As the regular volleyball season ends, the West Branch Lady Warriors once again went head-to-head with the Junata Valley Lady Hornets. This year, the competition was a little bit different than in past years. After losing 7 key players last year, everyone went into this season knowing it was a rebuilding year. The Lady Hornets hosted the Lady Warriors on Thursday, 9/10, and took a tough 3- 1 loss to the Hornets, and the battle was not over yet. The Lady Warriors hosted the Hornets on Thursday, 10/8, and successfully took them in a 3-1 win. While this does not seem like a big deal, for the Lady Warriors, this is extremely important; the Lady Warriors needed to win this game over the Hornets to represent the North in the Inter-County Conference, or so they thought. The Lady Warriors were informed that they needed to meet so many criteria to represent the North.
The Lady Warriors’ record in the conference is 8-1, and overall they are 13-7-6. The Lady Hornets are 7-1, and their overall record is 11-3-1. The PIAA association says that all teams beyond this point will be declared section co-champions. All teams will receive a trophy, and all athletes will receive medals. To determine which team plays to represent North championships, steps 3 through 8 will be applied. Step 3 states that tournament games will not be added to the advantage for a team. Conference opponents are considered first; non-conference opponents will be considered second. Step 4 looks at head-to-head point differential. Step 5 takes into account the overall record, including all games except tournament games. Step 6 looks at the overall number of wins; tournament games would not be included. Step 7 is called the “Rose Bowl” rule. This is a rule embedded deep within the PIAA that “eliminates the team that has made the most recent or frequent appearance in a championship or playoff berth”. This rule is designed to avoid dominance of any specific program. The final step (Step 8) is a coin toss. Head Coach Terry Trude states, “This would be our 18th ICC North title in 19 years. Also, we have won the overall ICC Championship 16 out of the past 18 years. I would say that is really impressive for our volleyball program!” Due to the Lady Warriors’ and the Lady Hornets’ records, they will both be co-champions of the North Conference.
Depending on the Lady Warriors’ outcome on Thursday, 10/15, against the Glendale Vikings, that will determine who will represent the North Conference in the ICC semi-finals.
