High School Volleyball Preview
If football is king in the area, volleyball is certainly the queen. Competition for playoff berths should once again be intense in several local sections as indicated in the following preview: Albert Gallatin: First-year coach Rachael Dunham says the Lady Colonials have made progress in their scrimmages and early season tournament performances. ?We?ve come a long way since we began practice four weeks ago. We?ve improved tenfold.?
Among the returnees are seniors Sarah Ferrah, Michelle Kremposky, Tricia Plitka, Gabby Plitcha, and Corinna Barnhart, and juniors Nicole Brown, Deanna DeFrank, Marissa Wallace, Jamie Lake, and Ashley Leventry.
The Lady Colonials are in the tough Section 2-AAA alignment along with Connellsville, and Dunham said she?s looking forward to the start of section competition after a 2-2 showing in the Fayette County Coaches Tournament.
Connellsville: The Lady Falcons shared last year?s Section 2-AAA championship with Upper St. Clair and began the new season by winning the Fayette County Coaches Tournament. Second-year coach Sara Pockstaller says Connellsville has plenty of talent, despite losing four seniors to graduation.
?We have a lot of young girls who are coming in with talent and confidence,? Pockstaller said. ?We were happy with our scrimmages. Our team played well together.?
Letter winners who are being counted on to continue the program?s success are senior Cassie Show and juniors Gabby Smith, Heidi Jaynes, Cat Healy and Tori Martucci. Jessi Clark is the only other senior on the 13-player varsity roster.
Beth-Center: The Lady Bulldogs were 15-3 in their first year in Class AA with two losses to Section 7-AA champion Laurel Highlands and a playoff loss to Yough. Fifth-year coach Breanne Paletta has led her team to the playoffs four straight seasons.
Paletta was pleased with her team?s scrimmages against Connellsville and Frazier. ?This (senior) class is actually the first that I?ve seen all the way up as head coach. It?s good to see them grow from children into young ladies.?
All four seniors are letter winners: Lindsey Coffey, Breigh Deveca, Alicia Statzula, and Crystal Stish. Leading a group of seven juniors are letter winners Jessica Dzamba and Rachel Pagac.
Brownsville: Rachel Bruschi is the new head coach of the Lady Falcons, but she is familiar with the program after serving as the team?s assistant coach for three years.
Brownsville struggled with only three victories last year, but Bruschi looks for improvement in Section 7-AA from a roster of 21 players who are led by senior letter winners Gina Perry and Stephanie Crable. Junior letter winners include Karmen Bruschi, Emily Konter, Chevelle Stoken, and Karly Peton.
Bruschi said the team and staff benefited from an August camp at Bethany College. ?Everyone has been working hard and I feel this can be a good year for us,? she said.
Laurel Highlands: New head coach Michelle Pergar and assistant Casey O?Brien previously coached many of the Fillies players on several levels. ?This is a wonderful group of girls who work hard every day,? Pergar said. ?They?re here to play and dedicate themselves to the program. I?m very pleased with the way they?ve been playing.?
The team lost several standout graduates from last year?s Section 5-AA championship team, but Pergar feels the returning nucleus will continue the program?s tradition. Returning letter winners are captain Victoria Kearns, Jill Ciarrocchi, Janelle Cooper, Tessa Sova, and Sydney Lohr. Back after some time away from the program are Ashley Peton and Caitlyn Tanner.
Southmoreland: It?s ?all in the family? at Southmoreland where the husband and wife team of Sam and Bonnie Coffman enter their eighth seasons as coaches, and are joined by daughter, Anna, as volunteer assistant coach.
The Lady Scotties were 1-16 last year, but have a roster of 26 girls and seven letter winners aiming to move up in Section 4-AA. Letter winners are seniors Katie Siwula, Amanda Mitchell, Courtney Zito, and Cara Shaffer; juniors Buffy Datz and Megan Jones lettered, and sophomore Shannon Tomasello.
?This was the best preseason we ever had,? said Sam Coffman. ?We have a good team work ethic and are looking for improvement.?
Uniontown: Third-year coach Dario Piccolomini says the Lady Raiders will be a young team this year. But he?s excited that the program is adding its first new players from last year?s initial junior high school program. ?We?re starting to build the program up,? Piccolomini said.
Six players graduated last spring and senior Mallory Sanner will miss the season in the aftermath of rehabilitation from a basketball injury. Piccolomini will count on three senior letter winners to lead the way in Section 5-AA: Bree Geller, Diamond Wright, and Alex Broskey.
Waynesburg Central: The Lady Raiders were tied with Washington for the third playoff berth in Section 5-AA last season before being eliminated by Thomas Jefferson in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs. Second year coach Kim Hyland said her team ?has set high goals for themselves both individually and as a group. We feel we can be very competitive this year.?
The team is experienced with a core of 10 returning letter winners including seniors Emily Bosworth, Michelle Fox, Courtney Farabee, Jordan Higgins, and Caitlin Bavin; juniors Jennifer Phillips, Kelcee Headlee, Mandi Lawrence, Lauren Fox, and Taylor Johnson.
California: Last season, Frazier edged the Lady Trojans for Section 5-A?s final playoff berth in the season?s last match. Second-year coach Mark Horan has injected new strategies on offense and defense with hopes of changing California?s fortunes.
California returns six letter winners from a 6-9 overall season: seniors Allison Greenlief, Chelsea Hajdu, Madison Popelas, and juniors Abbey Tirpak, Jessa Thompson, and Dani Zajicek.
Horan said the Lady Trojans made great strides between the first scrimmage against McGuffey and the second scrimmage against Class AAA Albert Gallatin. ?They played really well (against AG) and improved a lot between scrimmages,? Horan said.
Carmichaels: First-year coach Ashley Speeney brings a winning pedigree to the Lady Mikes? program. Speeney is a 2003 graduate of Geibel High School, where she played on four playoff teams under coach Rick Watkins. She also played for one season at California University.
Speeney is emphasizing ?a positive attitude and having confidence. I pull different (practice) drills from high school and college.?
The Lady Mikes have no seniors on a roster of 18 players, but have ?good athletes? who have been working hard for the grind in Section 5-A.
Returning letter winners include juniors Patty Brown, Jessica Hair, and Kim Rowan, and sophomores Alex Ferek, Cameron Grimes, Kelsey Blasiorka, Emly Hainzer, Sarah Hathaway, Ashleigh Minor and Marissa Krall.
Frazier: In her 12th year as head coach, Mandy Hartman has led the Lady Commodores to the playoffs each year of her tenure. Frazier returns nine letter winners from a 10-4 team that placed third in tough Section 5-A: seniors Caitlin Fidel, Jessica Wilson, Amber Baughman; juniors Giovanna Bitonti, Laurissa Ellis, All-WPIAL Gina Keebler, Amanda Pato, Savannah Prue; and sophomore Megan Manack.
?Our returning core brings a lot of experience, enthusiasm, and excitement for the game,? Hartman said. ?I?m really excited about the season.?
Frazier and Geibel square off in an intense section rivalry match tonight, and Hartman said fans can always expect exciting competition when the teams meet.
Geibel Catholic: Last season, the Lady Gators won the section 5-A championship and were runnersup to WPIAL champion Beaver County Christian. Coach Rick Watkins enters his 18th season, and looks for the section race to be as tight as ever.
?I?m not sure if we?ll be in the top two teams, but we?ll be in the grind. Frazier is big and strong and Jefferson-Morgan will be good as well.?
Letter winners are seniors Marney Hillen, Carly Ciarochi, Breanne Dowden and Alyssa Dedola, junior Kayla Maruniak and sophomore Maria Ross.
The Lady Gators jump right into the section battle with tonight?s home match against rival Frazier.
Jefferson-Morgan: The Lady Rockets have made the playoffs in each of coach Ron Headlee?s 13 seasons, including four section championships. Jefferson-Morgan has 11 returning veterans from a 13-4 team that was section runnerup to Geibel, and lost to Greensburg Central Catholic in the playoffs. Letter winners including seniors Morgan Olson, Marissa Cameron, Kaylie Becker, Chelsey Byers, Heather Herbert, Shelby Yourchik, Mabel Culp, and Katrina Kubasik, along with juniors Paige Huber, Shayna Kerr, and Courtney Lippencott.
?Qualifying for the playoffs is always one of our high goals,? said Headlee. ?We?d like to step up and win the section (5-A). But it?s a tough section.?
Mapletown: Lady Maples coach Jenn Smith is in her second year with the program and is looking for improvement in the Section 5-A campaign. She said, ?My players are working very hard and have already made huge improvements from last year. The attitudes of my senior players are very positive on and off the volleyball court. They are fantastic leaders.?
Mapletown tuned up for the regular season by competing in the Aliquippa Tournament over the Labor Day weekend.
Returning letter winners include seniors Robin Jones, Lacey Mathews, Brittany Wilson, Megan Wagner, who have a combined 11 years of experience among them, and sophomores Kristi Guritza and Molly Namet.