The Ellwood City girls volleyball team showed resilience Wednesday night, battling back after dropping their first set to earn a 3-1 match victory over Avonworth that places the undefeated Wolverines in the WPIAL Class-2A championship game on Saturday.
“It has not been an easy road but we always find a way to come together and win,” said head coach Jenna Ricciuti. “The semifinal game might have been the hardest we’ve seen yet.”
The victory earned the Wolverines (17-0 overall) their first title game berth and will pit Ellwood City against top-seeded, and fellow unbeaten, North Catholic
“This isn’t North Catholic’s first time in this setting,” said Ricciuti. “While they might be used to winning and being in big games like this, I don’t know that they have seen a team with as much heart as we have.”
The come from behind victory Wednesday included a tightly contested fourth set victory for the host Wolverines.
“Avonworth had some very strong hitters that got the best of our defense on a couple occasions but we came back swinging when we needed it. Our girls never lost hope and kept their composure to do what they needed to battle back and win,” said Ricciuti.
After dropping the first set 13-25, Ellwood City rebounded in securing comfortable set victories, 25-17 and 25-16, to take the match lead. The fourth match went back and forth until Ellwood City prevailed 29-27 to secure the victory over the 6-seeded Antelopes (11-5).
Breanna Reisinger and Danielle McCowin each had 16 kills for Ellwood City. Angie Nardone collected a team high in aces (3) and assists (32) while Angelina Ricciuti posted a team-high 6 blocks.
“Reisinger played lights out,” said Ricciuti. “She led the team in digs (21) and kills (16) and never stopped swinging hard. It’s hard to attest it to one player because it takes everyone on the court to do their job. You can’t get a kill without a good set and you can’t get a good set without a good pass. ”
According to Riccuiti, the team requested yoga at practice to restore the player minds and bodies after a big week. Ellwood City defeated Serra Catholic 3-0 on Monday in second round action.
The title match is at 3 p.m. Saturday at Fox Chapel. Ticket costs for the WPIAL finals are $10.00 – Check with schools involved for ticket availability.
The top-seeded Trojans (16-0 overall) earned a third consecutive trip to the finals with a 25-17, 25-11, 25-17 home sweep of the No. 5-seeded Waynesburg (13-3 overall). Allison Feczko led North Catholic with 18 kills.
Be the first to comment on "Girls Volleyball Team Advances To WPIAL Championship"