Beth-Center sweeps season series with Uniontown
Beth-Center defeated Uniontown, 3-1, in Section 7-AA volleyball action Monday at Uniontown’s A.J. Everhart Memorial Gymnasium. The Lady Bulldogs won the contest by scores of 25-11, 19-25, 25-15 and 25-9.
“We have to start off with the early momentum when we are on the road,” Beth-Center coach Breanne Paletta said. “Winning that first set really helps and we came out of the gates pretty good.”
Beth-Center improves to 6-1 in the section and sweeps the season series with Uniontown, as it picked up a 3-1 victory over the Lady Raiders on Sept. 8. Uniontown drops to 1-5 in section play.
The first set started off back and forth, but Beth-Center was able to pull away and forced Uniontown to call a timeout as they were leading 14-7.
The break in action didn’t slow down the Bulldogs as they scored the final six points to win the opening set thanks in part to the play of Lindsey Coffey.
“We came out really, really pumped to play today,” Coffey said. “During the second game I think we lost it, we were joking around too much, but then after that we were determined to play as a team and got fired up.”
Coffey totaled 19 kills in the entire game and was a forced to be reckoned with around the net as she was able to use her size and athleticism.
In the second set, Uniontown was able to gain the early lead and held a 13-7 advantage midway through play.
Beth-Center got within a point, 18-17, but the Lady Raiders rattled off some points and finished off the set with a victory thanks in part to an acrobatic play from Alexander Broskey, in which she saved the ball out of bounds and set up a kill for the Lady Raiders.
“In that second set we just picked up our game a little and was more active on the court compare to that first set,” Uniontown coach Dario Piccolomini said. “We shook the rust off and we played as a team in that winning set.”
The Lady Bulldogs recaptured the momentum with a strong showing in the third set that had them out early as they held an 11-4 lead.
A couple of plays later, and after some strong rallies from both teams, the Lady Raiders cut the deficit to 16-12, but wouldn’t come any closer as the Bulldogs went on a 9-2 run to finis off the third set.
“I think that second set was a wake-up call for us,” Paletta said. “I think they thought it was going to be too easy for them and we made some mistakes. It’s really important for us to get things done early and kind of maintain that momentum throughout a certain set, and the whole game for that matter.”
The Lady Bulldogs were too strong in the fourth set and dominated play by winning 25-9 courtesy of strong play around the net and leadership from Coffey, one of six seniors on the squad.
“I’m always talkative on the court,” Coffey said. “I think everyone should be talkative on the court and there should never be dead silence. Volleyball is all about communication. You have to talk to your teammates about where the serve or hit is going, and you have to just be positive out there and don’t get on yourself and you teammates.”
Alicia Statzula had 24 service points and Crystal Stish added 12 along with four kills for Beth-Center.
Tori and Taylor Campbell led the way for Uniontown with five and four blocks respectively. Teammate Diamond Wright chipped in with five digs.
Both teams will be in section action today as Beth-Center hosts Waynesburg Central and Uniontown will travel to McGuffey. Both games are scheduled to start at 7 p.m.
“We won more sets than we did last year, which is definitely a positive thing to look at,” Piccolomini said. “As it relates to the rest of the season, I just want more girls to play hard and to give it their best. Over time, we are going to mature and get better and better.”