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Final Four!

Warren’s march through the state playoffs reaches semifinals

The Warren Area High School volleyball team cheers after a point during their 3-0 win over Thomas Jefferson in the PIAA Class 3A quarterfinals on Saturday at Punxsutawney High School.

PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. – And then there were four.

It took a few minutes after Celia Chase’s match-clinching kill for it to fully sink in – the Warren Dragons are now one of just four remaining Class 3A volleyball teams in Pennsylvania following a 3-0 (25-19, 25-23, 25-21) win over Thomas Jefferson in the PIAA quarterfinals on Saturday at Punxsutawney High School.

“It just hit me … it’s crazy,” said senior Lydia Latimer.

It was big swing after big swing from Latimer against the Jaguars, as she proved why she is considered one of the best players in the state.

In a match that featured two evenly matched teams, she was a difference-maker, taking full advantage of an adjustment coach Mike Dolan made to the rotation.

Warren senior Celia Chase goes up for a kill as Thomas Jefferson’s Abby Chalovich attempts to block her during their PIAA Class 3A quarterfinal match on Saturday at Punxsutawney High School. Chase had the kill that closed out the match, sending the Lady Dragons to the state semifinals with a 3-0 victory, 25-19, 25-23, 25-21.

“Lydia played a great game,” Dolan said. “I thought maybe the matchups might be more favorable for us if we turned the dial a little bit, just because Jordan (Sitler) has been so good at hitting her angles. Coming around, I didn’t think they had anybody that could stop Lydia on the back half of their rotation. Not many people can stop Lydia anyway. I guess it worked out for us.”

That might be an understatement.

Warren, now 20-0, got off to slow starts in games 1 and 2, as TJ jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first and a 4-1 lead in the second.

Just like they did in their first round matchup against Central Valley and, as they have done every time they have gotten down this season, they rallied, showing no signs of concern.

In fact, they led by at least six in all three sets after trailing each one of them in the beginning.

Warren junior setter Lex Nyquist smiles as she celebrates a point with Lydia Latimer (2) and Ellie Lobdell during Saturday’s match against TJ.

“We know that if we mess up early, then we’ll just come back as a team,” said fellow senior Ellie Lobdell.

Perhaps the turning point of the match came in set two, when an ace by TJ’s Natasha Yanief put the WPIAL runner-ups ahead 21-19, prompting a Warren timeout.

“We made a couple more mistakes then them, especially in Game 2,” said Thomas Jefferson coach Ron Kelly. “We had the lead, we had them in the rotation we thought would be best for us, it just didn’t work out. But they beat us, we didn’t beat ourselves. They’re a very good team.”

Celia Chase followed with a kill and, after a TJ error tied it at 21-21, Jordan Sitler, as has been a theme during this playoff run, had a big kill of her own to give Warren a 22-21, prompting TJ to call timeout.

The Jags rallied again, taking a 23-22 lead, but a kill by Latimer and an ace by Chase was followed by a ball that TJ hit into the net, and just like that, Warren had won 25-23 to go up 2-0.

Warren senior Lydia Latimer goes up for a block against Thomas Jefferson’s Natasha Yanief.

“They don’t seem to ever get down,” Dolan said of his team. “I think there’s a little bit of tightness in the beginning, the first couple points, but they get their confidence up. And that’s a good team. Nothing dropped on their side.”

The rally came in the second came after one in the first, albeit of a much less dramatic variety.

In front of another pro-Warren crowd, they got down 6-1 early in the first, but Grace Wortman had a couple of big swings and Lobdell another to get them back to level at 6-6.

Once that happened, they were locked in, never trailing again in the set.

TJ did come back to tie them on four separate occasions at 9, 11, 13 and 15, with kills by Ashleigh Haines and Tyler Turk.

Warren senior Ellie Lobdell puts a ball past Thomas Jefferson’s Ashleigh Haines during Game 1 on Saturday at Punxsutawney High School.

Big swings from Wortman and Latimer and a block from Latimer sparked a 6-0 Warren run after it was tied at 15-15, helping close out an impressive victory in game 1.

“I definitely had a little bit of nerves in the beginning,” Latimer said. “When I started swinging well, everything fell into place.”

Game 3 was back-and-forth in the early states, until the Lady Dragons went on an 8-2 run to take a 15-9 lead, with blocks from Latimer and setter Lex Nyquist and a kill by Sitler.

“She (Latimer) is a very, very, very good player,” said Kelly, whose former player, Rachel Stover, is a senior outside hitter at Cleveland State, where Latimer will be playing next season. “Twenty-two (Chase), she had a lot of kills. We blocked her once or twice, but two opened up 22 and that was a good combination for them.”

At that point, both the players and the fans could feel a trip to the semifinals within their grasp.

Warren’s Jordan Sitler (7), Celia Chase (22) and Ellie Lobdell (10) get set as teammate Lex Nyquist (5) gets set to serve during Game 2 against Thomas Jefferson.

And the crowd was rocking.

“The community has really showed up for us and it’s been awesome,” said senior Julia Lobdell, who played another strong match from her libero position.

But it wasn’t quite over yet, as TJ cut it to 17-16 after a kill by Turk.

With her team needing a spark to help close the match out, Nyquist turned to her all-state middle hitter.

Latimer had three kills in the next four points as the Lady Dragons pulled away, with Chase ultimately putting the finishing touch on the quarterfinal victory.

“You know, it was in our minds that we could do really well,” Dolan said. “But to do it, to be here, to get it done on the court, to improve like we did over the course of the year … it’s a special group that is on a mission.”

Latimer had a phenomenal match with 15 kills, 7 blocks, 19 digs and two aces.

Julia Lobdell (3 digs), Nyquist (31 assists, 9 digs, 5 blocks,1 kill), Sitler (6 kills, 1 block), Ellie Lobdell (5 kills, 6 digs, 1 assist), Wortman (5 kills, 7 digs) and Chase (17 digs, 6 kills, 2 aces) were all excellent as well.

Now, they sit two wins away from a potential state championship.

In the semifinals they will face WPIAL champion Knoch, the defending state champions and winners of 48-straight. They beat District 3’s Dover 3-0 (25-12, 25-22, 25-14) in the quarterfinals.

That contest will be played Tuesday at 7 p.m. at Clarion High School.

In the other semifinal, it will be D-3 champion West York vs. D-11 champion Allentown Central Catholic.

West York won a hard-fought match over Pope John Paul II, 3-0 (26-24, 25-22, 26-24), while ACC took care of Villa Maria Academy, 3-0 (25-14, 25-22, 25-19).

“It’s so much fun because they’re playing with confidence,” Dolan said. “They’re not stressed … they’re just playing their game.

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