Hopewell drops Fillies from playoffs
UPPER ST. CLAIR – Tenth-seeded Laurel Highlands played every game close, but lost 3-0 to seventh-seeded Hopewell in the first round of the WPIAL AA girls volleyball playoffs Thursday at Upper St. Clair High School. First-year coach Michelle Pergar credited the Fillies (11-2) for battling the Lady Vikings (11-2) taller front line.
“They [Hopewell] were taller and this was the toughest competition we faced all year,” Pergar said. “We had to overcome that by playing with heart and dedication.”
The Lady Vikings jumped out to an early 8-2 lead and extended it to 18-9, which forced Pergar to call a timeout. Hitter
Tessa Sova helped bring back the Fillies with strong serving and they closed the gap to 20-13, but could get no closer. Hopewell closed out the first game with a 25-15 win.
In Game 2, the Vikings jumped out to an early lead again. This time it was 9-2, and Laurel Highlands called a timeout. The strategy worked and the Fillies regrouped and fought back and only trailed 15-12, forcing Hopewell to call a timeout.
Sova once again powered the Fillies to a late surge as she served five straight points to make the score 23-22 in favor of Hopewell.
Each team scored another point, but six-foot Lady Vikings middle hitter Shatori Kimbrough-Walker tapped in a shot mid court to give Hopewell the win in the second game, 25-23.
“I thought in Game 2 we communicated really well and picked up our defense,” Pergar said. “We kept our feet moving and blocked really well, too.”
Laurel Highlands took a 1-0 lead to start Game 3 and led the game 8-4 early-on, but Hopewell tied the score 8-8 and would not trail again. The Fillies stayed close, but the Lady Vikings pulled away late and won the third game, 25-18.
Sova led the Fillies with 22 kills. Teammate Marissa Erminio had nine digs, while the Fillies’ Sydney Lohr had two blocks. Jamie Barkman and Vanessa Trombetta had 10 kills for the Lady Vikings.
Senior captain Victoria Kearns had 22 assists for Laurel Highlands. Pergar credited her with helping lead the team this year.
“Victoria is a great girl and really kept everybody laughing,” Pergar said. “Her and Ashley Peton were our leaders this year.”
Kearns felt herself and the rest of the senior class worked hard this year on and off the court.
“We had tough shoes to fill this year to replace last year’s senior class,” Kearns said. “We tried as hard as we could to do that. Overall, I thought we had a really good season.”
Pergar agreed with her senior captain on the effort the Fillies put forth this season.
“Our hard work showed this year,” Pergar said. “I thought we really came together as a team tonight.”