KNOX, Pa (EYT/D9) — The banner hangs on the far wall of the gym, mixed in among the many basketball championship pennants hoisted over the years.
It sticks out because of its uniqueness. It’s the only one that says volleyball.
(Above, Keystone senior Leah Exley was named the Hager Paving Incorporated Player of the Game)
It has looked at over the floor at Keystone High School for a long time, too. Since 1992. That was the last time the Panthers’ volleyball team won a District 9 championship.
This Keystone volleyball team is hoping to change all that. After a 25-19, 25-19, 25-18 sweep over gritty Karns City Tuesday night in the Class 2A semifinals in that gym, surrounded by all those other banners, the Panthers are just one victory away.
Only one win from making that single volleyball championship banner not so lonely up there anymore.
“They said in the first week of August, ‘We want to play for a D9 championship,’” said Keystone coach Bryan Mong. “That’s been their goal, and it’s motivated them.”
Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.
It motivated the Panthers when they fell behind early against Karns City. The Gremlins led 18-13 in the first set, but Jozee Weaver got hot from the service line and Leah Exley looked like the Leah Exley of old with two thunderous kills during a rally that saw Keystone score 12 of the final 13 points to wrest away the set.
Exley has been battling a balky right shoulder. As the season has worn on, it began to ache every time she swung her right arm to make an attack.
It has throbbed after every match over the last few weeks. Because of a COVID-19 shutdown early in the season, Keystone crammed eight matches into a hectic 11-day span in mid-October to catch up — that didn’t do Exley’s right wing any favors.
But a nice respite before the District 9 Class 2A semifinals allowed the joint to heal a bit. During pregame warmups, Exley felt little pain and had an inkling it was going to be a good night for the team and for herself.
It was. Exley had 13 kills to lead Keystone.
“I felt good,” Exley said, smile beaming. “My shoulder wasn’t bothering me as much. I took some pain meds just in case so I would be ready to go.”
It just took Exley and the Panthers a little longer than they hoped to get going.
Keystone (16-4) had to rally again in the second set from five down to take a 2-0 lead. The Panthers cruised in the third set, never trailing, to close out the victory.
“We haven’t played a game in a while, so we figured we’d start off slow,” Exley said. “We struggled with passing a bit, but toward the end, we got it together and were able to run our offense.
“I’m very proud of us,” Exley added. “We tend to struggle a lot with the mental game sometimes, but we managed to push back. I think some of those crucial kills and big plays we had brought us back into the game.”
Mong said he wasn’t all that surprised about the struggles early, given his team had a week off as the No. 1 seed.
The important thing was they didn’t panic, he said.
“We knew it was in there,” Mong said. “When you have a week off, it’s kind of a double-edged sword. We got the No. 1 seed, a bye and everyone healed up, but we had a week off and we were a little rusty.”
The win sets up a rematch with Redbank Valley in the Class 2A title match at A-C Valley High School Thursday night.
“Our goal from the beginning of the season was to be District 9 champs,” Exley said. “That’s what we’re all looking for. We’re filled with adrenaline, and we’re just ready to go. It’s going to be a rematch with Redbank, which is going to make us want to push even hard since we lost to them last year.”
First, though, Keystone had to get past pesky Karns City, which has been playing extremely well down the stretch.
(Karns City senior Ashley Fox looks on during pregame warmups.)
The Gremlins (9-11) endured their own battle with COVID, losing several key players and their coach, Sharon Schmoll, for several matches in the middle of the season due to protocols.
Karns City, though, won four of its last five to earn a spot in the playoffs and then stunned Kane on the road in the first round to advance to the semifinals.
“I’m very proud of them,” Schmoll said. “We played our hearts out. There’s nothing to look back on and be disappointed about.”
Keystone dominated at the net. The Panthers also got nine kills and five blocks from Sydney Bell, eight kills from Weaver and four blocks from Natalie Bowser.
Meanwhile Karns City managed just 10 kills as a team.
“We’ve really worked on everybody moving in the attacking front line,” Mong said. “We want single blockers against our hitters. I’ll take any of my hitters against a single blocker all day.”
Alyssa Weaver had 17 assists and Kennedy Kaye added 11 digs for Keystone.
Ashley Fox had 14 digs and three kills for Karns City.
“It was a good, all-around game,” Mong said. “We have some things we have to clean up, but I like the fact we’re going into another game right away.”
Keystone lost a heartbreaker to Redbank Valley last year in the district final.
Mong is hopeful his team learned from that experience.
“Hopefully, we’ll be successful on Thursday,” Mong said. “We’ll see what we can come up with. They’re excited to be back and hopefully some experience in it will also help ease the nerves.”
Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.
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