Farrell unbeaten in PIAA pool play
Farrell did not need to beat Marian Catholic in pool play Friday at Robert Morris's Sewall Center to advance to today's PIAA Class A semifinals.
Both teams had already clinched spots in the next round, but the Steelers still found plenty of motivation for the match. Marian Catholic defeated Farrell in pool play in last season's state tournament, the only blemish on the record of a Farrell team that won the state championship.
”We came in seeking revenge,” said Farrell junior outside hitter Kelly Davis. “We stepped it up and played the best we can play. We had to get revenge so we could be first in our pool.”
Farrell dominated the match, 15-5, 15-4, to go 3-0 and advance as the top team in Pool B.
”They were undefeated and we took that away from them (last year),” Marian Catholic coach Nicole Hackenberg said. “Of course they wanted revenge. Last year, we got revenge for the previous year, when they knocked us out in the final four.
”They haven't seen the real Marian Catholic yet. They have a good offense, but nothing we haven't seen.'
”They rose to the occasion,” Farrell coach Harriett Morrison said of her team. “Hopefully, it doesn't turn around and they end up state champions like we were last year.”
Farrell will play Penns Manor in the semifinals 9 a.m. today while Marian Catholic takes on Canton. The Class A championship match will be held at 2:30 p.m.
”We've been waiting all season for this moment,” Davis said. “We will go back to the hotel and be prepared. We did it last year. I think we can do it if we get some rest and come to play.”
The toughest part for Farrell might be the starting time. The Steelers have struggled with morning matches, as they did in their opener Friday. They dropped the first game to Berlin Brothersvally before pulling out a 4-15, 15-8, 16-14 victory.
”We're not good at morning games,” Davis said. “People thought it was going to be easier than it was.”
“We played that team and we beat them very easily in a tournament,” Morrison said. “In their (my players') mindset, they thought they could handle them pretty easily. Berlin had another thought. When they know somebody they have beaten, they play to their level.
“I don't like them to know anything about anybody. They see Penns Manor and know they are good. They will have to rise to the occasion to play them.”
Class AAA
Baldwin entered the PIAA quarterfinals having not lost in match play all season, a streak coach Lynda Scahill had her team focused on keeping.
Baldwin did that with victories over Greensburg Salem, Liberty and Susquehannock to advance to today's semifinals.
“I'm thrilled, just thrilled,” Baldwin coach Lynda Scahill said. “We came in with the intent of getting a sweep. We played our game plan.
“You don't want to ever give momentum to another team for any reason at all. You just keep making sure you get to 15 first. You don't quit, you don't stop.”
Scahill hadn't seen any of the opposition in her team's pool all season, so she brought some help to scout during the day.
”I brought my JV with me to scout the other teams during the day and they did a good job,” Scahill said. “Susquehannock did a good job scouting us during the year. They tipped very well against us, but we had the staying power to beat them. They were killing us on tips. They were playing very smart volleyball. They quit hitting, so we just pulled the block off.“
Susquehannock led Baldwin early in the first game of their match before the Highlanders pulled away for a 15-12, 15-12 victory.
Baldwin will face District 3 champion Hempfield in the semifinals at 12:20 p.m. today. The championship match is scheduled for 5:30 p.m.
Hempfield beat Pine-Richland, 15-7, 15-12, in its final pool-play match of the day to take the second spot in Pool A and eliminate the Rams.
”Hempfield, they are going to be a good match,” Scahill said. “(Mike Vogel), he's a great coach. They are a well-coached team with a couple of very powerful hitters (Catie fisher and Audrey Seldomridge). We look like we are pretty similar. That's what the final four in states should be.”
Villa Maria won Pool B and will play Liberty in the other Class AAA semifinal.
Villa Maria had already clinched a berth heading into its final match Friday against Hempfield Area, the WPIAL runners-up, so coach Joe Boland sat his starters. The Spartans won their only match of the day, 15-6, 15-1.
Greensburg Salem still had a shot heading into its final match of the day against Liberty despite losing its first two matches to Baldwin and Susquehannock. A victory would have forced at least one tiebreaker match and the Golden Lions won the first game, 15-9, before dropping the next two, 15-10, 15-9, and being eliminated.
“They (my players) put the first one away, but we couldn't get the second one,” Greensburg Salem coach Lynn Jobe said. “We were out of substitutions. We were able to side out, but we weren't able to score points.”
Greensburg Salem had a similar problem earlier in the day against Baldwin, a 15-2, 16-14 loss.
”I thought we played pretty well against Baldwin, although the score in the first game didn't show it,” Jobe said. “We put what we had on the table. We can side out, but we can't score points. We can't play with the top teams and not be able to score.”
Class AA
Allentown Central Catholic will play Grove City and Merion Mercy will take on Brandywine in the Class AA semifinals at 10:40 a.m. today.
Allentown Central beat Brandywine, the top-ranked team in the state, 15-11, 15-5 in pool play Friday. Brandywine had to beat Maplewood in a one-game tiebreaker, 15-14, to advance to the semifinals.
Allentown Central Catholic won the Class AAA championship a year ago, but dropped in class for this season.
The Class AA championship match is set for 4 p.m. today.
