Kyara Girvan, Montana Hetrick And PSU DuBois Teammates Finish Third At USCAA Division II Volleyball Nationals

(PSU DuBois images: Above – Kyara, Coach Dave Alberts and Montana.)

Sophomore Outside Hitter/Libero Kyara (KK) Girvan and freshman Outside Hitter Montana Hetrick helped the Penn State DuBois Nittany Lions to a third place finish in the United States Collegiate Athletic Association’s (USCAA) 2021 Division II Women’s National Volleyball Championship Tournament.

Kyara is a 2020 Clarion Area High School graduate and two-time Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association (PVCA) All-Stater, for Coach Shari Campbell’s Bobcats. Montana is a 2021 Redbank Valley graduate and was also a PVCA All-State player in high school. A number of other former District Nine players are on the PSU DuBois roster.

The Volleyball Tournament was  held at the Virginia Beach Field House, Thursday through Saturday, November 11th – 13th, as part of the USCAA’s Fall Championship Week, which ran Wednesday through Monday, November 10th – 15th, with Championships being decided in several sports, Womens’ (Division I and II) Volleyball, Mens’ and Womens’ Soccer (Division I and II), and Mens’ and Womens’ Cross Country.

Coach Dave Alberts’ Nittany Lions began by going 1 and 1 in pool play, dropping a 3-0 (19-25, 13-25, 19-25) decision to number 1 seed and eventual champion, University of Cincinnati Clermont, on Thursday, and rebounding for a 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-13) victory over number 4 seed Paul Smith’s College, on Friday.

PSU DuBois went 1 and 1 again, in Championship round play, on Saturday. They fell to number 3 seed Penn State Mont Alto 3-0 (21-25, 20-25, 15-25) and bounced back to win the match for third place, over number 2 seed Penn State Greater Allegheny 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-22).

The final standings saw University of Cincinnati Clermont as the Champion, followed by Penn State Mont Alto, in second place, Penn State DuBois, third, Penn State Greater Allegheny, fourth, Paul Smith’s College, fifth and Kings College sixth. It is a testament to the quality of the Penn State University Athletic Conference that three of the six schools invited to the tournament are PSUAC schools and that they comprised three of the top four place finishes.

Both Kyara and Montana had solid contributions, in each match for the Nittany Lions.

For the tournament, Kyara had 13 kills and forty-eight digs, while Montana recorded 20 digs and a kill.

Coach Alberts had this to say about the team’s experience at Nationals.

“It was great to be back in Virginia Beach for the National Championships, as I felt we had some unfinished business from the last time we were there in 2018.  We were eliminated in pool play last time and felt that was not reflective of how strong our team was that season. 

“This year would be different. 

“First up, we played the #1 seed UC Clermont.  It was a close match, but their offense proved to be stronger than ours and they won 3-0.  Up next was Paul Smith’s College, a team that took a set from UC Clermont and was very close in score in the sets they lost.  We came out with a ton of energy and played well on offense and defense.  We took three straight sets, 25-13, 25-18, and 25-13 to secure the win. 

“Next up we had conference rival Penn State Mont Alto. This was a match to see who would make it to the USCAA championship match against UC Clermont.  It was a very even match for the most part, but the deciding factor was errors on our part.  We made some errors at key turning points and just overall made a few more than Mont Alto.  Still, a strong effort and I knew if we could replicate that in the 3rd place match, we would have a great chance of claiming the third-place spot. 

“We would face Greater Allegheny, who knocked us out in the first round of the PSUAC playoffs in a match that was decided in the fifth set.  We were 2-1 against them for the season and I told the girls ‘let’s get this win and go 3-1 to show we are the stronger team and take place 3rd at the National Championships!’  They didn’t disappoint.  We came out of the gate strong and never looked backed.  I really felt we were firing on all cylinders and were playing an all-around great game.  We took the match in three sets, 25-12, 25-19, and 25-22. 

“It was a great finish to a great season, and I was extremely happy to get the third-place finish for the team and Penn State DuBois.”

Kyara shared, “Nationals was an experience of a lifetime. We may not have gotten the national championship but honestly 3rd is freaking good especially this being only the 2nd time Penn State Dubois Volleyball team has ever been to nationals.

“I am so extremely blessed to call these girls my teammates we have all grown in this sport. This season has been a roller coaster with covid rules and everything, and myself having covid at one point and sitting out for 2 weeks but I knew the girls would do great, no matter what and I have to say thank you to all of them for that. Not many people get to say they went to nationals for college sports, let alone place and we get the honor of being able to say that.      Nationals was a roller coaster weekend for me.

“But one of the biggest blessings that happened was my Uncle Mike came and surprised me. And to say I had no idea is an understatement.  My uncle has been one of my biggest supporters, all throughout my volleyball career and for that I could never say thank you enough to him.

“Between my parents having my brother in football playoffs and my sister in state playoffs, I knew they wouldn’t be able to make it and for him to make the drive over from Sligo was just amazing! While playing I heard him cheering the entire time and it made me so happy and the want to win even stronger.     

“To all those that have always supported my volleyball career thank you, because I would not be here if it weren’t for everyone. I do want to send a huge thank you to my high school coach Shari Campbell, for never giving up on me and always pushing me to better every game. Because to this day, I still strive to be as great as you once are on and off the court.    

“Another huge thank you to all those at Penn State DuBois who supported us on this journey; you have all made this experience so worth it. Coach Dave and Andrea (Zitzelberger) and Autumn (Burke Dempsey) thank you for never giving up on us and always striving for us to be the best team we could be and more. You have all helped us grow so much and we all are extremely blessed to have you as coaches.”

Montana added, “Coach Dave basically said everything that I was thinking. Being able to go to nationals was amazing. It was a great experience to be a part of. We played very well as a team and every single person contributed so much. Even though we may have had a few rough plays, we all came together to help each other out. I was so thankful to be a part of this amazing journey with a group of amazing girls and coaches.”

(Congratulations, Kyara, Montana, Coach Alberts and the whole PSU DuBois Volleyball Team on this great achievement!!!!)