Claire Noble led Ellwood City to their straight set victory over Central Valley Monday evening in the prelim round of the WPIAL 2A playoffs.
“It was great to give our seniors one last game on our home court with the excitement of post-season play,” said head coach Jenna Ricciuti.
Noble finished with 12 kills in the home victory for the Wolverines. Lana Nocera earned seven straight service points in the 2nd set that erased a six point deficit for Ellwood City who then dispatched the #21 seeded Warriors with a third set victory.
“Claire has been a go-to hitter all season and last night was no different,” adds Ricciuti. “She plays so smart with such confidence and that type of leadership rubs off on the other girls.”
“Every girl on that court last night played a part and I am very proud of the work these girls are willing to put in to reach their goals.”
— Ellwood City Wolverines Sports (@EC_Wolverines) October 24, 2023
Ellwood City finished its regular season 13-6 Overall and 9-5 in Class 2A-1, earning the Wolverines one of four playoff berths from the section. Twenty-one teams qualified for the Class-2A playoffs with undefeated section champion Beaver Bobcats earning a #2 seed. Defending WPIAL champion Freeport is the overall top seed in WPIAL Class-2A.
12-seed Ellwood City advances to play 5-seed Avonworth on Wednesday. The game is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at Southmoreland High School. [VIEW FULL BRACKET]
Ricciuti points out the biggest challenge the Wolverines will face against Avonworth is their knowledge and experience in the game.
“Avonworth has a great volleyball program and this will be the 3rd time we have seen them in post-season play,” says Ricciuti. “They have some strong hitters and strong servers that will challenge us but if our girls can continue to play together we will find a way to win.”
The WPIAL Class 2A Championship Game is scheduled to take place Saturday, Nov. 4 at AHN Arena (Peters Township HS)
“I am excited to see where our seniors lead us in this post-season run, it’s been a great season and I couldn’t be more proud of this group,” concludes Ricciuti.
WPIAL Championships merchandise available at championship games or online: https://nwd.ink/s/wpial/girls-volleyball-championships/ Tickets through semifinals are available online: https://gofan.co/WPIAL // Students: $5, Adults: $7 // All tickets at gate are $7. Tickets for finals are available online: https://gofan.co/WPIAL // $10 online and at gate
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