Fairytale clash
Battle of unbeatens as Warren meets defending champion Knoch with trip to state finals on the line
The Warren starters high-five after they are introduced prior to their PIAA quarterfinal match against Thomas Jefferson on Saturday. Today, they battle defending state champion Knoch, with the winner advancing to Saturday’s state title contest against the winner of Allentown Central Catholic and West York.
It’s a story most often reserved for fairy tales.
Knights and Dragons meeting in battle to determine the fate of the kingdom.
They won’t be determining the fate of the kingdom at Clarion High School today (7 p.m.), but the Knoch Knights and Warren Dragons will meet on the volleyball court to decide which team earns the right to play for the PIAA Class 3A title Saturday.
In the fairy tales, the knights and dragons are typically polar opposites. In this real life contest, the two are actually quite similar.
Both teams come into the match with unblemished records. Warren is 20-0, Knoch is 23-0. Both are ranked in the top five in the state, Knoch at 1, Warren 4th. Both have only lost a handful of sets all year. The Knights have dropped four sets this season, two to Warren’s first round opponent Central Valley. The Dragons have lost just three sets this season, one in which the starters did not play. Both are blessed with an abundance of height as they each boast at least four players standing 5-10 or better.
This year’s Dragons are also in a similar situation as last year’s Knights. Heading into 2017, Knoch had never won a WPIAL championship. The Knights not only broke through that barrier, but went on to win their first state title as well and are currently on a 48-game winning streak.
Two weeks ago, Warren won its first-ever District 10 volleyball championship. Now, the Dragons are just two wins away from a state title. But to get there, they’ll have to beat this team that is so similar in so many ways.
“It’s so much fun because they’re playing with confidence,” Warren coach Mike Dolan said after the team’s semifinal win over Thomas Jefferson. “They’re not stressed … they’re just playing their game.”
Their game is one where each part betters the whole. Up front, all-state middle hitter Lydia Latimer has been her dominant self (75 kills, 22 blocks, 57 digs in postseason play), but the Dragons have also received big contributions from outside hitter Celia Chase (43 kills, 46 digs) and right side Ellie Lobdell (39 kills, 10 blocks, 55 digs). Sophomore middle/outside Jordan Sitler (38 kills, 4 blocks) has upped her game in big moments, setting back-to-back career highs in kills in the D-10 title game and PIAA first round match. All that offense starts with junior setter Lex Nyquist (196 assists and 28 digs).
In the back row, libero Julia Lobdell and OH Grace Wortman have been stellar. Their ability to serve-receive and continuously find ways to keep plays alive has helped Warren demoralize opponents.
“We scrambled really well at times,” Dolan said earlier in the postseason. “And that can be demoralizing for the other team. They think they have the point and then we get it.”
Warren’s ability to stay the course and counterpunch an early barrage has been on display in the state tournament as well. During the first round match, Central Valley jumped out to leads of 5-1 and 7-2 in the first set before Warren came back to win 25-20. In the quarterfinals, Thomas Jefferson had a 6-2 lead in the first and a 4-1 advantage in the second. The Dragons came back to win both sets.
“We know that if we mess up early, then we’ll just come back as a team,” Ellie Lobdell said after the quarterfinal match.
Knoch lost its first set in the PIAA tournament, 26-28, to Elizabeth Forward. The Knights haven’t dropped another since. They went on to be EF 3-1, before sweeping District 3’s Dover in the quarterfinals.
The assumption would be that a team on a 48-game winning streak is loaded with senior players. For the Knights, the opposite is true. Only one senior, setter Kerrie Fitzpatrick, dots the roster. They are led up front by juniors Kennedy Christy, Hannah Rowe and Skylar Burkett. Burkett is the shortest of the three, standing at 5-9 while Christy is 5-10 and Rowe at 6-1. The Knights lose little height on rotation when Morgan Frishkorn (5-10), Rory McCune (5-10) and Kate McCarty (6-0) step on the court.
Despite all the accolades, and the shear physical intimidation that can occur when teams get thei
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- The Warren starters high-five after they are introduced prior to their PIAA quarterfinal match against Thomas Jefferson on Saturday. Today, they battle defending state champion Knoch, with the winner advancing to Saturday’s state title contest against the winner of Allentown Central Catholic and West York.
“We have to go into games knowing that teams are going to want to beat us and not thinking that we’re good enough to roll through them,” Christy told The Trib. “It kind of motivates us to show everyone that we are the No. 1 team by how we play.”
Warren has risen to the occasion at every turn this season, the Dragons know they’ll have to do it again to get the ultimate prize.
“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.”