Coudersport Volleyball Uses Team Effort to Move into 1A Quarterfinals

By Chris Rossetti

DUBOIS, Pa. – Led by another strong performance by Ally Easton, District 9 champion Coudersport had nine different players score points in a 3-1 (25-18, 22-25, 25-19, 25-14) win over WPIAL third-place finisher Fort Cherry in the opening round of the PIAA Class 1A volleyball playoffs at DuBois High School.

(Ally Easton had 15 kills, 4 blocks and an ace in Coudersport’s victory Tuesday. Photo by Paul Burdick. Check out more of Burdick’s work here)

Watch Coudersport head coach Patty Wilson discuss the win.

Ally Easton had a match-high 15 kills to go with four blocks and two aces for the Lady Falcons including nine kills in the first two sets, which the teams split.

But Ally Easton wasn’t alone. Kiara Perkins added eight kills and an ace with EmmaRae Easton chipping in seven aces and a block assist. Perkins and EmmaRae Easton were at their best in the fourth set combining for nine kills (5 from Perkins and four from Easton) in the deciding set victory.

EmmaRae Easton and her setter, Haley Keck, discuss the victory.

Coudy started the match strong jumping out to an 11-5 lead in the first set and despite watching Fort Cherry battle back to tie it at 13 and 15 never trailed. A kill by Ally Easton started a 3-0 run that put the Lady Falcons ahead 18-15 before an EmmaRae Easton kill finished off the set.

Fort Cherry, behind five kills from Hannah Greene, who finished with a team-best 13 kills and a block, took the second set, but Coudy finished off the match with the final two sets.

Here is a set-by-set look at the match.

FIRST SET – Coudersport 25-18
The Lady Falcons were strong out of the gate racing to an 11-5 lead thanks to two kills and a block from Ally Easton. But Fort Cherry fought back going on an 8-2 run that featured kills from Abby Cooper and Greene to tie the set at 12. The set was still tied, 15-15, when Ally Easton’s kill followed by a pair of Rangers errors but the Lady Falcons ahead 18-15. Three more Fort Cherry errors, a tandem block from EmmaRae Easton and Macy Gleason, kills from EmmaRae Easton and Perkins and an ace from Gleason put the set away.

SECOND SET – Fort Cherry 25-22
Kills from four different players including a pair from Greene helped Fort Cherry build an early 9-5 lead before Coudersport took advantage of seven errors by the Rangers and kills from Ally Easton and Gleason to take a 14-13 lead. Following a timeout, it was Coudersport’s turn to be generous with three straight errors and a Greene kill giving Fort Cherry the lead back, 17-14. Coudersport continued to fight and three kills by Ally Easton tie the set at 22. But Shannon Relihan answered with a kill giving the lead to Fort Cherry for good, and Cooper followed with a kill before an error ended the set in the Rangers favor.

THIRD SET – Coudersport 25-19
This set was tight most of the way with Coudersport holding leads that ranged from one to three points for most of it including 15-14 after Perkins misfired on a kill attempt. But Perkins followed with a kill, and two errors by Fort Cherry and an ace from Joplin Osgood put the Lady Falcons ahead 19-15. Ally Easton then took over with two kills and an ace to get the lead to 23-18 before a pair of errors ended the set.

FOURTH SET – Coudersport 25-14
The Lady Falcons trailed early, 4-3, and the set was tied at seven following a kill by Fort Cherry’s Cooper. But Coudersport answered with a string of kills that saw the Lady Falcons score eight straight points off kills. EmmaRae Easton and Gleason each had three kills and Ally Easton two during the stretch that pushed the Coudy lead to 15-10. Three Fort Cherry errors and and two Perkins kills made it 20-10, and an error that gave Fort Cherry an 11th point didn’t slow the Lady Falcons down. Perkins delivered two more kills with Skyler VanWagenen getting a kills, and then Ally Easton put the match away with her 15th kill of the night.

Watch Ally Easton’s match-winning kill.

STATISTICS LEADERS
Coudersport: Ally Easton 15 kills, 4 blocks, 2 aces; Kiara Perkins 8 blocks, 1 ace; Emma Rae Easton 7 kills, 1 block assist; Macy Gleason 4 kills, 1 block assist, 1 ace.
Fort Cherry: Hannah Green 13 kills, 1 block; Abby Cooper 5 kills; Shannon Relihan 4 kills, 1 ace.

WHAT’S NEXT
Coudersport will take on District 6 champion Bishop Guilfoyle, a 3-0 winner over Bishop Canevin, in the quarterfinals Saturday at a site and time to be determined.