Oct 30, 2002 By Jim Downey 2 min read

Upsetting a higher ranked first-round opponent seems to be an annual event for the Frazier girls volleyball teams because the Lady Commodores stunned Avonworth Tuesday night at Quaker Valley to advance in the WPIAL Class A playoffs. Frazier defeated the Section 2-A champions by the scores of 15-12, 15-9 and 15-13 to advance to a quarterfinal match Thursday with top-seeded Elderton, a 3-0 winner over Cornell.

The Lady Commodores finished third behind Geibel Catholic and Jefferson-Morgan in Section 5-A, but that didn’t stop Frazier from upsetting a higher seeded team for the second year in a row. Frazier upset Our Lady of the Sacred Heart last year.

“We went in as an underdog. Avonworth was a section champ with a 10-0 record,” Frazier coach Mandy Frazier said.

Not only did the Lady Commodores have to face a section champion; it was a team that played two boys. Frazier was a bit unsettled with the different faces across the net, but Hartman said her team responded.

“They had two boys on the team. It was a first experience for the girls,” Hartman said.

“All the girls have a lot of playoff experience. I don’t think they were nervous. They were excited. The school has supported us.”

Looking forward to the No. 1 seed, Hartman said, “We’re underdogs again. We’ll go and play our best.”