Oct 30, 2002 By Rob Burchianti 3 min read

PITTSBURGH – Jefferson-Morgan sputtered as it came out of the gate against Our Lady of the Sacred Heart on Tuesday night. Once the sixth-seeded Lady Rockets righted their ship and hit the booster button, however, the 11th-seeded Lady Chargers were toast.

Jefferson-Morgan roared back from a 10-2 deficit to win the opening game, then went on to post victories of 15-7 and 15-9 in sweeping 11th-seeded OLSH in a WPIAL Class A first-round girls volleyball match at Canevin High School.

“To come back and win that first game was key,” said J-M coach Ron Headlee, who has led his squad into the postseason in each of the last four years. “We just had some bad passing in the beginning. We’re a team that does that once in awhile. We did the same thing last year in the first round.

“We made a lot of mental mistakes and a few bad decisions, but the girls came through when they had to.”

Shanna Yourchik, drilled home 12 kills, including the clincher in the final game, and Heather Patterson contributed six kills and 10 service points as the Lady Rockets improved to 15-3 overall.

“Shanna played very well on offense, but did a great job in digging balls up on defense, too,” Headlee said. “And I thought Heather had a really good game at the net.”

Kelli Waligora also rang up 10 service points and Leah Balazick added nine.

Jefferson-Morgan will play third-seeded Beth-Center in the quarterfinals on Thursday at a site and time yet to be determined. The Lady Bulldogs beat J-M in an earlier meeting this season, 3-0.

“I’m looking forward to playing them again,” Yourchik said.

A rematch with B-C was the last thing on the Lady Rockets’ minds when they found themselves trailing the Lady Chargers 6-0 and 10-2 in the first game. Headlee then used his first timeout and J-M began its comeback with a five-point run, and eventually pulled within one, 11-10, on a block by Yourchik.

Our Lady of the Sacred Heart (8-7) regrouped and surged to a 14-10 lead, but couldn’t put the determined Lady Rockets away.

Jefferson-Morgan fought off four game points, then ran off three points in a row with Waligora serving to turn a 15-14 deficit into a 17-15 win.

Patterson had the best save, perfectly placing a shot just inside the line with the Lady Chargers up 14-12.

Yourchik finished off the remarkable comeback by slamming home a stray shot by OLSH.

“We’ve always been a team that fights back when we’re down,” said Yourchik, who is a four-year letterman. “Coach kept talking to us, and (co-captains) me and Kelli kept talking to everyone, too, to keep us going.”

Jefferson-Morgan again had trouble getting started in the second game, falling behind by scores of 3-1 and 5-3. A six-point burst, with four coming while Erica Smoggie was serving, then sent the Lady Rockets on their way to an eight-point win. Smoggie ended it by placing a winner in the back corner.

Headlee’s crew stormed out to a 13-3 lead in the final game before settling on a six-point win. Patterson hit a service winner to get to match point and Yourchik’s kill ended the festivities.