The Warrior volleyball team headed to Altoona Fieldhouse in pursuit of a 4th straight District 6 title on Saturday. The team showed up comfortable and confident in their abilities, sweeping the Conemaugh Valley Lady Blue Jays in 3 sets, 25-14, 25-14, and 25-20, respectively, to claim the crown.

The Warriors set the tone quickly after starting the first set trailing 3-1 because of some hitting errors, but quickly got back to 3-3, then never looked back after that. The second set was the Warriors all the way from the start of the set with a 4-0 lead. In the third set, the Warriors started slow, but called a timeout. When they came out of the timeout, they battled back and forth, getting the lead and tying it 18-18 before they finished off the Lady Blue Jays.

It was a collective group effort by the entire Lady Warrior team, with Haley Woodling having 4 aces and 4 kills, Bella Koleno with 5 kills and 7 digs, Kyla Kephart with 20 assists and 11 digs, Brielle Bainey with 20 digs, Lexie Mulhollem with 13 digs, and Madison Korb with 2 kills. Senior Brielle Bainey said, “The team showed up and played aggressively, and the team is excited about the postseason.”

The team worked hard, and it paid off. This senior class is by far the most decorated group of student athletes in West Branch Area High School history, with 4 district titles, 3 Inter-County Conference titles in 2022, 2023, 2024, as well as runners-up this current season, 2-time PIAA state tournament runners-up with silver medals in 2022 and 2023, and also an elite 8 appearance in 2024. They also have countless tournament wins all over Pennsylvania and even a trip with wins to the Disney Classic tournament in Florida. 

The Lady Warrior volleyball team will travel to Shanksville Stoney Creek High School to play Berlin Brothers Valley in the PIAA Class A tournament on Tuesday at 7 p.m.  There will be a fan bus available for students to travel in support of the team.