Lady Cats Volleyball Season Ends With Playoff Loss To GCC (11/12/15)

The Clarion Area Volleyball season came to an end, on Tuesday (November 10th), at DuBois Area High School, with the Lady Cats falling to Greensburg Central Catholic 3-0 (16-25, 23-25, 19-25), in a PIAA State Playoff – first round match.

(Photos by Bri Nellis) Olivia had a big night for the Lady Cats

(Photos by Bri Nellis) Olivia had a big night for the Lady Cats

The final score wasn’t indicative of the hard effort the Lady Cats gave. They hung tough in all three games.

Clarion was down by just one point at 11-10, midway through the first game. But the Lady Centurians had a 13-5 run to win 25-16. In game two, the Bobcats were down by seven at 20-13, but they came back to tie it at 21-all, with Maya Thornton delivering a 6-point service run to knot the score. Clarion was within one, when GCC scored the final point of the game.

In game three, other than a tie at 8-apiece, the Lady Cats led throughout, until the Lady Centurians, tied it at 17-all. The teams were tied at 19, when GCC broke serve and then their #2 served for the final six points of the match.

A number of Lady Cats had good games. But one that really stood out to me was junior Olivia Burns, who had a number of powerful scoring shots.

Gloria setting for a teammate

Gloria setting for a teammate

I asked Coach Shari Campbell about Olivia’s play, after the match. She said, “She hits a heavy ball. I think she had answers to Bizignotti (21), which was what we were hoping to see.

“I’m just real excited to see her develop and see what her senior year looks like. And really, last year she was injured. She had that car accident, so this is really her first year as a six-rotation player for us. I’m real proud of the passer she has become. She is a great blocker.”

This was the last match for four Lady Cats seniors, Keanna Over, Anna Reed, Sophie Wolf and Johnna Rapp. This quartet never played on a team that didn’t win a district championship.

Coach Campbell shared some great words on each of her seniors. “Oh my gosh. Keanna Over plays so much bigger than she is. She leaves everything out there. She takes big swings. She’s gutsy. She’s such a great, great competitor. We’ll miss her a ton. But she’ll be successful, in anything she does, if she takes that grit into it.

“And Anna Reed, she’s been a joy to have in the gym. I’ll cry about that, because she is one of my first graders. I knew when she was little, that she was a hustler. It has been so much fun to watch her.  She’s funny and she’s tough and I can’t wait for her to take this game to the next level, because that’s her plan.

“Sophie Wolf, what a mature player.  She has been a leader, such a positive force. I’m so proud of the player that she has been, in these last couple of games, seeing her rise up and play the best volleyball, she’s ever played.

“Johnna Rapp, what a great server. She has been so much a leader for this team, on and off the court. She’s got great leadership skills. I think she could probably organize anything.

“Those seniors will be missed. They’ve made an impact. I’m so proud of their district title. They’ve worked hard.”

On this team as a whole, Coach Campbell said, “These kids have done everything that I’ve asked them to do and I’ve asked them to do everything. I have not let up on them. At times, I was their biggest opponent. I just kept pushing them and pushing them and they kept saying, ‘Okay, we’ll do it, we’ll do it, we’ll do it.’ ”

Coach Campbell had this to say about the players who will return next season, “I’m excited for this sophomore class. You saw a lot of them contributing on the court. I hope they are hungry for what their time will bring as upperclassmen.

“I’m excited for our juniors to become seniors. Gloria Kroh is so athletic and we watched her evolve on the court. I can’t wait to see her, after this season under her belt, what she looks like as a two year setter.”

(Thanks to Bri Nellis for the photos. Congratulations to the Lady Cats on another fine season!!!! And congratulations to Johnna, Sophie, Anna and Keanna on fine varsity careers!!!!)