Lady Tigers battle, but fall
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HOLLIDAYSBURG -- The Hollidaysburg girls volleyball team, coming off its second straight District 6 Class 3A championship, opened up state tournament play Tuesday night at home against District 3 consolation winner Twin Valley.
It's the second straight year the Lady Tigers got to compete in the PIAA postseason, and despite the loss, it's something coach Dean Grenfell hopes becomes more than just the exception.
"For our program, I want those district titles to be our benchmark and that our girls know that we can compete at the state level," said Grenfell, whose club lost a tug-of-war, back-and-forth contest, 25-23, 21-25, 25-18, 25-21 to the Lady Raiders.
And compete they did, which also not only impressed Grenfell, but Twin Valley coach Bob Robinette, too.
"From what I saw on film, they do a lot of ball control and they don't kill themselves with mistakes," said Robinette, whose team moves on to the quarterfinals with a 20-6 record. "They make their opponents work for every point, which is huge in this game. They keep the ball in play, and they play good defense."
Hollidaysburg (10-8) jumped out to a 17-7 lead in the first set behind the play of Aubrey Pupa, Elsey Kephart, Sierra McGinnis, Bridgett Everett and Lexi McLanahan. However, it was there that Twin Valley began its comeback, tying things up at 20-20, thanks to a kill by senior Laura Biegel.
"I don't think there was any real turning point. They were a great team and I think we matched up really well with them, but I do believe if we take set one, which we were up in, the match is way different," Grenfell said.
Twin Valley went on to win the first set, 25-23, getting the last two points on a Lady Tigers kill that went too long and a block that faltered at the net.
"This was a great match. I would think both coaches should be pleased that both teams really showed up." Robinette said. "It really was a shame that someone had to lose."
Someone did lose the second set, Twin Valley, when the Lady Tigers regrouped and pulled out a 25-21 victory. Hollidaysburg took the lead at 22-21 when Joelle DeLattre and Brittyn Davenport had a combined block at the net for a point, then Everett, Pupa and DeLattre accounted for the final three points.
The Lady Raiders controlled the third set, winning 25-18 to go up 2-1. With the score tied at 10-all, Hollidaysburg gave up six straight points where it could not even get the ball back over the net.
Biegel and Jordyn Robinette accounted for the final two points to win the set.
"She comes to play every night. She's such a competitor," Coach Robinette said of the senior Biegel, who had several vicious spikes throughout the night.
Hollidaysburg hung tough in the fourth set, falling behind 4-0, only to cut that lead to 9-8. The Lady Tigers fell behind 13-9, only to get back in it at 16-13. Twin Valley even had trouble getting the ball back over the net as Pupa served the Tigers to within one at 21-20.
Each time Hollidaysburg delivered what appeared to be a big spike or a well-placed tip into a desserted area, one of the Lady Raiders kept the ball alive.
"It is tough sometimes to a hit a shot and think it's going to be a point and then they make a play on it to keep it alive," Grenfell said. "They are picking it up and we have to play it all over again. They have great middles that they hit. I tell our girls all the time the other team is going to get points. You don't win 25-0 in volleyball."
The night ended when Twin Valley's Juliet Simmet recorded her final spike, sending the ball over the net as she stood sidways facing the crowd. It wasn't returned, setting the final at 25-21
"I think we did a great job preparing for them. We executed on things we wanted to do," Grenfell said. "They just had a little more than us at the end."
Seniors playing their final game for the Lady Tigers were Davenport, DeLattre, Everett and Breann Shoop.