Lady Mikes headed to WPIAL semifinals
Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard
Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard Carmichaels’ Taylor Christopher bumps the ball over the net as teammates Meighan Spishock (23) and Micaela Ricco watch the play during Monday’s quarterfinal match against Beaver County Christian in the WPIAL Class A playoffs at Baldwin High School.
Carmichaels' Emma Hyatt jumps up for a spike during Monday's quarterfinal match against Beaver County Christian in the WPIAL Class A playoffs at Baldwin High School.
Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard
Carmichaels’ Alexandra McGee sets up Taylor Christopher for a spike during Monday’s quarterfinal match against Beaver County Christian in the WPIAL Class A playoffs at Baldwin High School.
Carmichaels' Emily Mundell serves during Monday's quarterfinal match against Beaver County Christian in the WPIAL Class A playoffs at Baldwin High School.
WHITEHALL — Carmichaels lost the first set but rallied for a 3-1 victory over Beaver County Christian in the quarterfinals of the WPIAL Class A girls volleyball playoffs on Monday at Baldwin High School.
The Lady Mikes (16-0) advanced to their first semifinal appearance in program history against Greensburg Central Catholic (16-0) on Wednesday. The result of that match was not known at press time.
“We lost a five-set match last year in the quarterfinals and a lot of our girls played on that team,” Carmichaels coach Ashley Shoemaker said. “This is the first year we have won the section, gone undefeated and made it to the semifinals. We want to keep making history.
“We really don’t have any film or anything like that we watch to prepare for the match. We just prepare as a team and worry about what we do and not the other team.”
Carmichaels, who is the No. 2 seed in the WPIAL playoffs, assured itself of at least two more matches this season because three qualifiers are taken out of District 7 for the state tournament. The finals and consolation matches will be held Saturday at Fox Chapel High School. The third-place match will take place at 11 a.m. and the finals start at 12 p.m.
“We don’t want to have to worry about playing a third-place match,” Shoemaker said. “We want to head to the WPIAL finals for the first time.”
The Lady Eagles (14-2) opened up the match with a 25-23 win in the first game, but the Lady Mikes tied things up with a 25-23 victory in Game 2. Carmichaels won the third game, 25-17, and the fourth, 25-23.
“We were swinging but played a bit scared in that first set,” Shoemaker said. “In the rest of the games, we did a better job, especially against No. 11 (Maggie Townsend). We played with a lot of confidence in the third set.”
The Lady Mikes trailed 11-7 in the first game, but used a 7-0 run to take a 14-11 advantage. Beaver County Christian outscored Carmichaels, 14-9, for the two-point win in Game 1.
The Lady Mikes used a 6-0 run to take an 11-5 run, but the Lady Eagles rallied back and took a 16-13 lead before the Section 2-A champions used a 12-7 run for a 25-23 triumph in the second game to tie the match at 1-1.
Carmichaels scored four straight points after the third game was tied at five and never looked back in a 25-17 win and a 2-1 advantage heading into the fourth game.
The Lady Mikes held a 14-9 edge in the fourth game before the Lady Eagles rallied to take a 21-17, but Carmichaels outscored Beaver County Christian, 8-2, for a two-point victory.
The Lady Mikes’ Alexandra McGee had 13 service points and 17 assists, Grace Kerr added 10 service points, 16 assists and 23 digs.
Carmichaels’ Meighan Spishock had eight service points, 17 digs and four 4 kills, Taylor Christopher added four blocks and 14 kills, Emma Hyatt had nine kills and Micaela Ricco had 25 digs for the Lady Mikes.
Christopher, a junior, was on last year’s team and is glad to get past the quarterfinals.
“It started in my freshman year where we would make the playoffs and win the first match, but lose in the quarterfinals,” Christopher said. “We want to keep making history. Beaver County Christian played a tough match but we started a bit slow.”