Waynesburg falls in PIAA girls volleyball opener, but makes history
Submitted photo
Waynesburg Central’s greatest girls volleyball season came to an end in the first round of the PIAA Class 2A playoffs Tuesday.
The Raiders made the approximately three-hour trip to Corry and fell to the undefeated District 10 champion Lady Beavers, 3-0.
Scores were 26-24, 25-19 and 25-15.
“The girls hung in there but came up short,” Waynesburg coach Dan Higinbothan said. “Corry is a very good team.”
Corry improved to 18-0.
Ani Cree led the Raiders with 23 kills and 14 digs, Railey Bochna contributed nine kills, four blocks and four digs, and Gina Tedrow had 20 assists.
Waynesburg also got 16 assists and five digs from Chatham Knight, 14 digs and two kills from Emily Rafferty, 10 digs and five aces from Lelia McCollum, and three kills, four digs and two blocks from Harper Grimes.
The match concluded a year where Waynesburg recorded an unbeaten regular season and won the Section 3 championship, sweeping section play at 14-0.
The second-seeded Raiders went on to defeat Quaker Valley and Neshannock, both by 3-0 scores, in the WPIAL playoffs before falling to eventual champion Avonworth, the No. 11 seed, in a 3-2 thriller.
The Lady Antelopes went on to beat top-seeded Hopewell, 3-1, in the district final.
Waynesburg needed a victory over No. 4 Our Lady of the Sacred Heart to qualify for the PIAA tournament and knocked off the Lady Chargers, 3-1.
The Raiders kept a promise they made to their coach.
“Since day one of camp in August, my girls told me, ‘We’re going to make it to states this year,'” Higinbotham said. “This is a great group of girls that love to play volleyball. I couldn’t be more proud of them reaching this milestone.”
Waynesburg finishes this season with a 21-2 record.