DuBOIS, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Elk County Catholic played a nearly flawless game in all facets to come away with a 25-21, 25-18, 25-18 victory over Clarion-Limestone to claim the District 9 Class A volleyball championship on Thursday evening at Dubois Area High School.
(Pictured above, Elk County Catholic senior Tori Newton was named the Hager Paving Incorporated Player of the Game)
A big part of that domination was the net play of Tori Newton, who put away 17 kills, many of which were heavy swings that the Lions either couldn’t return or had trouble returning.
Reagan Bauer added eight kills while Lucy Klawuhn chipped in with five.
“Realistically looking at the match Elk County outplayed us in almost every aspect of the game,” said C-L head coach Ryan Troupe. “Their serve was better than our serve-receive, their hitting was better than our transition defense. I think the whole match was more about what Elk did than what we didn’t do.”
Ansley Burke led C-L with 11 kills while Maddy Greeley added seven and Jenna Dunn six. Hannah Beggs and Alyssa Wiant each put away three. Kaylee Smith handed out 22 assists while picking up 12 digs and serving for eight points with three aces. Dunn picked up 18 digs while Abby Knapp-Greeley picked up 14 digs.
“Ansley had a decent match for us,” said Troupe. “That’s an adjustment we made after the first set to move her to the right side to try and get a better block.”
Both teams showed why they made the championship match in the opening set as both teams played on even terms throughout much of the set. With ECC leading 17-14, the Lions would reel off seven straight points to take a 21-17 lead prompting an ECC timeout.
However, following the timeout the Lady Crusaders would gain a side out and close out the set on an 7-0 run for the 25-21 victory.
“It’s hard to say what effect that first set had on the rest of the match,” said Troupe. “I just feel that Elk frustrated our girls in a way they haven’t been frustrated all season.”
C-L fell behind 10-4 in the second set before fighting back to take a 13-12 lead. A service error tied the score 13-all which helped the Lady Crusaders go on a 12-5 run to close out the second set 25-18.
Elk County then opened the third set with a 7-0 run and the lead would eventually grow to 12 at 19-7 before the Lady Lions would try to make a comeback attempt with a 9-2 run to close to within five at 21-16. However, ECC would finish off the set and the match with a 4-2 edge for the 25-18 victory.
Kiri Emmert handed out 27 assists for ECC while Bauer picked up 22 digs and Tori Newton 19 digs. Bauer also served for three aces.
“At this moment it is a real disappointment,” said Troupe. “We’re still playing though even with this loss. After the season ends, we’ll look back and reflect on what a special and successful season this really has been. The growth of this program and looking at the big picture we’ve done a lot of really good things.”
