Oct 25, 2017 By Adam Brewer for The 3 min read

CARMICHAELS — The Geibel Catholic volleyball squad won in the playoffs for the first time since 2008 with a dominating 3-0 sweep of Chartiers-Houston Wednesday night in the first round of the WPIAL Class A playoffs at Carmichaels High School.

“None of these girls have ever played in a playoff game,” Geibel coach Rick Watkins said. “So, we were a little worried they might get rattled or have some jitters, but they came out very strong. We talked before the game that it’s ok to make an error tonight. Everyone will make an error. The key is how you regroup from that mistake.”

Coming into the playoff game, the Lady Gators (11-4) were riding a six-game losing skid in the postseason before sweeping C-H by scores of 25-19, 25-22, 25-12.

The last playoff win for Geibel was in the semifinals against Our Lady of the Sacred Heart in 2008. Geibel fell in the finals in that year to Beaver County Christian.

Geibel will now play third-seeded OLSH on Tuesday with a time and site to be determined.

“Playing in our section (Section 2-A) has really helped us out,” Watkins said. “We’ve been talking about it every night during the regular season. This section is so competitive and balance, especially those top four teams. Every night was truly a playoff game in front of a loud gym with a lot of emotions on the court.”

The Lady Gators was led by a solid, all-round performance by junior captain Alexa Henckel, who registered 24 digs, seven kills and six aces.

“It’s really exciting for the whole team that we won and were able to do it together,” Henckel said. “It’s so important to bring that school spirit and tradition back. We are young and we bring the right energy every set. Our defense was very good tonight too.”

Junior Amanda Antol had a team-high 14 kills in the victory.

“We just wanted to win,” Antol said. “The last couple of weeks we have switched our lineups and things has been clicking for us. Coming from such a tough section, it has made us tougher. We are really working well together.”

Other contributors for Geibel in the win were freshman Shannon Watkins (32 assists, 23 digs), freshman Paige Bogozi (seven kills), and junior Haley Riggin (three blocks).

Trailing 3-0 in the opening set, the Lady Gators erupted with a 9-0 run that was capped off by a service point from Henckel and a block by Riggin.

Geibel got separation halfway through the set with a 20-12 advantage. Henckel led the run with three aces, and Bogozi crushed two kills at the net.

The Lady Buccaneers (9-6) made it 24-19, but Geibel recorded the final point for the six-point triumph and the 1-0 lead.

C-H had early leads of 5-1, 12-6 and 16-13 in the second set before the Lady Gators countered with six straight points to take a 19-16 lead.

With things deadlock at 21-21, Geibel carried the set with a 4-1 spurt that was ended by a kill from Henckel.

In the third set, the Lady Gators broke away from a 10-8 lead with a 10-2 run. Geibel secured the sweep with five of the final seven points of the set.

“I was very pleased with our overall effort tonight,” coach Watkins said. “We did a lot of good things and Char-Houston has some height with their setters. They gave us fits, but we made the adjustments and battled the whole night.”