A winning season is theirs.
The Tidioute Community Charter School's girls volleyball team earned a victory both on and off the court Thursday night at Tidioute.
The Bulldogs swept visiting Erie East, 25-15, 25-9 and 25-16, securing their first winning season since becoming a charter school.
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Brian Hagberg
Pink Out
Fans and players show their support for Breast Cancer Awareness Month by wearing pink during Tidioute Community Charter School's girls volleyball game against Erie East Thursday night at Tidioute. The 'pink out' raised $1,395 for breast cancer research.
And with the school's much-publicized "Pink Out," all fans in attendance were asked to wear pink t-shirts and the fund-raiser raised $1,395 dollars for breast cancer research.
"It feels great," TCCS coach Margie Manning said about the team's first winning season. "We worked hard (for this)."
Earning a victory in game one wasn't easy for the Bulldogs (7-6) as the Warriors raced out to a 10-6 lead to open the game.
"I think their emotions were running a little bit higher with the supportive crowd," Manning said of the Bulldogs.
The Bulldogs were able to come back and tie the game at 10-10, forcing the Warriors to take a timeout. TCCS wouldn't trail again in the game as they were able to outscore East 15-5 on their way to a 25-15 win.
Game two was all TCCS as they took an early lead and never looked back, gaining a decisive 25-9 win.
"I think the excitement (of the crowd) helped pump (the girls) up," Manning said.
East scored the first point in game three, then TCCS went on a 6-0 run leading to an East timeout with the Bulldogs leading 8-2. The Warriors tried to battle back, but the Bulldogs proved to be too much as they held on for a 25-16 win to close out the sweep.
Natalie McLaughlin led the Bulldogs with six kills and one ace, and drew big praise from Manning.
"Natalie had her best game of the season," Manning said. "She was dominant at the net."
Loralee Lindemuth added five kills and two blocks, Alexis Morrison had two kills and four aces, while Cassie York contributed 14 service points and two aces. Allison Konkle had seven service points and four assists.
"I wanted to thank Trustin McDonald, our A.D.," Manning said. "His appreciation and love of the sport of volleyball helped us be successful over the years and especially this season."
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Warren 3, Youngsville 0
Warren quickly dispatched Youngsville on Thursday in Region 4 volleyball by scores of 25-13, 25-10 and 25-13. The Dragons dominated from the outset, preserving their undefeated season, and improving to 12-0 in dual matches.
Anna Wenger led the Dragons with 13 kills and also chipped in four aces. Tessa Rehe had 10 kills, two blocks and two aces. Rachel Hasselman had a team-high seven aces and Savannah Grosch led the Dragon effort with 27 assists.
Youngsville was paced by Arielle Clark, who had five kills and a block.
"We wanted to play good and we did," said Warren coach Mike Dolan. The Dragons, who have already clinched a Class AA playoff spot, have two games remaining on the slate, the first being a non-region contest at home on Tuesday against Cranberry.
Terry Schrader was "not disappointed in the loss, but in the way we lost.
"They played better than the first time against us," he said.
Youngsville drops to 5-7 overall and has one game left on the docket for the season, a region game against Titusville at home on Tuesday.
Warren also dumped the Eagles in junior varsity by scores of 25-11 and 25-10. Nerissa McIntyre had three kills and Valerie Latimer six aces.
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Eisenhower 3, Rocky Grove 0
ROCKY GROVE - The playoff-bound Knights are 7-4 overall after a 25-19, 25-15, 25-19 road win on Thursday.
With three Class A teams in Region 4, Eisenhower has beaten Youngsville twice and Rocky Grove twice to secure a District 10 Class A playoff berth.
Per the usual, "(The stats are) spread around like it always is for us, and I like that," said Ike coach Ton Firth of the Knights' sweep.
Lauren Blanco had 14 service points and three kills; Alli Blanco 15 service points and five digs; Courtney Flynn three kills; Kelsey Repke seven digs; Jessica Byrd nine points and four digs; Lexi Dalrymple three kills, and; Alyssa Peterson led the team in blocks.
Eisenhower's junior varsity team also won, 25-20, 15-25 and 15-6.
Melissa Vibbert played well at setter, Marion Sherer had six kills, Corinne VanEvery nine points, two aces and two digs, and Ashley Barnett "played a good match," said Firth.
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Elk County Catholic 3, Sheffield 0
SAINT MARYS - There will be better days for the Sheffield volleyball program.
Thursday, however, was another tough outing the Wolverines in a 3-0 loss to Elk County Catholic.
The Wolverines dropped games by scores of 10-25, 12-25, 14-25.
"We made them look great tonight and they made us look pretty bad," said Sheffield coach Scott Olson after the match.
Sheffield's junior varsity team fell, 14-25, 16-25.
Sheffield (2-13) closes out its season Thursday when it hosts Ridgway.