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One heartbeat: Dragons seek to end amazing journey with state title

The biggest stage and the brightest lights await the Warren Area High School volleyball team today.

Cumberland Valley High School is the site, West York is the opponent, 3:30 p.m. is the start time and a Class 3A state championship is what awaits the winner.

It’s a spot reserved for only the very best, an opportunity born out of preparation, hard-work, execution and ability.

And they’re ready for it.

“We have this confidence,” Warren coach Mike Dolan said after beating Knoch in the semifinals. “We’re just playing volleyball.”

And no one has played volleyball at a higher level than the Dragons and Bulldogs have this season.

Both were perceived underdogs in the eyes of many in their semifinal matchups.

But, as we saw, Warren put an end to Knoch’s bid for a state title repeat, ending their 48-match winning streak in the process.

Allentown Central Catholic had knocked off West York (24-1) in the semifinal round in both 2016 and 2017, so to say Tuesday was sweet revenge for them would be an understatement.

Like Warren, this will be their program’s first state title appearance.

“We finally got the monkey off our backs,” West York coach Joe Ramp told the York Daily Record after the semifinal win. “This is a special group. Going into the state tournament, we had nothing to lose.

We had met all three of our goals from the beginning of the season (division title, league title, District 3 title). I said, ‘I have one more goal for you girls. Let’s just get to the finals.'”

And get to the finals they did, winning a 5-set thriller.

They face a Warren (21-0) team that hasn’t gone to 5 sets once this season.

In fact, excluding tournament play, they have lost just four all season while rolling to their unbeaten record.

And during their run through the playoffs, it always seems as if someone different steps up.

Lydia Latimer is the focal point, the all-state middle hitter who has shattered both the single-season and career kills mark at Warren had been phenomenal in the state playoffs.

The offense runs through junior setter Lex Nyquist, who likewise has obliterated the program’s marks for single-season and career assists.

She has plenty of options, and always seems to know where to go with the ball, putting her hitters in the best position to succeed.

Ellie Lobdell showed just how dominant she can be in the semifinal win over Knoch, notching 16 kills, many of which were of the ‘wow’ variety.

And, while Latimer may be the first hitter opposing coaches point out, the second is often Celia Chase.

That’s not even getting to the emergence of sophomore middle Jordan Sitler, who has become an X-Factor of sorts during this ‘March to Mechanicsburg.’

Julia Lobdell is an unsung hero at libero and had 12 digs in the semifinal win over Knoch.

And, as great an offensive team as this has been all season, they have shown just how good they are defensively during this run.

Quite simply, they get to balls that most teams in the state just don’t get to.

It’s a special group, one where the whole is greater than the sum of the incredibly talented parts.

They will be facing a West York team that got 17 kills from Julia Rill, including the final one in a 16-14 win in the fifth set over ACC.

Junior Tesia Thomas is a big hitter, and said as much after the win over ACC, per the YDR: “I’m not a person that likes to tip (the ball) a lot. I like to smack it.”

Thomas had 14 kills in the win over ACC, while Gianna Krinock had 12 and Alayna Harris six.

Kambrie Hepler finished with 27 digs and setter Taylor Morely 46 assists.

So there you have it.

While many people, including the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association, had Knoch and Allentown Central destined to meet in the final for most of the season, Warren and West York have proven to be the two best teams.

For the Lady Dragons, a win on Saturday would be the culmination of years of dedication for a group that is so well-connected on the court that they always know where their teammates will be.

It would also complete perhaps the most dominant season by any team in the history of Warren Area High School.

It’s been well-documented that WAHS has just one team state title in the school’s history, that being the 1966 cross country team.

The final goal for this team is to see that number double by the end of the day.

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