ST. MARYS, Pa. – Clarion (Class 1A), Brookville (Class 2A) and DuBois (Class 3A) claimed District 9 volleyball titles Saturday at St. Marys High School.
(Photo: District 9 volleyball champions: Left DuBois, top Brookville, bottom Clarion. DuBois and Brookville photos were submitted)
In the first match of the day, top-seeded Brookville swept second-seeded Kane (25-20, 25-19, 25-23) in Class 2A
DuBois followed that with a sweep of Bradford in Class 3A with the top-seeded Lady Beavers beating the third-seeded Lady Owls by scores of 25-23, 25-11 and 25-16.
Second-seeded Clarion then closed out the day of volleyball by rolling past top-seeded Elk County Catholic, 3-0 (25-16, 25-15, 25-13) in Class 1A.
Brookville, DuBois, Clarion and ECC all advance to the PIAA playoffs, which start Tuesday.
Here is a closer look at each match.
CLASS 2A: BROOKVILLE 3, KANE 0
The Story Line: The Lady Raiders claimed their first championship since 2003 and just the second in program history. The win came a year after Brookville lost to Redbank Valley in the title match.
Inside the Match: Kane helped Brookville’s cause by committing 19 hitting errors and three service errors, while Brookville had just five hitting errors and three service errors. The turning point in the match came in the second set when Brookville, up one set to none, fell behind 19-17 before scoring the final eight points to win the set and take complete control of the match. The Lady Raiders then jumped out to an 18-12 lead in the third set before Kane rallied to within one, 22-21, but couldn’t get any closer.
Brookville Stat Leaders: Morgan Johnson led the way with nine kills and five aces, while Lauren Hergert added six kills and a block and Maggie Mackins also had six kills. Leah Kamerdeiner chipped in four kills and an ace, and Madison Johnson had three kills and two aces.
Kane Stat Leaders: Audri Marconi had 16 kills and an ace, Kalen Johnson added seven kills and an ace, Sarri Swanson had two kills and two blocks and Moira Stanisch chipped in a kill and four aces.
They Said It: (Winning the title) was a possibility at the beginning of the season, and now we’re in uncharted territory. The volleyball team is the only team still playing fall sports at Brookville. Unfortunately, the football team lost last night and the cross country kids are running at states today, so they’re done. It’s the first time ever that the volleyball is still in it to play, which is awesome. – Brookville head coach Joyce Reitz
The Records: Brookville is 17-3. Kane finishes 12-6.
Up Next: Brookville will take on WPIAL champion Freeport, which beat North Catholic for the WPIAL title, 3-2, in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs Tuesday, Nov. 5, at a time and WPIAL site to be announced.
CLASS 3A: DUBOIS 3, BRADFORD 0
The Story Line: The Lady Beavers won their third straight Class 3A title while making their fourth consecutive appearance in the title match. It is DuBois’ fourth District 9 title since 2012 and the 14th in program history.
Inside the Match: After a close first set that saw Bradford lead by as many as four before DuBois came back for the 25-23 win, it was all Lady Beavers after that. They jumped out to a 20-7 lead in the second set before winning by 14 and then were never really challenged in the third set.
Watch the final point for DuBois
DuBois Stat Leaders: Sydney Kachalk, Kaylee Sadowski and Cayla Donahue each had eight kills. Taylor Smith and Lakin Smith each added three aces with Cayla Donahue contributing 19 digs and Cate Gregory 26 set assists.
Bradford Stat Leaders: Erica Marshall had 11 kills and six digs with Alex Asp adding eight kills and Alix Ordiway four kills. Laney Kahle had 18 set assists.
They Said It: Continuing to win these titles holds our program to a higher standard for itself. Being surrounded by a great team and great coaching staff is always amazing. We never fail to impress each other day-to-day and practices push us to our limit – Sydney Kaschalk.
Watch Kaschalk’s full interview.
The Records: DuBois is 17-1. Bradford finishes 10-8.
Up Next: DuBois will take on WPIAL runner-up Thomas Jefferson in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs Tuesday, Nov. 5, at a time and District 9 site to be announced. TJ lost to Knoch, 3-1, in the WPIAL championship match Saturday.
CLASS 1A: CLARION 3, ELK COUNTY CATHOLIC 0
Relisten to the Match:
The Story Line: Clarion won its second consecutive District 9 title and its 11th in the last 14 years while winning for the 13th time since 2001 and for the 15th time in program history.
Inside the Match: Clarion trailed just four times in the entire match, all by a single point in the third set (1-0, 2-1, 3-2 and 5-4). The Lady Cats used an 8-1 run in the first set to go from up two, 12-10, to up nine, 20-11, then on a 7-2 run in the second set to go from up three, 10-7, to up eight, 17-9, before using a 13-1 run in the third set to erase the 5-4 deficit and take control up 17-6. Fifty-four of Clarion’s 75 points were “earned” by the Lady Cats, who had 39 kills, eight aces and seven blocks. Compare that to ECC, which had 18 kills, 2 aces and one block.
Watch the final point for Clarion (Note while the radio call says it was a net violation upon watching the video Aryana Girvin of Clarion actually hits through the block for the final point for Clarion.)
Clarion Stat Leaders: Korrin Burns had 13 kills, six digs and an ace. Aryana Girvin added seven kills, three blocks and three digs, KK Girvin had 12 digs and two aces, Kait Constantino chipped in seven kills, six digs and two aces, and Brenna Campbell had 37 set assists, two blocks, two digs and a kill.
ECC Stat Leaders: Taylor Newton had 11 kills, an ace and a block, while Julia Aikens had six kills and an ace.
They Said It: I always love coming up here. It’s just a tradition to win it. I am just happy that we did. – Brenna Campbell.
Watch Brenna Campbell’s full interview.
The Records: Clarion is 16-1. ECC is 15-2.
Up Next: Clarion will face District 10 runner-up Saegertown in the PIAA playoffs Tuesday, Nov. 5, at a time and District 9 site to be announced. ECC will take on District 10 champion Cochranton in the PIAA playoffs Tuesday, Nov. 5, at a time and District 9 site to be announced. Cochranton beat Saegertown, 3-0, in the title match Saturday.
