CC volleyball coach has no complaints in semis loss to Rams
D6 3A Girls Volleyball
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JOHNSTOWN -- Central Cambria dropped a 3-1 decision against Richland in a District 6 Class 3A girls' volleyball semifinal match on Wednesday evening at Richland High School's Sports Center.
The Rams will travel to the Altoona Area High School Fieldhouse to face Bald Eagle Area in the district championship match at 3 p.m. Saturday. Richland reached the 2025 district championship match, which it lost to Bald Eagle, 3-0.
"We're going to be more prepared for whoever the opponent is," Richland coach Dave Livingston said.
Top-seeded Richland (20-2) won by scores of 25-22, 25-16, 22-25, 25-18.
"We had a great team, great season. It just didn't go our way," Red Devils coach Leah Montgomery said. "But they played really well. I'm proud of them."
Central Cambria, the No. 4 seed, got off to a fast start in the first game. Dominant net play by junior outside hitter Mara Pablic put the Red Devils ahead, 5-0. Pablic led the Red Devils with 17 kills.
"We played a little bit tight to start. (Central Cambria is) a good quality team. They got on top of us at the beginning. We got out of the system. But I wasn't worried. I knew my girls would rally and find their calm point," Livington said.
The Laurel Highlands Athletic Conference champion Rams rode strong net play by junior outside hitter Kiya Wise and took a 12-11 lead and never fell behind in the opener. Wise totaled 14 kills and 12 digs for Richland, which had defeated Central Cambria, 3-0, on Oct. 13 at Richland.
The Rams led the entire second game en route to a nine-point victory.
The Red Devils (16-6) made Richland work for the match victory as they claimed a 15-14 lead in the third game. They won that game by three points.
Richland took charge in the fourth game and closed out the match. The Rams attempted plenty of low deep serves that kept Central Cambria honest.
"We have one of the best serving teams in the district. We work on it a lot. We push them to go where we want them to serve. They're a smart serving team," Livingston said.
Central Cambria senior Riley Kauffman had 49 assists while teammate Rowyn Duddek added 15 digs.
The Red Devils will lose six players to graduation. Eryn Kauffman, Gianna Grimaldi, Chelsea Moore, Ella Conrad and Pablic are among the players expected to return.
"I think they are a great team. I think they could have gone further," Montgomery said. "They had some ups and downs but, overall, they played really well."
Brooklyn Roberts handed out 43 assists, Addison Hirsch made a team-best 17 kills and eight digs, and Kendyl Ashcom led the Rams with seven blocks to go with 13 kills. Paige Rokita finished up with 10 digs.