Oct 12, 2017 By Adam Brewer for The 7 min read

CARMICHAELS — Carmichaels avenged an earlier loss to Geibel Catholic and knocked the Lady Gators out of a second-place tie in Section 2-A with a 3-0 sweep in girls volleyball action Thursday night.

Carmichaels won by scores of 25-21, 25-22 and 25-19.

“We knew how significant this game was tonight and I think our girls fed off of that energy,” Carmichaels coach Ashley Shoemaker said. “This was a hard-fought win and we had to compete for every point. We have a good dynamic on the team and everyone knows their role on this team.”

Earlier in the season the Lady Mikes (9-3, 9-3) dropped a road contest at Geibel, but since then have won five of their last seven games and are currently in a tie with California for second place in the section behind Frazier.

Carmichaels travels to California on Tuesday with sole possession of second place on the line.

The Lady Gators (8-4, 8-4) dropped to fourth place in the section and host West Greene on Tuesday.

“This might sound crazy, but I really liked how we played,” Geibel coach Rick Watkins said. “We switched our rotations and we wanted to try some new things. I got more out of this game than a lot of our wins this season. This section is the most even it has ever been in my 26 years of coaching. Playing in this section will help us in the playoffs.”

Coming into the match, Carmichaels, California and Geibel clinched a playoff spot due to West Greene beating Mapletown and knocking the Lady Maples out of contention.

Aubree Ferek led the Lady Mikes with 16 service points and nine kills.

“We had a lot of energy tonight and we had fun,” Ferek said. “We were ready from the beginning and we knew how good Geibel is. We had to get this one tonight so we could get the split with Geibel. We are playing together and we are clicking.”

Kristina Aeschbacher compiled nine service points and eight kills for the home team, while Jadyn Barnish dished out 12 assists and had six service points of her own.

“We brought the right mindset into tonight’s game,” Barnish said. “We all have that passion for the sport and we trust each other. We have played together the last four years and we are really communicating well with our passing game on the court.”

Carmichaels, which qualifies for the postseason for a school-record fourth straight year, was also anchored by Grace Kerr (26 assists, 15 digs), Meighan Spishock (eight kills), Taylor Christopher (nine kills) and Micaela Ricco (16 digs, six service points).

Geibel was led by Alexa Henckel (19 digs, 10 kills), Lauren Tomasko (15 digs, five kills), Shannon Watkins (19 assists) and Paige Bogozi (five kills, two blocks).

Carmichaels jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the opening set, but the visitors rallied to knot things up at 15-15. The Lady Mikes responded by scoring 10 of the next 16 points and a kill from Aeschbacher gave the home team a 25-21 win to go up 1-0.

“We had some good serves tonight,” Shoemaker said. “It’s key for us to be consistent from the service line. We want to extend our runs and put the pressure on our opponents. We had to avoid the up-and-down roller coaster from the line. The key for us is to keep our heads on straight and to focus in on every play.”

In the second set, the Lady Gators started out fast and built a 16-12 lead after a service point from Watkins. The Lady Mikes countered and broke away from an 18-18 deadlock with a 7-4 run to go up 2-0.

Carmichaels carried an early 9-2 lead, but Geibel trimmed the deficit to 17-13 midway through the third set. Both teams split the final 10 points of the set, as the Lady Mikes pulled out their sixth sweep of the season.

“We just have to keep on doing what we are doing,” Ferek said. “We are excited for the final week of the season and the playoffs. It means a lot to get back to the playoffs. This is the closest our team has ever been and we have that trust with each other.”

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Frazier 3, Bentwoth 0 – After an early stumble, Frazier’s girls volleyball team is back in familiar territory alone atop the Section 2-A standings, and no one can pass the Lady Commodores now.

Coach Mandy Hartman’s squad clinched at least a share of its ninth straight section title and its 10th in 12 years with a 3-0 romp over host Bentworth on Thursday night.

Frazier won by scores of 25-12, 25-9 and 25-16 in reeling off its 11th consecutive section victory after falling at Carmichaels in its opener.

The Lady Bearcats fall to 0-12 in section play.

Logan Hartman sparked the Lady Commodores (12-2, 11-1) with 18 service points and Skye Eicher had eight kills. Frazier also got six service points from Riley Scott, five service points from Mackenzie Kelly and four kills from Kaelyn Shaporka.

The Lady Commodores can clinch the outright section crown with a win at Mapletown on Tuesday.

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California 3, Jefferson-Morgan 1 – California remained in a tie for second place in Section 2-A after a 3-1 victory over host Jefferson-Morgan in girls volleyball action on Thursday night.

The Lady Trojans (10-4, 9-3) are even with Carmichaels, which defeated Geibel Catholic to push the Lady Gators out of what was a three-way tie for second.

California won took the first two sets by the same 25-16 scores, but the Lady Rockets (1-11) fought back to take the third game, 25-19, before J-M closed out the match, 25-13.

Annalise Gillespie paced the Lady Trojans with 13 kills and two service points and Addie O’Savage contributed nine kills and 15 digs. California also got 27 assists from Ina Helmick and six service points from Mya Fetty.

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Laurel Highlands 3, Belle Vernon 0 – Laurel Highlands cruised past host Belle Vernon, 3-0, in a Section 3-AAA girls volleyball match on Thursday night.

The playoff-bound Fillies (9-4, 7-3) won by scores of 25-4, 25-11 and 25-14.

The victory means LH can finish no worse than third in the section.

Jessie Symons led the Lady Leopards (0-10) with three kills.

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West Greene 3, Mapletown 1 – West Greene survived a marathon first game in defeating visiting Mapletown, 3-1, to knock the Lady Maples out of playoff contention in their Section 2-A girls volleyball match on Thursday night.

The Lady Pioneers (5-7) out-lasted Mapletown, 33-31, in the first set and went up 2-0 with a 25-12 win in the second set. The Lady Maples (8-7, 5-7) rallied and took the third set, 25-22, before succumbing in a close fourth set, 25-21.

Kelsi Smith had 13 kills and three blocks for Mapletown and Taylor Vanata also came up with 13 kills to go along with a pair of aces. Others who contributed for the Lady Maples were Morgan Helmick (38 assists), Madison Helmick (six kills, two aces), Aliceon Clark (six kills) and Makenzie Cree (24 digs).

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Hempfield 3, Connellsville 2 – Connellsville put up a good battle against third-place Hempfield before finally falling, 3-2, in Section 3-AAAA girls volleyball action on Thursday night.

The visiting Lady Spartans won by scores of 25-14, 21-25, 25-21, 23-25 and 15-8 to improve to 6-3 in the section.

The Lady Falcons (9-6, 3-6), who remain in the playoff hunt, were led by Elli Cook, who totaled 10 kills and five blocks, and Lauren Bubarth, who almost matched Cook with nine kills and five blocks.

Connellsville also got 43 digs from Maggie Means, 42 assists from Sara Ellis and four aces from Morgan Domer.

The Lady Falcons travel to Franklin Regional on Tuesday.