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WRIGHT TWP. – Big runs.
Delaware Valley put one together in each set, and Crestwood ran out of time when it started to rally back.
The Warriors used a strong game from Meghan Kiederer and a big spurt in each of the three sets Monday evening to knock the Comets from the ranks of the unbeatens in Wyoming Valley Conference girls’ volleyball as DelVal won, 3-0.
Set scores were 25-16, 25-23 and 25-22.
Both teams, along with Wyoming Area, have one loss in the conference, and are each one game back of state-ranked Holy Redeemer, the last undefeated team left.
“We still have Wyoming Area left, and they are having a good season, so it’s nice to have a run like this heading into the postseason,” DelVal head coach Bridget Crawford said. “We just have to clean it up a little bit when we get back to practice.”
All Crestwood head coach Mike Williams could do was shake his head.
His girls battled, hit the floor and got to balls that they probably shouldn’t have at times.
Yet, the Comets couldn’t stay away from those big runs.
An 8-0 spurt by DV’s Tara Sayles to start off the match, followed by a 13-2 run when Crestwood cut it back to two points in the opening stanza.
A 12-2 run in the second after the Comets roared out to an 8-2 lead.
A back-breaking, 9-0 jump-start on Hannah Gallagher’s serve in the third.
Three big moments. Three holes to dig out of.
“We wanted to stay away from those big runs, but I’m proud of the girls because they battled back and fought hard throughout the match,” Williams said. “I think we got better in a game like this, and I think that we grew tonight. This is how we like it. The more you are tested now, the better you are when you head into playoffs. DelVal is so fundamentally solid. It’s tough to beat a team like that when you are off a little bit, and our serving and offense was off in the beginning.”
Yet, Crestwood had a chance to steal the final two sets.
The Comets were down 19-12 in the second, but kills by Karissa Levenoskie, Ally Olszyk and Julie Murphy started a rally. Williams’ girls got it back to 24-20, and Levenoskie rattled off three straight points on her serve, cutting the deficit to 24-23, before DelVal would grab the set-clinching 25th point.
It was a similar situation in the third.
The Warriors grabbed an 11-5 lead after the big run on Gallagher’s serve and two big swings by Kiederer. Once again, Crestwood fought back – this time, cutting it back to 21-20 late.
Sayles took center stage behind the service line again, ripping off three straight points. The Comets got two back on an attack error and spike from Serena Breinhoffer, but again, couldn’t find a way to climb all the way back out of a big hole.
“The thing that helps us is our serving,” Crawford said. “We try to get them out of system and run from there. They were pretty scrappy, though. Hannah wasn’t swinging as hard as she normally does, but Meghan had a good game. Everyone thinks about Hannah because she is a strong outside hitter. Meghan will take a ball anywhere and try to do something with it. She’s a great leader for us on the court.”
Olszyk had six kills and 15 assists, while Levenoskie and Breinhoffer combined for nine kills. Gallagher and Sayles had a combined 16 spikes for the Warriors.
“I think we were nervous and timid in the first set. I told them to play aggressive and let loose in a match like this. If you come out nervous, you get in a big hole and we did. We battled back, but the hole was too big,” Williams said.
Holy Redeemer 3, Hanover Area 0
Holy Redeemer swept Hanover Area by the game scores of 25-3, 25-5 and 25-8.
Sarah Liskowicz recorded two kills, Samantha Carr had a single kill, Ashley Andrejko provided three assists and a service point and Julia Andrejko tallied three service points and a single dig to help lead Holy Redeemer.
Berwick 3, Hazleton Area 0
Berwick defeated Hazleton Area in three games. Game scores were as follows: 25-12, 25-23 and 25-11.
Jody Landis had 18 digs while Sam Manganelli tallied eight digs and five kills for the Cougars.