St. Marys wins first girls’ volleyball title since 2000 beating Punxsy in Class AA

DUBOIS, Pa. – In a thrilling five-set masterpiece, third-seeded St. Marys knocked off top-seeded Punxsutawney 3-2 to win its first District 9 Class AA volleyball title since 2000 Thursday night at DuBois HIgh School.

The Lady Dutch, who upset defending champion Bradford in the semifinal Tuesday, came out hot in the first set taking the set easily, 25-17.

But Punxsutawney rallied to even the match at 1-1 with a 25-17 second-set victory.

St. Marys moved to within one set of title by gaining a hard-fought 25-23 win in set No. 3, but Punxsutawney wasn’t ready to give in taking the fourth set 25-22 setting up the decisive fifth and final set.

And that set turned out to be a classic with the team battling to extra points before the Lady Dutch finally prevailed with an 18-16 victory.

St. Marys will take on the WPIAL runner-up (still to be determined) in the opening round of the PIAA playoffs at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at DuBois High School.