Bethel Park beats Peters Township in volleyball
Vim and vigor are vital in volleyball. Just ask Shawn Palmer. The Bethel Park skipper watched as his lethargic girls dropped two games to Peters Township before rallying for a 3-2 victory in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.
“Energy was the difference,” said Palmer. “I think sometimes we come out flat but we did a nice job of picking it up.
“In the first two games, Peters played better and harder than we did. They have talent and they played with good ball control.
“I told the girls in the huddle that no matter what (in the playoffs) everybody’s season is on the line. They all have pride and they all play hard. The mindset is do-or-die.”
The Lady Hawks did and survived to play Upper St. Clair in yesterday’s (Nov. 3) quarterfinal match at Mt. Lebanon. The winner advanced to the Final Four (Nov. 5) and a chance to compete in the championships set for Nov. 7 at Baldwin.
After falling, 25-17 and 25-22, Bethel won games three and four, 25-16 and 25-22, to force a fifth set and a race to 15. The Hawks won that sprint, 15-9. Though they jumped ahead, 5-1, Peters tied the game, 6-6, before Erin Sullivan’s kill sparked the Hawks’ winning rally.
While Sullivan finished with 11 kills, Kayte Zeiler led with 16. The junior also provided 16 digs as did Caroline Geddes. Paige Chalus finished with 27 digs and Rachel Dunay dished up 44 assists.
For the Indians, Madison Kerr had 15 kills, 10 digs and two blocks. Courtney Cherry provided 10 kills and eight digs. Brooke Hjerpe finished with a dozen kills and Cricket Watson finished with eight digs.
Of Zeiler’s performance, Palmer said, “Kayte is a nice player, one of our all-around best players. She is very good and aggressive. She doesn’t shy away from the action or anybody. She plays big.”
And against Peters Township, the Hawks needed that. They needed a wake-up call.
“I hope we learned our lesson,” Palmer said.
USC sweeps P-R
In sweeping Pine-Richland, Upper St. Clair learned how vital defense is. The Panthers, who won Section 2-AAA with a 12-0 record ahead of second-place Peters Township (9-3) and Canon-McMillan (7-5), dispatched the Rams, 25-18, 25-13, 25-13.
“Defense won that match,” said USC skipper Alex Hinsey. “We put together a complete game. It was a collective team effort. We know that not many teams can match up to us offensively but defense wins championships.”
Statistically, Alex and Sam Amos led the way with 17 and 15 spikes respectively. Each finished with 10 digs. Isabelle Walsh collected six kills and served up four aces. Kindler Norman led the squad in assists.
In other first-round girls’ volleyball action, Canon-McMillan lost to No. 2-seeded North Allegheny, 3-0. South Fayette and Seton-La Salle advanced to the quarterfinals in the Class AA tournament. The Lions swept Brownsville, 3-0, and the Rebels defeated Indiana, 3-1. In Class A, Bishop Canevin, last year’s WPIAL runner-up, beat South Side Beaver, 3-0.