Lady Raiders sweep away Charleroi in volleyball
WAYNESBURG — The defending Section 3-AA champion Waynesburg Central volleyball squad showed once again why they stand atop of the standings after a 3-0 sweep of Charleroi Tuesday night.
Waynesburg won by scores of 25-18, 25-11 and 25-14, to remain perfect in section action.
With the win, the Lady Raiders (6-1, 5-0) bounced back from a loss to non-section foe Trinity on Monday and extended their section unbeaten streak to 16 games.
“Our main goal this year is, besides winning, we want to sweep every team in our section,” Waynesburg Central coach Dan Higinbotham said. “We feel like if we do that, it might give us a better seeding in the playoffs. We want to challenge ourselves in the non-section, and that’s why we face triple-A teams like Trinity and Ringgold.”
Abby Gibbons smashed 12 kills and added seven digs to lead Waynesburg, while Abby Fisher dished out 17 aces and collected five aces.
Emerson Foringer had a solid night in the back row with 10 digs, while Bailey Pauley (six kills, four blocks) and Emma Robinson (11 service points) had steady nights as well.
“Abby (Gibbons) is an all-around strong volleyball player,” Higinbotham said. “She can play any position and this year we put her on the outside as a hitter. Her volleyball IQ is very high. She has a great swing. Our whole team is versatile and can play multiple spots. We have an abundance of good passers and that helps set up our offense.”
The Lady Cougars (0-5, 0-3) were anchored by 14 digs from Sierra Short. Katie Valla added six kills and three blocks, while Maria Claybaugh tallied five kills.
After the squads traded points to start the opening set, the visitors got some separation and went up 9-5 after a kill from Emma Valla.
The Lady Raiders responded with eight unanswered points to take back the lead and went up 17-11 after an ace by Fisher.
Waynesburg went on a 7-2 run to take firm control of the set. A kill by Pauley ended a 25-18 win for the home team.
Just like the first set, the Lady Cougars raced out to an early lead at 7-4, but the Lady Raiders showed their composure and rallied once again with 10 consecutive points.
The Waynesburg’s spree ended with a kill from Gibbons, a service point from Robinson and a block by Fisher.
After Charleroi trimmed the deficit to 14-8, Waynesburg ended the second set on an 11-3 run. The set win was capped off by an ace from Foringer.
“For as young as we are (only three seniors and one junior on the roster), this team has a lot of composure on the court,” Higinbotham said. “We don’t panic and we don’t get down on ourselves. That’s a good quality for any volleyball team to have. The girls just stay the course and battle through the runs.”
In the third set, the Lady Raiders jumped up to leads of 7-2, 10-4 and 20-6, before completing the sweep with the 11-point win.
Both squads will be back in section action on Thursday, as Waynesburg hosts Beth-Center in a critical section showdown and Charleroi entertains Brownsville.
“We couldn’t overlook Charleroi tonight with Beth-Center coming up,” Higinbotham said. “I told the girls in practice that Charleroi was our biggest game of the year and we had to solely focus on them. I thought the girls did that tonight.”