Corry JV volleyball came up short to Girard in the Cambridge Springs tournament semifinals

Corry JV Volleyball team photo.

Report by Mark Brenner

Corry JV Volleyball Coach

The Corry JV Volleyball team travelled to Cambridge Springs for their second tournament of the 2025 volleyball season and finished tied at number 3 out of 10 teams in the playoffs. There were 10 teams divided into two pools pools. Each pool had five teams that played each other for two sets to 25, starting at 5-5. Corry was in a pool with Maplewood, Cochranton, Eisenhower, and Union City. Pool play results were used to seed the tournament bracket, with all teams earning a spot in the playoff bracket.Corry was 8-0 in pool play, earning the number one seed in the playoffs.  In the quarterfinal Corry beat Hickory, (25-17) but, in the semifinals they lost to a scrappy Girard team in a close finish 25-23.

This tournament was a challenge and a great opportunity for those in attendance to get a lot of playing time. Only seven of eleven Corry players attended as the Beavers were missing both of their starting outside hitters and two of our defensive specialists, who were all out for various good reasons.  This led to a major shake up in the line-up, moving setter Naomi Brown and libero Jordyn Watrous to outside hitters, and defensive specialist Delaney Church to Libero. Right side hitter Katie Downey and setter Maci Kemp also played all 6 rotations for most of the day.  I thought everyone adjusted fairly well, and we were still more than competitive in every game played. 

The competition in our pool was very good.  Corry played pretty evenly throughout the pool play, winning each game and working through the occasional adversity.  Our strongest phase of the game was probably serving, but our defense, serve-receive, and offense were enough to end pool play at 8-0.

In the Quarterfinal vs. Hickory, our serving overwhelmed them and we kept them out of system for most of the game, carrying on the same momentum from pool play. 

The Semi Final vs. Girard was also very competitive.   Both teams served well and were scoring on offense, and tied at 23, it could have gone either way.  Unfortunately, Girard had a slight edge in energy and focus, and that proved the difference.  Girard repeatedly tipped the ball over the Corry block and Corry scrambled to pick up the tips. Enough tips found their way to the floor through the Corry defense for a Girard win.

This tournament was a great opportunity for everyone to get lots of playing time and to practice regulating emotions, mental focus, and physical inputs related to the game.  It stretched every player beyond their comfort zone, and we were able to learn, get better, and have some fun!

Corry's next match will be at home on Tuesday as the Beavers host the Union City Bears in the Beaver Dam. JV opening serve is scheduled for 6:00 PM with varsity action to follow. As Always if you can't make it out to the game, you can watch it live on the DeeJ Experience Sports Stream at www.deejexperience.com

Corry Pool Play Scores: (8W, 0L)

·      Vs. Maplewood W (25-21), W (25-20)

·      Vs. Union City W (25-16), W (25-15)

·      Vs. Cochranton W (25-24), W (25-14)

.    Vs. Eisenhower W (25-16), W (25-24)

Quarterfinals (one set to 25)

·      Vs. Hickory W (25-17)

Semifinals (one set to 25)

·      Vs. Girard L (23-25)