Nov 1, 2002 By Rob Burchianti 3 min read

CALIFORNIA – Jefferson-Morgan battled Beth-Center tooth-and-nail in the early going of the first two games during their WPIAL girls volleyball playoff match on Thursday night. The Lady Bulldogs were better down the stretch, however.

Beth-Center pulled away in both of those games to win by scores of 15-9 and 15-6, then rolled to a 15-3 win in the clincher to sweep the Lady Rockets in a Class A quarterfinal meeting at California High School.

“They’re never in rhythm early on,” said Lady Bulldogs coach Andy Medved, who wasn’t worried about his team’s early-game struggles, especially when he saw his players grinning and laughing.

“As long as I see them smiling, I know they’re OK. There’s no sense calling a time out because I know they’re in control mentally when I see that.”

Third-seeded Beth-Center (16-2) earned a rematch with second-seeded Farrell in the semifinals at LaRoche College on Saturday at 7:45 p.m. The Steelers beat the Lady Bulldogs in a tremendous battle in the Seneca Valley Tournament, 13-15, 15-8, 14-16. B-C had a 14-11 lead in the final game before Farrell rallied.

What that close match did was convince Beth-Center’s girls that they could play with anybody in the WPIAL tournament.

“I think that game was a big lift for us, as was winning the Quigley Tournament when we beat Quarker Valley and Hopewell,” Medved said. “I think that’s a key reason we got the third seed in the WPIAL.”

Medved had plenty of praise for his team’s performance against J-M, especially on the play of junior Samantha Slagle, who led Beth-Center with eight kills.

“Sam just keeps getting better every game,” Medved said.

Danielle Hutchinson sparked the Lady Bulldogs with 10 service points and five kills, Breanne Paletta also had five kills, and Lesley Kurjanowicz added a game-high 13 service points.

The Lady Rockets (15-4), who also were swept by Beth-Center in a regular-season match, gave the Lady Bulldogs all they could handle early in the first game.

The score was tied, 7-7, when B-C finally took control, closing with an 8-2 run.

“We definitely needed to win that first game, momentum-wise,” J-M coach Ron Headlee said.

The second game produced another early battle and a 6-6 deadlock.

The Lady Bulldogs chalked up the next nine points, however, to win going away.

“It’s always been like that … all year,” Slagle said. “We always start slow, then pick it up.”

There would be no sputtering start in the final game, though, as J-M could muster only three points.

It just wasn’t the Lady Rockets’ night, according to Headlee.

“We had a lot of mental errors,” Headlee said. “We beat ourselves for the most part. Then there were a few balls that I thought were on the line and were called out. Things like that hurt us, too. The breaks didn’t go our way.

“But we lost to a good team. There’s no doubt about that.”

Once again it was Heather Patterson and Shanna Yourchik leading the way for Jefferson-Morgan. Patterson recorded eight service points and a tearful, emotional Yourchik, who received a consolatory hug from Slagle after the game, registered seven kills.

One key to the Lady Bulldogs’ success this season is its mental makeup, according to Medved.

“This is the most emotionally mature team I’ve ever had,” Medved said.

“They know if someone’s down, someone else is going to pick them up. And they’re smart. They know how to spot the open places and how to take advantage of them, and they communicate that between themselves.”