November 8, 2009 — There’s an adage that says it’s hard to beat a team three times in one season. Sometimes it’s proven to be right; other times not so much.
For Wilmington it worked out just fine.
The Greyhounds, who were one game from being eliminated from the tournament on Thursday, knocked off Meadville for the third time this season, downing the Bulldogs 25-16, 25-21, 25-17, to capture their first-ever District 10 Class AA girls volleyball championship on Saturday at Meadville High School’s House of Thrills.
“Our quote at the beginning of the season was that championships are made when the bleachers are still empty,” Wilmington head coach Amber Marett said. “Even a couple weeks ago the girls were like, ‘coach, we’re tired.’ But the hard work paid off and we won District 10.”
Even if it came against all odds.
Wilmington (20-1) was one of three teams that finished 2-1 during the quarterfinal round of pool play in Pool A on Thursday. Fort LeBoeuf wound up capturing the pool title on tiebreaking criteria. But according to District 10 policy no team is sent home based on criteria, so Wilmington and Warren, the other two teams tied, were forced to play a one-game playoff to determine who advanced to yesterday’s semifinals to face defending champion and unbeaten General McLane.
The Greyhounds pulled it out then and did it again against the Lancers in the semifinals, rallying for an 18-25, 25-20, 26-24 win, to earn a date with its Region 3 rival in the finals. Meadville went into the match having lost five straight against the Greyhounds and hoping yesterday would finally be its day.
But the Hounds, thanks to big games from Alaura Hanssen and Leah Day, were, again, too much.
“We got further than we did last year,” said Meadville coach Tammy Webber, who like Wilmington advances to the first round of the PIAA Class AA tournament on Tuesday. “We’re still going. Being here last year and the finality of it all was frustrating. It’s nice to know that we still get to come back and practice Monday and get ready for a match.”
Obviously, though, the Bulldogs would have preferred the win over the Greyhounds.
“(Hanssen) killed us,” Webber said. “She was tough and we didn’t have an answer. Hopefully, we don’t need an answer for her now.”
Meadville (15-4) will play the WPIAL champion, either West Allegheny or Freeport, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at North Allegheny High School. The Bulldogs are making their first trip to the state playoffs since 2004.
The Greyhounds will take on WPIAL fourth seed Blackhawk or Mars at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at Penn State Behrend.
“We’re looking forward to driving to Wexford on Tuesday,” Webber said. “We get to see someone new and fresh. That will be good for us.”
General McLane with its loss to Wilmington ended its season at 19-1.
“We had a chance to win the match and we just didn’t execute,” McLane coach Mike Merriam said. “We hit way too many balls out of bounds; tried to be tricky. We just didn’t make the plays.”
Local Sports
Bulldogs fall in final, still advance to states
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DISTRICT 10 BASEBALL: Big Reds shut down Lions
SLIPPERY ROCK — The Linesville baseball team, with its mix of experienced and lesser-experienced players, has been capable of two different kinds of games this season.
The first is the sharp, skillful kind of effort the Lions put together Monday in their 10-7 win over Cochranton in the District 10 Class A quarterfinals. -
DISTRICT 10 BASEBALL: Mercyhurst outslugs Lake in D-10 semis
ERIE — After a District 10 Class A championship game appearance last year, the Conneaut Lake baseball team lost four seniors who were important to the team’s success.
Even though the talented quartet graduated and Lake featured just three seniors this year, the team came together and reached the district semifinals. The team’s end result, and the school’s last game as a baseball team due to Conneaut Lake, Conneaut Valley, and Linesville consolidating into Conneaut Area Senior High, was a 15-4 loss in six innings to Mercyhurst Prep on Friday at Ainsworth Field in Erie. -
DISTRICT 10 BASEBALL: Panthers edge Tigers, reach D-10 title game
ERIE — The Saegertown baseball team made an art form of compiling mercy rule wins this season. Nearly all of the Panthers’ 20 regular season victories were by 10 runs or more, as double-digit hits and runs scored were the norm.
The playoffs have been a different beast for the defending District 10 Class AA champion Cats, but they continue to find ways to win. -
BOYS VOLLEYBALL: Cardinals come back from losers’ bracket to win D-10 title
The very first word spoken by Cochranton boys volleyball coach Brad Custead in his post-match interview will sum up Friday night’s District 10 championship finale better than all the words that follow it.
“Incredible,” he said. -
Bulldogs' trio ready for state track and field meet
Meadville’s best now look to be among Pennsylvania’s best as Paige Kassab, Chaykala Lindsey and Heather Sternby compete in the PIAA Class AAA Track and Field Championships, which run Friday and Saturday at Shippensburg University’s Seth Grove Stadium.
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D-10 SOFTBALL: Tigers no-hit in loss to Braves
HARBORCREEK TOWNSHIP — The Maplewood softball team had no answer for Iroquois starting pitcher Megan Martin on Tuesday during the District 10 Class AA quarterfinals on the campus of Penn State Behrend in Erie.
Martin worked around two errors during a no-hitter that included zero walks. And the Braves’ offense was sure to back her up during Iroquois’ 10-0 victory in five innings. -
D-10 BASEBALL: Prep rolls past ’Dogs in four innings
ERIE — Hitting, they say, is contagious. And the Cathedral Prep baseball team had a full-blown outbreak against Meadville on Tuesday at Ainsworth Field, notching 13 base hits in a 16-1, four-inning rout of the Bulldogs during opening round action of the District 10 Class AAA playoffs.
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DISTRICT 10 BASEBALL: Lake storms past Eisenhower
ERIE — The Conneaut Lake baseball team started off its postseason with a bang. Numerous bangs, actually.
The Indians (12-7) slugged 19 base hits while bumping off Eisenhower 15-5 in six innings during opening round action in the District 10 Class A playoff tournament Monday at Ainsworth Field. -
DISTRICT 10 BASEBALL: Lions top Cards
ERIE — If this story had to describe every clutch hit, gutsy pitch, run-saving defensive play, or momentum-shifting moment during Monday’s playoff classic between Region 3 foes Cochranton and Linesville; there wouldn’t be room for much else in today’s newspaper.
The bottom line is: You should have been there. -
BOYS VOLLEYBALL: Bulldogs stop Trojans to cap perfect region slate
Meadville junior Matt Izbinski laced a hard spike down the line, and so ended the regular season for the Bulldogs boys volleyball team — with a 3-1 win over McDowell, and a 9-0 run through Region 1. It all summed up on Friday night at the House of Thrills.
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