Centre County high school girls’ volleyball is continuing to garner statewide and national attention.
State College and Bald Eagle Area remain among the best in the annual Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches’ Association rankings, and the Lady Little Lions also appeared last week on USA Today’s Super 25 Regional Volleyball Rankings.
State College is No. 10 in Region 2, comprised of Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia. The Lady Little Lions are among three programs from the Keystone State on the list, joining defending PIAA Class 4A champion North Allegheny (third), and PVCA Class 3A’s top-ranked team, Southern Lehigh (eighth).
Despite the accolade, a first for the program, coach Chad Weight knows it doesn’t help the team win a match.
“It means nothing,” he said. “If we’re on that list at the end of November, that’ll mean something.”
North Allegheny and State College are 1-2 in the PVCA rankings, and defending Class 2A state champion BEA is No. 1 in Class 2A.
The Lady Eagles and Lady Little Lions also are on prepvolleyball.com’s Northeast Region rankings, covering Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey and the six New England states. BEA is fifth and State College is 16th. North Allegheny holds the No. 1 spot and Southern Lehigh is third.
Aside from Southern Lehigh, those teams will all be on the court in State College’s North Gym in the Lady Little Lions’ annual State College Girls’ Volleyball Invitational on Sept. 28. The 16-team, all-day event will feature 10 programs ranked in the PVCA weekly rankings, including three defending PIAA champions – BEA, North Allegheny and Class A Northern Cambria.
BALD EAGLE AREA
The Lady Eagles (5-0, 4-0) swept past Huntingdon 25-21, 25-9, 25-14 on Sept. 19, with eight kills for Katelyn Smitchko, seven for Grace Hugar, and six kills and three aces for Brynne Bisel. Smitchko also had three blocks, Madison Rockey made 23 assists, Madison Eckley had 16 assists and Lexi Skripek picked up 16 digs.
BEA (6-0, 5-0) knocked off Clearfield 25-9, 25-4, 25-18 on Sept. 24, with five aces for Hugar and 13 as a team. Elita Brown led with five kills, while Skripek posted seven digs. The offense was directed by both Rockey and her 15 assists, and Eckley and her 14 assists.
In addition to State College’s tournament, the Lady Eagles also have a showdown with rival Philipsburg-Osceola on Sept. 26 in Wingate.
BELLEFONTE
Bellefonte (2-4, 1-4) served up 13 aces against Tyrone on Sept. 19, but it wasn’t enough in a 26-24, 25-16, 25-21 loss. Alexia Mishock had an all-around day for the Lady Red Raiders, leading with four aces and adding 18 digs and a pair of kills. Chelsea Robson and Phoebe Rowland each added three aces, Rowland had four kills and 10 digs, Robson had three kills and 12 digs, Makenna Port made 11 digs and Tayla Miller gave out eight assists.
“We played really well and kept them on their toes throughout all three games,” coach Teri Kerr said. “Alexia Mishock was a key component in digging their hits. Our team adjusted well to what was needed and had a lead at times.”
Bellefonte outlasted Central Mountain 21-25, 25-12, 18-25, 25-23, 15-8 on Sept. 23. Miller collected eight kills and 18 digs; Robson had seven kills; Sarah Conner posted three aces, 10 digs and three blocks; Mishock had 16 digs; Port recorded three blocks and Rowland had 18 assists and 14 digs.
In a 27-29, 25-21, 25-21, 25-21 loss to Penns Valley, Mishock had six kills and 14 digs, Robson had five kills, 13 digs and three aces, and Conner served up four aces to go with 14 digs. The Lady Raiders also got 14 assists from Rowland, five blocks and 15 digs from Port, and 18 digs from Miller.
PENNS VALLEY
The Lady Rams (5-2, 4-2) had a pair on Centre County battles on its schedule for the week. It included a 25-22, 25-23, 25-15 loss against P-O on Sept. 19, and Sept. 24’s 27-29, 25-21, 25-21, 25-21 victory over Bellefonte. In the latter, Kailen Winkelblech put down eight kills, while Sammie Upcraft added seven; Anna Butler had six kills and five aces; Hailey Coursen also aced five to go with 20 assists; Jadyn Butler scooped up 18 digs and Grace Bressler posted four blocks.
PHILIPSBURG-OSCEOLA
The Lady Mounties stayed close to the top in the Mountain League standings with a 25-22, 25-23, 25-15 sweep at Penns Valley on Sept. 19. London Cutler’s 12 kills and Kyleigh Kennedy’s 11 paced the offense, directed by Kalista Butler’s 26 assists. The defense was led by Janey Johnson’s 20 digs and Jayden Perks’ four blocks, and Paige Jarrett delivered four service aces.
P-O followed with a 25-13, 25-21, 25-17 win against Central, led by Kennedy’s 13 kills, Butler’s 24 assists and three aces, Cutler’s eight digs and Perks’ three blocks.
The Lady Mounties (11-3, 5-1) will see how much they have improved this season on Sept. 26, visiting rival BEA.
ST. JOSEPH’S CATHOLIC ACADEMY
The Wolfpack (4-1) managed only seven kills as a team in a 25-17, 25-11, 25-17 loss to Central Mountain on Sept.
24. Defense kept St. Joseph’s in the match, with 16 combined digs for Maggie McMurtrie and Catalina Thornburg and five blocks for Ava Starks.
“The Wildcat blocking was consistent at the net,” coach Cori Donaghy said, “and the size differential made it difficult for the smaller St. Joe’s team to put balls away.”
STATE COLLEGE
The Lady Little Lions survived a long day at the Cumberland Valley Tournament on Sept. 21. In their morning pool, they won single-set matches against Lower Dauphin, Morgantown and Delone Catholic. In the afternoon, they dropped both sets against Hempfield and split one set apiece with Allentown Central Catholic and York Catholic, preventing them from advancing to the final bracket.
Kacy Sekunda and Kate Lachendro each put down 19 kills for the day, with Sekunda adding 32 assists, 15 digs and nine aces, while Lechendro had 23 digs and seven aces. Vanessa McGhee contributed 18 kills and nine blocks, Sarah Neely had 26 assists and seven aces and Caitlyn Rodgers picked up 15 digs.
State College earned a four-set victory over Central Dauphin on Sept. 21, 25-19, 22-25, 29-27, 25-20. Allaround days for Sekunda and Lachendro led the way. Sekunda had 13 kills, eight aces, three blocks and 24 assists, and Lachendro had 17 kills and 12 digs. McGhee added 15 kills, Neely posted 21 assists and 11 digs, and Lauren Arnold also made three blocks.
The Lady Little Lions (8-0) delivered a decisive 25-3, 25-13, 25-17 road victory against Mifflin County on Sept. 24, with nine kills, five aces and 12 assists from Sekunda, and seven kills from McGhee. Arnold made three blocks, Lachendro picked up seven digs and Neely distributed 15 assists.
