Blog report by Kelly Goodsel
Corry Volleyball Head Coach
Corry volleyball made an epic comeback after dropping the first two sets, only to take the momentum in the third set and win the fourth and fifth sets by just two points each! Corry took down the Richland Rams in heart stopping fashion Saturday afternoon down at Sharon High School with the final scores being 23-25, 20-25, 25-15, 25-23, and 15-13. The exciting PIAA state quarterfinals win puts Corry in the state semi-finals against Cathedral Prep on Tuesday night.
Most volleyball coaches, including Corry’s coach Kelly Goodsel, often point to the keys to victory in the sport of volleyball as “passing and serving”, and Saturday’s PIAA State Quarterfinal match with the Richland Rams demonstrated this perfectly. In the first set, Corry and Richland were tied 3-3 when Addyson Hirsch, the 6’0” sophomore for Richland, went back to the service line and scored three points in a row on two Corry serve reception errors and a kill by Richland. From that point through the rest of the game, Richland had no more than a four point lead and Corry eventually tied it up at 21-21. Emmalee Carr had a kill from her opposite hitting position to make the score 23-22 Richland, and then Halle Albers had a kill to make the last one point lead (24-23 Richland), but Richland closed out the set 25-23.
The second set was a similarly played, very competitive match that Corry led 11-8 when the Richland senior setter Adalin Matejovich served four straight points. The serve wasn’t overly tough, but it was just different enough and shorter than average that the Corry offense was ineffective. Again, Corry and Richland traded points from 13-11 to 20-17, Richland in the lead. Payton McCray back set to Allison Sawyer who blasted a kill off the Richland block to tighten the score to 20-18. A well placed roll shot by the Richland outside hitter and a Corry hitting error made the score 22-18. Corry fought hard, but Richland finished off the second set 25-20.
With their backs against the proverbial wall, Corry came out and rattled off six straight points behind Halle Albers serving two aces, Aubrey Chase pounding two kills, Allison Sawyer getting a kill, and Grace Allen hitting a great shot down the line. Richland closed the gap to a four point deficit at 14-10, but Corry finished the third set with an 11-5 run. Corry’s aggressive serving got Richland out of system, giving Corry freeballs to run a faster and more effective offense, and almost all of the lady beavers scored (kills by Emmalee Carr, Allison Sawyer, Aubrey Chase, Sadye Dyne, and Grace Allen).
Corry rode momentum from the third set convincing win to jump out to a 7-2 lead on kills by Payton McCray on a setter dump, and Chase, Allen, and Sawyer hitting open spots on the Richland floor. After a Halle Albers kill, Richland took their first time out at 15-9, only to give up a service ace by Albers to stretch the lead to 16-9. Richland would not give up and fought back on a 9-3 run and the score was 19-18 Corry. Corry setter Haley Mumau put up a great ball that Albers put to the floor for a kill and then Emmalee Carr and Sadye Dyne put up a huge block that made the score 22-18 forcing Richland’s second and final time out. Emmalee Carr scored on a kill down the line to make the score 23-20, only to see Richland score two straight points and Corry took its first time out with the score 23-22. Richland scored the next point and with the score tied 23-23, the Richland server missed the next serve giving Corry set point at 24-23. Richland received serve and hit the ball that Makenna Moore (Corry libero) dug perfectly to Payton McCray who set Grace Allen on the outside and she pounded the set winning kill, forcing a 5th and deciding set.
Much like the previous four sets, the game was played at a high level and extremely tight. Richland had an early lead at 2-1, which Corry quickly reversed on a Makenna Moore service ace, and Allison Sawyer block, and another Grace Allen kill to make the score 5-2. Richland tied the game up at 5-5 then Allison Sawyer and Aubrey Chase had a block, followed by an Allison Sawyer serve that landed just on the back line for an ace, making the score 7-5. Richland responded with a three-point run and led 8-7 when Emmalee Carr had another timely kill from the right side, followed by two Aubrey Chase kills and Corry was up 10-8. Richland again tied the score, at 10-10, when sophomore setter Haley Mumau placed a perfect setter dump just over the net to take the lead 11-10, followed by a Albers kill. Richland called a timeout trailing 14-11 and iced the Corry server, serving just out deep, putting both Hirsch (tall middle hitter) and Laine Marshall (6’1” senior outside hitter) in the front row… and Marshall delivered a kill making the score 14-13 Corry. Coach Goodsel called the first timeout and reviewed the offensive and defensive options to score the next point. All the best laid plans… the final point may have been the ugliest point of the entire match. Sydney Woods passed a short serve sideways, Halle Albers made a diving save to keep the ball in the air, and Makenna Moore free-balled it over the net right in the Richland donut, which the rams proceeded to shank one direction, then back the other direction and was too close to the net for a third attack and it hit the floor… giving Corry the 15-13, fifth set win!
“Passing and serving… Sydney Woods led the team in serve receive passing and collected 11 digs; Makenna Moore received 35 serves without an error, and led the team with 25 digs. While the kids with all the kills get the headlines, the name of the game is ball control and Syd and Makenna delivered tonight said coach Goodsel. Also, if you look at the stats, we had 16 service aces to only 8 for Richland, and we had 8 service errors to Richland’s 10. Bottom-line (on a very simplistic basis), we served better and passed better than they did, which nullified their significant height advantage.”
Goodsel continued, “I am really proud of the resilience the team had, how they responded to coaching adjustments, and how much they trusted each other and the coaches at key points in the match. The senior leadership and experience showed up in the late stages of both the fourth set and fifth set which was the difference in both of those two-point wins!”
Corry’s overall record is 18-1 and are Region 4 champions with a 9-0 region record as well as the district 10 Champions. With the win over the Richland Rams, Corry will advance to the PIAA State Semi-finals and will play the Cathedral Prep Ramblers on Tuesday at McDowell High School. Corry is ranked #2 in the latest PVCA (PA Volleyball Coaches Association) rankings and Prep is ranked #7. The winner of Tuesday’s match will play either Trinity High School or Lansdale Catholic on Saturday at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg for the state championship.
As Always DeeJ Experience has our request in to cover the match and we are waiting for the PIAA to get back to us. We are encouraging EVERYONE to get to McDowell to support your lady Beavers. You can purchase your tickets at https://www.piaa.org/sports/tickets.aspx?from=mobileNav
Statistical Leaders On The Day Include:
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