Several Warren County volleyball teams stayed close to home at the Sheffield Invitational volleyball tournament held Saturday at Sheffield High School.
Of all the county teams competing - Eisenhower, Sheffield, Youngsville and Tidioute Community Charter School - it was the Lady Knights faring the best, advancing all the way to the semifinals where they were beaten by Cranberry.
Cranberry and Elk County Catholic met in the final.
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Josh Cotton
Goin’ for the block
Sheffield’s Julie Ely (12) and Danielle Springer (8) attempt to block a return by Youngsville’s Savanna Schoedel during the Sheffield Invitational volleyball tournament Saturday at Sheffield High School.
Eisenhower completed pool play with a winning record and won its opening match in the playoffs against Youngsville. That quarterfinal victory propelled it into the semis where it fell short against the Berries.
Eisenhower coach Tom Firth said that different girls stepping up at different times helped the overall success level of the team.
Sheffield had one of its best days of the season, going 6-2 in pool play to earn the second seed heading into the playoffs. The Lady Wolverines swept Forest Area, Brockway and Youngsville and were swept by Cranberry in pool play.
According to coach Scott Olsen, his Sheffield team came out flat in the playoffs and suffered a 25-16 loss to Smethport in the quarterfinals.
Kristie Steffan had 23 kills and five digs for Sheffield and Danielle Springer added 12 kills, 14 digs, 18 service points and nine aces. Julie Ely ended with 12 kills, 11 blocks, 17 service points and five aces and Hannah Vile added 37 assists and four blocks. Paige Moldovan and Tessa Rockwell finished with six and five digs respectively.
Youngsville advanced to the playoffs during the tournament, but fell to Eisenhower in the opening round of the single-elimination playoff format. Arielle Clark was again a leader for the improving Eagles with 24 service points and seven kills.
Haley Gibson finished with a total of 46 digs on Saturday while Amber Fox contributed 12 service points and 31 assists. Abbey McLaughlin also came up big with 11 kills and three blocks and Savanna Schoedel had 10 service points.
Tidioute had what coach Margie Manning called "our best tournament yet" on Saturday with a strong finish in the field. All told, the Lady Bulldogs won four games and dropped five against the tournament competition.
Allison Konkle helped lead the Lady Bulldogs to the strong finish with 17 assists and two aces and teammate Loralee Lindemuth chipped in 17 kills and five blocks. Cassie York had 10 kills and three blocks and Lacey Wolford added 24 digs.
All four teams are back in action Tuesday. Youngsville hosts Sheffield, Eisenhower visits Titusville and TCCS hosts AC Valley.
---
Corry Tournament
CORRY - Warren had one of its best tournament showings to date Saturday with a runner-up finish in the Corry Tournament at Corry Area High School.
The Dragons opened up the tournament with morning pool play and quickly rolled to a 3-0 record. Warren beat Greenville, Corry Orange and Seneca in the session and was re-pooled for the afternoon.
There, things didn't go quite as smoothly for the Dragons who finished afternoon pool play with a 3-3 mark. Warren was swept by Corry Black, 23-25, 23-25, split with Saegertown 25-22, 18-25, and swept Northwestern, 25-9, 25-24.
The 6-3 mark in pool play was good enough to qualify Warren for the tournament playoffs where it opened with a 25-11 quarterfinal win over Greenville. Next, the Dragons downed Saegertown, 25-15, to advance to the finals.
Despite a hard-fought effort, Warren's run ended in the finals with a 23-25, 25-19, 10-15 loss to host Corry Black.
Tessa Rehe had 24 blocks and 34 kills in an outstanding performance for the Lady Dragons. Savannah Grosch had an astounding 133 assists on the afternoon and Laura Bello and Susan Anderson had 23 and 34 kills respectively. In addition, Anna Wenger was named to the all-tournament team after recording 12 blocks and 44 kills.
The Dragons return to action Tuesday when they host Franklin.