Lady Falcons survive Fillies’ rally in key volleyball battle
CONNELLSVILLE – Laurel Highlands came into its Section 2-AAA girls volleyball match against Connellsville with all of the momentum. The Fillies had a one-game lead on the Lady Falcons in the race for a WPIAL playoff berth and was coming off a stunning upset win over first-place Canon-McMillan. By the time the match was over, however, the shoe was on the other foot.
Connellsville scored a 3-2 win over Laurel Highlands to all but wrap up the third and final playoff berth out of the section. Connellsville faces Albert Gallatin in its section finale, while Laurel Highlands must contend with playoff-bound Ringgold.
The teams are tied for third place with 4-5 section records, but (8-5) Connellsville’s win was its second of the season over (12-5) LH, giving the Lady Falcons playoff tiebreakers.
“We needed that badly,” Lady Falcons coach Natalie Lilley said. “Our last two matches were devastating losses, so we knew we had to win this match to have any hope of making the playoffs. Right now, it looks good for us.”
“It’s always a concern,” LH coach Nancy Wheeler said of her team’s playoff fate. “We try to take them one at a time and Ringgold is next, so that’s what we have to pay attention to.”
Connellsville scored six straight points to take a 19-13 lead en route to a 25-19 game one win. The Lady Falcons opened a 15-8 lead in the second game, only to watch the Fillies climb back into ties at 19, 21, 22 and 23 before winning the last two points for a 25-23 win.
The third game was tight throughout, with the biggest lead being LH’s 13-9 edge in a 25-23 Fillies win. The Fillies liked it so much, they won the fourth game by the same score and it looked like momentum had switched sides.
The fifth game, however, was all Connellsville. The Lady Falcons opened a 10-1 lead and held on for a 15-9 win.
“I knew they had it in them,” Lilley said of her team’s play in the deciding game. “We practiced really hard for this, especially yesterday. And we’ve won fifth games before, so that helped us.”
Wheeler said her team never got untracked, not even in the games they managed to win.
“We never really did fix it,” she said. “We weren’t passing and we weren’t hitting like we normally do. Everybody had their share of errors, including me. This match came down to who wanted it more. They wanted it and we didn’t.”