J-M girls win WPIAL consy, earn berth in PIAA playoffs
BRIDGEVILLE – For the Jefferson-Morgan girls’ volleyball team, there was only one acceptable outcome for Saturday’s WPIAL Class A Consolation game – a win to gain a state playoff berth. The Rockets fended off a determined Beaver County Christian team 3-0, to earn the WPIAL’s third and final PIAA Class A playoff berth. Aside from a dominant performance in a 25-15 first game win, the Rockets’ three-game sweep was far from easy.
J-M (18-2) never trailed in the first game as Mabel Culp had two kills and a pair of service aces to lead the Rockets to a 7-2 start. Kimberly McCracken, a standout on BCC’s 2008 WPIAL championship team, had five kills, but the Eagles could get no closer than four points at 11-7 before the Rockets pulled to a 22-12 lead.
The Eagles cut the lead to 23-16 before a service error and a hit out of bounds clinched J-M’s 25-16 win.
The first tie of the match was at 1-1 in the second game, but kills by Culp and Morgan Olson put the Rockets ahead for good at 4-1.
Leading 10-9, J-M went on a 7-1 run that included a kill by Paige Huber, and a service ace by Chelsey Byers to lead 17-10.
But BCC (14-2) went on two runs that forced time outs by J-M coach Ron Headlee at 19-16 and 21-20. McCracken had two kills and an ace during the runs.
With the Rockets holding another slim lead at 22-21, Huber had two kills and Byers scored an ace as J-M pulled out a 25-23 win.
The Eagles kept the momentum for much of the third game, which was tied 14 times. BCC took its first lead of the day at 3-2, and broke from an 8-8 deadlock to its biggest edge at 12-9, led by three McCracken kills and a block point by Bekah Noorlag.
The Rockets rallied for a 14-13 lead on Shelby Yourchik’s kill, and there were four more ties until J-M broke from an 18-18 deadlock to lead for good. A service point by Marissa Cameron and a pair of kills by Culp gave J-M the lead for good at 21-18. Minutes later, kills by Culp and Kaylie Becker finished the game and match at 25-21.
Headlee said afterwards, “You could tell this morning that the girls had a different attitude than on Thursday (a 3-0 semifinal loss to West Shamokin). They didn’t want the season to be over. They’re the first team from Jefferson-Morgan or Greene County to go to states.
“Their number 1 (McCracken) is a great hitter, and we stared to lose our focus in the second game. But we came back with a couple of great digs and a great job by Paige Huber.”
Culp said the win felt “amazing. We’re excited to go to states. No one wanted to end the season.”
Byers said she wasn’t worried when the Eagles rallied in the middle of the match. “I felt that we would get the momentum back.”
Team captains Becker and Olson said the trip to the PIAA playoffs has been a long time in coming. “This is everything we’ve been working for since seventh grade,” said Olson. Becker added, “I always have faith in our team that we’ll all pick each other up when we’re down.”
Jefferson-Morgan is expected to open the PIAA tournament on Tuesday night against the District 6 champion.