WINGATE — Bald Eagle Area got its postseason started with a 3-0 sweep of Bellefonte in the District 6 Class 3A semifinals.
The Lady Eagles scored a 25-17, 25-12, 25-12 victory on Oct. 30 against their neighboring rivals.
“We’ve been doing a lot of preparation for the postseason,” BEA coach Zach Rote said. “We have been preaching focus and execution in all aspects of the game and we just played our game tonight and executed our game plan.”
The Lady Eagles (17-2) were to meet top-seeded Hollidaysburg at 7 p.m. Nov. 1 at Tyrone High School, with the winner earning a spot in the PIAA tournament, which begins Nov. 7.
The contest with Hollidaysburg is a rematch of last year’s district final, and the Lady Tigers handed BEA one of its two dual-match losses this fall.
“Our practices and everything we’ve done has been geared toward getting back to the finals,” Rote said. “These girls are focused and hungry for redemption. We just have to play a clean game.”
Leah Bryan’s 10 kills, and seven kills each from Myia Brooks and Taylor Hall paced BEA. Brooks also had three blocks, Taylor Habovick posted 30 assists and six digs, Olivia Boone also had six digs and Olivia Taylor notched 13 digs to go with a pair of aces.
Grace Novitsky and Keira Clarkson paced the Lady Red Raiders (6-13) with eight kills each, while Aubrey Schreppel handed out 13 assists.
“We started really strong and were in it until the end of the first set when we made some unforced errors that cost us,” Bellefonte coach Monica Smith said. “I think we surprised everyone including ourselves at how well we started the match. We played a brand new lineup to try to mix it up from the last time we played Bald Eagle, and it was our strongest lineup of the season in my opinion.”
The major lineup change was moving Carlee Pepperman, a four-year starter at outside hitter and the team’s top kill producer each of those seasons, to libero to take advantage of her passing skills. The move strengthened the defense, with the senior picking up 26 digs and passing 22 of 23 service receptions.
“She’s consistently been our best defender and serve-receive passer so I felt that against a strong serving and offensive team like BEA we needed her more in the back row.” Smith said. “I think it worked well for us.”
Through Oct. 30, Pepperman’s career included 744 kills, 865 digs and 136 aces.
Class 2A
Penns Valley (13-6) earned a straight-set win in its Class 2A opener, scoring a 25-9, 25-23, 25-22 sweep of Juniata on Oct. 26.
The Lady Rams controlled the match so well that coach Brad Baldwin made lineup changes after the first set to get more girls postseason experience.
“I was happy with their execution and their ability to control that first set,” he said. “We have a very competitive team of players, so I was excited to put everyone in to showcase what they could do. Juniata played hard and they were able to execute well.”
The Lady Rams’ steady defense, with Maddie Butler and Kendall Guisewhite collecting 16 and 13 digs, respectively, and balanced offense led to the win. Ella Hadley’s nine kills paced the team, followed by Moriah Hurd’s eight and Carlee Emery’s seven, and Ella Aston directed the offense with 25 assists. Gracilee Ironside’s three aces topped the effort from the service line.
The postseason road got tougher with Penns Valley’s quarterfinal match, visiting top-seeded and three-time defending district champion Philipsburg-Osceola (19-0) on Oct. 31.
“Getting the first-round win definitely helps build our confidence,” Baldwin said. “Obviously, we have a challenge … playing Philipsburg-Osceola, but I am excited to have the opportunity to play in the quarterfinals and to continue to develop our team.”
That winner faces either Northern Cambria or West Shamokin in the semifinals Nov. 2, with the title match Nov. 4 at the Altoona Fieldhouse. Both finalists earn berths into the PIAA tournament.
Class 4A
Fourth-seeded State College (5-8) visited top-seeded Mifflin County in the semifinals on Oct. 31, with the winner battling either Altoona or Central Mountain.
