End of the road: Lady Commodores’ season closes with loss in PIAA semis
NORTH HUNTINGDON – The Frazier girls volleyball team had a lot of momentum heading into the fifth and final set against Greensburg Central Catholic in Tuesday’s PIAA Class A semifinal at Norwin High School.
After losing the first two sets by the same score, 25-23, the Lady Commodores kept the match alive by winning the third set, 25-21, and rolling to a 25-8 victory in the fourth set.
The momentum slowed early in the fifth set and then stalled with the Lady Centurions earning a trip to the state championship with a 15-8 victory.
Greensburg C.C. (20-3) advances to the state title game on Saturday morning at Cumberland Valley High School against Linville Hill Christian School, who defeated Faith Christian Academy, 3-1.
Frazier won the two section matches, but Greensburg C.C. defeated the Lady Commodores in the WPIAL final in straight sets.
Frazier coach Mandy Hartman felt her squad got caught up in the moment after forcing the fifth and deciding set.
“It’s the look. It’s the look. They changed because there was a little too much pressure. Wow, this is a big, big game,” said Hartman. “Sometimes you think a little too much when you’re playing. I’ve seen that. I saw it in the WPIAL championship game and I saw it at times tonight.”
The final set was close early with the Lady Centurions holding leads of 3-2, 5-4 and 7-5. Greensburg C.C. closed out the win by taking eight of the final 11 points.
Frazier worked for an 8-7 lead in the third set, but the Lady Centurions rallied back for a 12-10 lead. The match was tied at 16, but Frazier managed to outscore Greensburg C.C., 9-5, to stay alive.
Addison Schultz sealed the win with another kill. Schultz finished with 14 kills and five blocks.
“We changed our matchups (after the first two sets). We decided we were going to try to block Black and keep up with them point for point and let other kids swing. We had success with that,” said Hartman. “We put Addison Schultz up against someone different. She had a bigger swing.
They have a lot of weapons. Their defense is solid.”
Frazier’s momentum was in full stride in the fourth set. The closest Greensburg C.C. was at 3-1.
The Lady Commodores had runs of 8-1 and 4-0 for a match-tying 25-8 win.
“They carried over the momentum into the third set. I told them to have a short memory,” said Hartman. “We have to play point by point. We can’t think about the hole we dug. And, they did that in sets three and four, especially in set four,” said Hartman, adding, “That was the Frazier volleyball team I’ve seen every other night all year. They controlled the tempo. They played loose.”
Greensburg C.C. bolted out of the gate in the first set, taking an early 7-3 that ballooned to 14-5.
Frazier steadily climbed back into the set, closing to 22-20 after back-to-back service aces by Grace Vaughn and a kill from Allie Monack.
Vaughn had 14 kills and seven service points, while Monack contributed 13 kills.
Maddie Salisbury’s ace drew the Lady Commodores to 24-23, but the Lady Centurions’ Ashlyn Black secured the win with a kill. The ball sailed long, but was ruled to touch off a Frazier player at the net.
Greensburg C.C. carried the momentum into the second set, building a 10-4 lead after a 6-0 run.
Frazier fought back with a run of its own, taking the lead at 16-14. The match remained close with an 18-18 tie.
Schultz gave Frazier the lead at 22-21 with a block, and regained the lead at 23-22 on Monack’s kill.
Gracen Hartman led the Frazier attack with 41 assists and 15 service points. Addison Hiles finished with 13 digs and Grace Polkabla had 12 digs.
Black took over late in the set with back-to-back kills for a 25-23 win.
Frazier (17-5) closes out a historic playoff run with the program’s first appearance in the state semifinals.
“It’s been a great season. It’s been a dream. We came a couple points short of playing for a state championship. It just wasn’t meant to be,” said Hartman. “GCC stepped up when they had to.”