High School Girls volleyball

Bishop Carroll savors D6 title

Bishop Carroll Catholic seniors Emily Olienyk and Olivia Gregg have been two of the best girls volleyball players in the area over the past four years, but until Saturday they didn't have any gold to show for it.

That's no longer the case after a dominant 25-12, 25-12, 25-10 victory over a Saint Joseph's Academy team that was making its first-ever appearance in a District 6 final at the Altoona Area High School Fieldhouse.

"It's super exciting," BC coach Kate Patrick said. "The girls deserve it and have worked hard. This has been a goal on their mind going back to last year. I'm really proud of them."

Patrick, whose maiden name is Yahner, was part of the Lady Huskies most recent District 6 championship team in 2018 and is confident Saturday's win can be the start of a special run that will continue at home at 6 p.m. Tuesday against WPIAL runner-up Serra Catholic in the first round of the PIAA Class 1A tournament.

"We have our eyes set on more," Patrick said. "We're not done yet. We can make another run in the state playoffs. We are looking forward to that."

Saint Joseph's Academy also advances to the state tournament and will take on District 3 champion West Shore Christian on Tuesday.

"They are a lot taller than we are," Saint Joseph's coach Tod McPherson said. "My girls are all about 5 feet, 5 inches. They probably had a 6-1 girl, another 6-foot girl. They have some big girls over there. You can't teach tall. We had to just keep coming at them the best we could, but that's a really good volleyball team. They do a lot of things well and should be proud of the way they played."

Two of those players are Olienyk and Gregg.

"They are great leaders," Patrick said. "They are strong, obviously talented and skilled players. They are also leaders on the court. They pick people up. They talk, and they make a big impact and it shows."

The PIAA switched from four classifications in girls volleyball to six this year, and the Bishop Carroll players took notice that a greater window of opportunity had opened.

"We have always been very close, but with the recent changes in classifications, we knew it was possible this year," Gregg said. "We tried our best and came out strong. We have grown together over this season and seasons before. We're all friends on and off the court, and that really helps."

Gregg and Olienyk's work at the net was too much for a young Saint Joseph's team.

"We came into here with experience and confidence," Patrick said. "We knew what we needed to do."

The Wolfpack started each set competitively but faded each time and struggled with several service errors.

"I have learned to work well under pressure," Olienyk said. "They had so much energy coming out. Myself and my other seniors, since we had so much experience, we had to lead our team and make sure they knew we had this even if they made runs. We kept saying 'energy, energy, energy.'"

Fellow senior Grace Blake led Bishop Carroll with 14 service points.

"It feels surreal," Olienyk said. "We haven't won a championship since 2018, and we have been working so hard. I can't believe it."

SERVICE POINTS

SAINT JOSEPH'S: Ohmoto 2, Peters 2, M. Ridenour 1, K. Ridenour 1, Young 1.

BISHOP CARROLL: Blake 14, Gregg 10, Strait 8, Myers 5, Smith 4, Olienyk 4.

Records: Saint Joseph's (14-6); Bishop Carroll (15-5).