Slow start dooms Frazier in loss to Eden Christian
McMURRAY — Eden Christian dominated early and by time Frazier finally got on track it was too late.
The War Eagles cruised to a two-set lead then survived a strong Lady Commodores’ comeback attempt to pull out a 3-1 victory in their WPIAL Class A girls volleyball semifinal match Wednesday night at Peters Township High School’s AHN Arena.
Eden Christian won by scores of 25-14, 25-17, 21-25 and 25-23.
The fourth-seeded War Eagles (15-4) advance to Saturday’s 11 a.m. final against Serra Catholic also at AHN Arena.
Top-seeded Frazier (11-4) drops into the third-place consolation match where it faces Section 4 rival California in a 12 p.m. meeting Saturday at Charleroi High School with a spot in the PIAA tournament at stake.
Lady Commodores coach Mandy Hartman was exasperated by her team’s performance.
“I have two teams. We’re bipolar,” Hartman said. “I didn’t know what team was going to show up today. Obviously it’s quite clear the first two sets which team showed up.
“Am I frustrated? Yeah, because athletically we can play with just about anybody. Our serve-receive, missing serves, basic volleyball l01 we just didn’t do. To be a champion and play on Saturday, you’ve got to have six girls out on that court who are real tough between the ears. I have a handful out there that just don’t have that.”
Eden Christian overwhelmed Frazier in taking the first set by double digits. The second set was tied 10-10 but the War Eagles out-scored the Lady Commodores 15-7 the rest of the way to go up 2-0.
Hartman eventually began altering her lineup and Frazier sprang to life.
“We had to change our lineup completely, went to 5-1,” Hartman said. “Allie Monack set and did a great job. In situations like this that’s putting yourself at a disadvantage playing with a lineup you haven’t played with all year just because you’re getting beat so bad. They were throwing some things at us and we just thought maybe if we would give them a different look … and it did work.”
The Lady Commodores broke a 17-17 tie in the third set with a three-point burst that included a service ace by Mia West and a kill by Maddie Salisbury for a 20-17 lead.
The War Eagles got to within 21-20 when Salisbury rang up three consecutive kills to propel Frazier to the set win.
“I thought she was absolutely outstanding,” Hartman said of Salisbury who had 17 kills and 12 service points for the Lady Commodores. “They couldn’t stop her. They had no answer for her.
“I’ve been in that big game (WPIAL final). I know the kind of player that plays in that game. Maddie Salisbury deserves to play in that game.”
The Lady Commodores fell behind 11-6 in the fourth set and trailed 18-14 when a kill by Monack, a service ace by Salisbury and a touch kill by West sparked a four-point run to tie it.
After trading points, the War Eagles took the next three points to go up 22-19.
Fighting to stay in the match, Frazier used a 4-2 run to get within 24-23 before a kill by Eden Christian ended it.
“They were obviously the better team,” Hartman said. “They were tough. They served tough, they swung, they blocked. And we’re running into each other like we haven’t played this rotation for the last six months.”
Frazier also hurt itself with its serving, sending a slew of serves long, many at inopportune times.
“We do that in big games,” Hartman said. “We do that when our backs are against the wall. Then the quickness that we do have … we offset our strengths because we get tight, we freeze. I don’t know how to change that. We’ve got to learn how to play in a big game.”
Schultz followed Salisbury with 14 kills and added four blocks and Monack had six kills and 25 assists for the Lady Commodores, who also got 24 digs from Addison Hiles and five kills and three blocks from West.
Frazier’s roster only includes four seniors but Hartman didn’t believe that was a factor.
“I’ve won WPIAL championships with freshmen on the court,” Hartman said. “I don’t think that’s an excuse and I’ve never used it as an excuse.”