Counter punch: Lady Mikes win rematch with Geibel, share section title
Carmichaels鈥� Katelyn Meadows goes up for the tip against Geibel蘑菇视频 Makenzie Garred during Section 2-A volleyball action on Oct. 15.
Geibel Catholic蘑菇视频 Kennedi Stockey tries to spike through Carmichael蘑菇视频 defenders Emma Hyatt (left) and Sydney Kuis during their match on Tuesday evening.
Carmichaels setter Alie McGee tries to tip the ball past Geibel Catholic蘑菇视频 Mackenzie Garred (3) and Kennedi Stockey (22) during their match at Carmichaels on Oct. 15.
CARMICHAELS 鈥� It蘑菇视频 hard to quantify and even harder to measure.
But emotion played a key role for Carmichaels High School蘑菇视频 volleyball team on Oct. 15.
Stung by a three-set loss at Geibel Catholic earlier in the season, the Lady Mikes gave a gutsy performance, pulling out a 3-2 victory over the previously undefeated Lady Gators by scores of 25-23, 21-25, 25-22, 21-25 and 15-9.
Both teams went on to win their regular-season finales 鈥� Carmichaels over Mapletown and Geibel over Avella 鈥� to tie for the Section 2-A championship with 13-1 records.
The teams could meet again in the WPIAL playoffs. In the pairings released on Monday, the Lady Mikes were seeded fourth in Class A and were scheduled to play Burgettstown in a first-round match at Fort Cherry Thursday night, while the fifth-seeded Lady Gators faced a trip to Freeport to take on Leechburg.
If both were victorious, they would meet at a neutral site on Tuesday, Oct. 29 in the quarterfinals.
This was the second consecutive first-place finish for the Lady Mikes, who claimed their first ever section title last year as the outright section champs.
In the rematch with the Lady Gators, the Lady Mikes fed off the energy of senior Taylor Christopher, who finished with 18 kills, many of them the booming, floor-shaking kind.
But it was Emma Hyatt, whose kill for the 14th point in the critical fifth game that seemed to sap Geibel of its will. And when the Lady Gators had a mishit for the Lady Mikes鈥� game-winner, the large crowd erupted.
鈥淭his win means so much,鈥� said Christopher. 鈥淚t蘑菇视频 so amazing.鈥�
Christopher is a bundle of energy and can鈥檛 sit when taken out for a breather.
鈥淚 have to be pacing back and forth,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 have to be moving all the time.鈥�
Carmichaels head coach Julianne Speeney said the players looked at this match as 鈥渁 challenge, not a threat.
鈥淲e were looking at it as a chance to grow,鈥� she said. 鈥淚n my book, all of our players were key.鈥�
The Lady Mikes were WPIAL runners-up last season and played in the state tournament.
鈥淲e want to go even farther this year,鈥� Christopher said.
Geibel, which got 37 kills, 10 service points and 4 aces from senior outside hitter Lauren Tomasko, might have something to say about that.
鈥淭hey had to win. We didn鈥檛 have to win,鈥� Geibel head coach Rick Watkins said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e probably going to end up being tied with them. We beat them 3-0 at our place and they beat us 3-2 here. So I see us as the better team in that regard.鈥�
In the first set, the Lady Mikes built a 19-13 lead but the Lady Gators rattled off five of the next seven points to make it 20-18. Geibel scored the next five points for a 23-20 lead. Carmichaels rallied with five straight points, the winner coming on a Geibel mishit.
Geibel built a 19-11 lead in the second game before the Lady Mikes made two short runs near the end. A delicate tip by Tomasko found empty space on the other side of the net for a 25-21 victory.
Carmichaels trailed 18-15 in the third game but ran off nine of the next 13 points before Christopher wrapped it up with a spike, 25-22.
Geibel sent it to a fifth, and deciding, game, slowly pulling away with some strong strikes and well-placed dinks for a 25-21 victory.
Kennedi Stockey had 18 kills for the Lady Gators, and Shannon Watkins rang up 55 assists, 13 service points and a pair of aces.
For Carmichaels, Hyatt had 5 blocks and 14 kills, Nicole Ludrosky had 15 kills and 17 digs, Alie McGee had 37 assists, Sydney Kuis contributed 19 digs and 3 aces, Abigail Fordyce had 12 digs, and Emma Holeran finished with 18 points and 3 aces.
Rob Burchianti contributed to this story.