Lady Raiders sweeps McGuffey to complete perfect regular season
CLAYSVILLE — Waynesburg Central did all it could to be considered for a top seed in the girls volleyball playoffs.
The WPIAL pairings committee wasn’t impressed apparently.
The Lady Raiders finished the regular season with a record of 14-0 in Section 3-AA play and are 17-0 overall, including a non-section victory over Class A powerhouse Frazier (15-3).
Waynesburg completed its perfect regular season with a 3-0 triumph at McGuffey on Oct. 17, winning 25-20, 25-20, 25-21.
The Lady Raiders are the lone undefeated team in Class 2A.
“We did everything we could do, and then some,” Waynesburg coach Dan Higinbotham said after Thursday night’s match in regard to his team being the top seed. “I think we are one of two completely undefeated teams in the WPIAL, and I feel like that has to carry a little bit of something. I would love to see us get a top-four seed and get a home game for the playoffs. That would be really special.”
As it turned out, the Lady Raiders did receive a first-round home match on Wednesday at 7 p.m., but were only seeded sixth when the WPIAL released its pairings last Friday afternoon. Waynesburg was slated to play No. 11 Avonworth, which swept No. 22 Mohawk in a preliminary round match on Monday..
The Lady Highlanders (9-5, 11-5) also qualified for the playoffs, and veteran coach JoAnn Harshman expected her team to play early in the tournament.
“There were five play-in games last year, and those were more evenly matched teams,” Harshman said. “I hope they do the same format as they did last year. I have no say in what seed or game they give us. I just hope it’s early enough in the day that we can practice and get ready.”
McGuffey was put at No. 14 and hosted No. 19 Bentworth in a preliminary match Monday. The Lady Highlanders won, 3-0, to advance to Wednesday’s second round where it was scheduled to play third-seeded Hopewell.
Waynesburg won the first match against McGuffey (9-5, 11-5) in a sweep, but McGuffey didn’t hand over the second contest by any means, and had a 16-15 lead in the first set before the Raiders went on a 10-4 run for a 1-0 lead. The Highlanders fought off two set points.
McGuffey had a five-point advantage at three different instances in the second set before Waynesburg started to find its game. The Raiders won the second set, 25-20.
Waynesburg jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the third set and had a 7-2 advantage, but the Highlanders battled back and took a 14-11 lead. The Raiders outscored the home team, 14-7, to earn a 25-21 victory in the third set.
“The strong part of our team is they never fight or blame each other,” Higinbotham said. “They just keep playing, and you can see it in the camaraderie with each other.”
Despite being swept, Harshman was pleased with her team’s effort against the section champion.
“This will be our learning experience tonight to get ready for the playoffs,” Harshman said. “We had leads in each set, but we just couldn’t finish it out. That’s all part of the game.”
Ani Cree and Railey Bochna led Waynesburg in kills with nine apiece, and Bochna had 10 digs. Emily Rafferty had six digs, five kills and three aces. Chatham Knight and Leila McCollum each had two aces.
Bailey Rafferty had 21, six digs and two blocks.
McGuffey’s Faith Ealy had 10 service points. Teammate Sarah Brownlee had seven service points and five aces. Nicole Klages had 22 digs.