Lady Commodores falter early before roaring past Neshannock
PERRYOPOLIS — Frazier seniors were a bit emotional going into what would be the final volleyball match on their home floor Thursday night.
Neshannock threatened to make it the last match of their high school career early on, but the third-seeded Lady Commodores rallied after faltering in the first set to blast past the Lady Lancers, 3-1, in the first round of the WPIAL Class AA playoffs at Henry DiVirgilio Field House.
“I was very emotional,” said senior Logan Hartman, who had 15 assists. “I felt like I could cry at any moment. But we really played our hearts out. We wanted to win on our home court for the last time.”
After dropping the first set, 25-19, and pulling out a tense second set, 25-20, Frazier (16-3) dominated the final two sets, 25-16, and 25-10, to advance to Tuesday’s quarterfinals against Avonworth, which held off Waynesburg Central, 3-2. The site and time of that match has yet to be determined.
“That was a bit of a scare,” Frazier coach Mandy Hartman said. “It didn’t surprise me, though. We finally got our whole team back tonight. So there was an adjustment period and I was expecting that.
“You have to hand it to Neshannock. They played really great defense. They’re a solid team. But I think we kind of got in a groove after we shook the emotions of tonight. We have a lot of seniors. This is their last night on this court. In the end they took care of business, which I’m very proud of them for.”
One of those seniors was star Skye Eicher who has been battling an ankle injury. While she got longer breaks than usual and was a bit tentative early on in her return, once she hit her stride, Neshannock had no answer for one of the WPIAL’s best players. Eicher wound up with 18 kills, many of them resounding blasts in the latter two sets.
“Jordin Brundege has played awesome defense for us in Skye’s place,” Hartman said. “So we feel very confident with her there. But Skye is an amazing volleyball player.
“I think the first set she was playing a little timid because this was her first game back. I told her about midway through the second, I said, ‘You’re jumping like Skye now,’ and she said, ‘Yeah, I’m back.’ Any time you have an injury there’s a mental block there and I think she had to work through that.”
Another Frazier senior, Kathryn Barch, who had 18 digs, missed significant time with a torn tendon injury. Barch only played in four section matches.
Neshannock (7-6) trailed 13-11 before riding a 10-point run to the first-set win.
The second set was a back-and-forth affair that Frazier eventually put away on a kill by Kaelyn Shaporka. The Lady Commodores roared out to an 18-5 lead in the third set in taking a 2-1 lead then buried the Lady Lancers in the fourth set, to the delight of the large, loud throng of Frazier fans on hand.
“This group hasn’t played together since the end of September,” Hartman said. “Any time in this game when you’re playing next to different people, it took them awhile to remember where they should be.
“Once they came together as a team and started running our plays I found a sense of peace at that point. It was nice to have all of them back. It was great to be on our home court for this first win. The support of our community and our school tonight is why I do what I do. It was just really special.”
In addition to Eicher, Barch and Hartman, seniors Gabrielle Alekson, Sierra Twigg and Mackenzie Kelly also contributed heavily to the victory in their home finale.
There were contributions from underclassmen as well, most notably juniors Brundege, Alexis Lovis, who had 19 assists, and Shaporka, who recorded seven blocks, and freshman Jensyn Hartman.
“It’s crazy to think that was our last game on this court ever,” Eicher said.
“It was so emotional,” Barch added. “Every single point my heart was aching. We’re just a family on this team, I’m happy that we won but just so sad that it was our last game here.”
Seniors Riley Scott, Juliann Johnson and Grace Pasquale were also making their final home appearance for Frazier.