good rallies and the teams stayed with each other. The Warriors started strong, winning the first set 25-22. In the second and third sets, Berlin’s serving caused problems for the Warriors and they struggled to stay in the system dropping the second and third sets. The Warriors knew they had to battle back and they delivered. They made some adjustments and won the fourth and fifth sets. The fourth was 25-12. In the fifth, the team led 10-5. They ended the game with a score of 15-9. Junior Haley Woodling said, “The 5-set win over Berlin was incredible. We knew going into the game that we would have to fight for every point. There were some very long rallies throughout the sets but we never gave up or lost any energy. The team played super well and I hope we use this momentum to move forward into the ICC championship and District playoffs.”
Overall this was an important week for the Lady Warriors as they will continue their run through the ICC against Everett on at home.
