In a battle of Knights on the volleyball court, it was Franklin that came away with the 3-1 Region 4 win over Eisenhower Tuesday at Eisenhower High School.
"I was not disappointed (with our play) tonight," said Eisenhower coach Tom Firth. "Franklin is a good team."
The teams showed how evenly matched they were in game one as they traded leads throughout the game. Neither team was able to gain more than a four-point advantage. Eisenhower (5-8, 3-6 in Region 4) had built a four-point lead, but Franklin was able to tie the game at 21-21. Franklin gained all the momentum at that point to come away with a 25-21 win.
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Times Observer photo by Brian Hagberg
Coming at ya!
Eisenhower’s Lexi Dalrymple puts the ball past two Franklin defenders for a kill during their girls volleyball match Tuesday at Eisenhower High School. Franklin defeated Eisenhower 3-1.
"You make a mistake here and there, and everyone makes them, but if it happens at a crucial time it can give the other team momentum," Firth said.
Franklin was able to carry the momentum into the early stages of game two to build a 12-10 lead. Ike then went on a 4-0 run to gain a 14-12 advantage. Trailing 16-15,
Franklin again grabbed the momentum to tie the game at 20-20, forcing Ike to call timeout. Eisenhower was able to regain the lead following the timeout and held on for a 25-22 win to even the match at one set apiece.
Game three was all Franklin as it took control early and never let up, earning a 25-9 win.
"We had the momentum going into game three and then we just lost it," Firth said.
Both teams would trade points early in game four. Franklin got the serve leading 14-12 and went on a 6-0 run to build a 20-12 advantage. Eisenhower rallied to pull within four at 22-18, but Franklin held on for a 25-20 win. Lexi Dalrymple led the Knights with seven kills and three blocks. Dalrymple also added 11 service points and didn't commit a service error.
"Lexi had a real good night," Firth said. "She didn't miss a serve."
Marion Sherer added 14 service points and three blocks. Jessica Byrd and Kelsey Repke led Ike in digs with nine and seven, respectively, while Alyssa Peterson had two blocks.
Franklin won the JV match 25-20 and 25-10. Firth said that Ashley Barnett had a good match for the JV squad.
Eisenhower faces a big Region 4 test Thursday when it plays host to Rocky Grove.
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WCCS 3, Jamestown 1
Warren County Christian School has advanced to the second round of the New Penn Christian Conference playoff tournament with a 25-12, 21-25, 25-15, 25-7 win on Tuesday over Jamestown Bethel.
"We were playing with a substitute setter tonight," due to injury, said WCCS head coach Monica Kerr, whose Lions are 13-1 overall. She said the team was a little inconsistent while they adjusted to different roles, but they played solid for most of the match.
Alivia Kelsey moved to setter and finished with six service points, three aces, five kills and 11 assists in the win. Allyssa Kerr had 18 points, eight aces and five kills. Jessie Lauffenburger added four points, three aces and six kills, Dymphee Zortman 14 points and five aces, Kaitlin Weidner six points, two aces and five kills, and Whitney Poindexter nine points and eight aces.
Zortman and Caitlin McCall covered at libero for Kelsey.
WCCS advances to play the winner of French Creek Valley Christian and Erie First Christian at 4 p.m. Friday at French Creek Valley Christian.
WCCS is the co-New Penn Christian Conference champion after splitting with Christian Life Academy in the regular season, but lost a coin flip for the first-round playoff bye.
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Oil City 3, Youngsville 2
OIL CITY - In a match it had to have, Youngsville came out flat in a 3-2 loss to Oil City Tuesday at Oil City Area High School.
The Lady Eagles (4-7) dropped the first two sets of the night, 14-25, 16-25, before rebounding with 25-21, 25-16 wins to tie the match at 2-2. In the final set of the night, Oil City was able to hold off Youngsville for a 15-12 victory in the set and a 3-2 victory in the match.
"We didn't play well at all tonight," said Youngsville coach Terry Schrader. "We had the momentum in games three and four, but we did just enough to get by all night. As a coach of a team on the brink of making the playoffs, I expected our team to come out with a little more fire and intensity. I don't know if we have a chance to make the playoffs from here. But if this is how we're going to play and represent our school, I'd prefer not to even go."
No stats were provided for the varsity match.
The junior varsity match was also won by Oil City, 23-25, 21-25.
Youngsville returns to action Thursday, hosting Warren.
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Warren 3, Rocky Grove 0
ROCKY GROVE - Warren made quick work of Rocky Grove Tuesday, defeating the Orioles in three straight sets, 25-21, 25-15, 25-17.
With the win, the Dragons creep above the .500 mark with an overall record of 6-5. Warren will try to make it 7-5 Thursday when it visits county rival Youngsville.
On Tuesday, Rachel Lasecki led the Dragons with a team-best nine kills. Teah Bines added 14 assists, McKenzie Merenick 14 digs and Ally Morrison three kills and four aces.
In the junior varsity matchup, Warren defeated Rocky Grove, 25-15, 25-14. Meghan Loutzenhiser had two kills and Alyssa Cumberland two aces in the win.
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Kane 3, Sheffield 1
KANE - Sheffield hasn't won many games this season, nonetheless matches. But things came together in a 25-14 game-three win on Tuesday at Kane.
"It was great," said Sheffield coach Tracey Vile, whose Wolverines fell to 0-13 in a 15-25, 16-25, 25-14, 8-25 loss. "That's why I was disappointed in that fourth (game). These past couple of games, they've really come a long way."
Brandy Rockwell had nine service points for Sheffield and Hannah Vile six.
In a 19-25, 24-26 junior varsity loss, Skyler Overbeck had 11 points for Sheffield.