CRANBERRY - It's going to be a bit of a rebuilding year for the Warren volleyball team.
That rebuilding season saw its first dual match of the season Tuesday as the Dragons dropped a 3-1 road decision to the Cranberry Berries.
Warren dropped the first two games, 25-23 and 25-14 before winning the third 26-24 to close within 2-1. However, Cranberry composed itself and won game four 25-14 to complete the match and the victory.
Article Photos
Times Observer photo by Brian Hagberg
‘I got it’
Kelsey Repke passes the ball to a teammate for Eisenhower during a girls volleyball game against Mercyhurst Prep at Eisenhower High School on Tuesday. The Knights fell to the Lakers, 25-9, 25-9, 25-12.
Rachel Hasselman had 13 digs, 11 aces, five kills and two blocks to lead Warren. Teammate Valerie Latimer added four kills.
Warren's junior varsity team was defeated in three games. Scores and stats were not reported to the Times Observer.
Warren (0-1) returns to action Tuesday at Oil City.
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Johnsonburg 3, Sheffield 0
Sheffield improved in each game, but it wasn't enough to knock off Johnsonburg as the Rams handed the Wolverines a 3-0 loss Tuesday at Sheffield Area High School.
The Rams opened with a 25-11 victory before taking game two 25-18 and the final game 25-22.
Marlea Sprandle had nine service points for the Wolverines and Hannah Vile added six service points, three blocks, three kills and 12 assists. Paige Moldovan added seven hits, Julie Ely had 11 hits, four blocks and two kills, Brandi Rockwell had 10 hits and nine digs and Justine Barr finished with eight digs.
The junior varsity team earned a 25-16, 25-22 victory. Mariah Fitzgerald had 10 service points in the win.
Sheffield (0-1) hosts Bradford on Thursday.
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WCCS 3, French Creek 0
SAEGERTOWN - Warren County Christian School is 3-0 after a 25-15, 25-18, 25-4 win over French Creek Valley Christian on Tuesday in the New Penn Christian Conference.
It's the fourth game that stands out, as Allyssa Kerr had 17 straight service points in a 25-4 final game.
WCCS coach Monica Kerr said serving is what separates the play in game 2, in which the Lions won 25-18, and game 3.
"We worked on (serving) quite a bit last week," she said.
Allyssa Kerr finished with 19 service points for the match, Dymphee Zortman 15 points and six kills, and Christina Girard eight kills and seven assists.
WCCS earned its first J.V. win as well, 25-14 and 25-22.
Karissa Messinger had eight service points and Caitlin McCall six points and one kill.
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Mercyhurst Prep 3, Ike 0
Eisenhower's volleyball team had a tough draw to open its 2011 campaign. Mercyhurst Prep handed the Knights a 3-0 defeat Tuesday at Eisenhower High School.
"We're capable of playing better (than we did tonight)," said Eisenhower coach Tom Firth. "I'm not making excuses, but had we been able to attend the Cambridge Springs Tournament it would have helped a lot."
The Lakers opened the first game by scoring six straight points. Eisenhower struggled to string points together throughout the contest, though Lexi Dalrymple served for four straight points to bring the Knights within five at 10-5. That was as close as the Knights would get in game one, eventually dropping a 25-9 decision.
Eisenhower looked more poised at the start of the second game, forcing the Lakers to call a timeout with the Knights leading 5-4. Mercyhurst got the serve trailing 7-5, and didn't side out until it was up 11-7. Eisenhower was called for two overlaps, or players being out of rotation, during a stretch that saw the Lakers go up 16-8 before the Knights were forced to call a timeout. Eisenhower was unable to regain its composure after the timeout, and again fell 25-9.
Mercyhurst raced out to an 8-3 lead to open the third game. The Knights showed heart and desire in trying to rally back, scoring crucial points while trailing 20-10 and 24-11, but were unable to force a fourth game losing 25-12.
Courtney Flynn had three kills, Alyssa Peterson had three blocks and Lexi Dalrymple had two blocks for the Knights. Melissa Vibbert had 13 assists, Kyla Weber chipped in 11 assists, Jessica Byrd added 14 digs and Kelsey Repke had 12 digs in the loss.
Mercyhurst won the JV contest 2-0 by scores of 25-17 and 25-18. Firth said that Marion Sherer had a "pretty good match" in defeat for the Knights.