Corry Volleyball sweeps Fairview 3-0; will play Prep for district 10 title!

Ava West makes a diving save early in the second set to help propel the Beavers to a 3-0 sweep of the Fairview Tigers. The young freshman had 3 kills, 4digs, and 2 blocks on the night.

Report by Kelly Goodsel

Corry Volleyball Head Coach

Erie, PA- Corry Volleyball played in what feels like a second home now at the Hagerty Family Events Center on Tuesday night and the fan turnout from “Beaver Nation” made it feel just like home. Corry would use that momentum and sweep the Fairview Tigers in three straight sets 25-18, 25-11, and 25-23.

A repeat match-up from the 2024 D10 semi’s, Corry and Fairview were very familiar with each other. Playing last year in the district 10 playoffs, playing against each other in summer league play, varsity team camp, and in the Region 4 competition.

Fairview jumped out to an early first set lead 8-4 on several Corry errors (service error, hitting error, and serve receive problems). Corry slowly worked its way back into the game with a kill by junior outside hitter Grace Allen, a block by Allen and junior middle hitter Kendall Donoghue, and a kill by Donoghue, tying the game 14-14. After another kill by Allen and two Fairview hitting errors, the Tigers head coach called time out at 17-15. Grace Allen had two straight service aces after the timeout and a Regan Kemp kill made the score 22-17. Junior middle hitter Rylee Nickerson finished off the 25-18 set with a kill.

Fairview once again jumped out to an early lead at 5-1 before Allen had two kills and a Nickerson kill putting Corry in front 6-5. Rylee Nickerson stretched the lead to 12-9 and three consecutive aces. Corry’s balanced offense (kills by Kemp, Allen, and freshmen Ava West) and a service ace by junior Ellie Carey expanded the lead to 22-10 and the lady beavers cruised to a 25-11 win.

Corry built on the second set win with a quick 5-1 lead on kills by Kemp and Allen. Senior Libero Sydney Mineo had two assists in the third set, one to junior defensive specialist Ali Yetzer and one to Grace Allen, forcing a Fairview timeout at 16-11. Fairview didn’t give up and closed the score to 19-18 when senior setter Ava Hallberg set Allen, Kemp, and Nickerson who all had kills. With the score 24-23 Corry, junior setter Haley Mumau set up Regan Kemp who scored the final point for the three-set sweep.

“I’m really proud of the team, they all understood the importance of this match (win and get into the PIAA State Playoffs) and the level of competition we were facing. A couple of our players were playing sick, and they fought through it to pull off the sweep” said coach Kelly Goodsel.

With the win, Corry improves to 16-0 on the year and have registered their 12^th straight sweep and 15^th overall on the year, and the Beavers advance to the district 10 finals. This is the 10th year in a row and 11th in the last 12 years.   Corry plays in the AA classification, with approximately 20 other teams, not like McDowell who plays in a two-team classification, or other schools playing in 6 - 8 schools competing for the D10 title. It’s an impressive resume for the Corry Beavers and the coaching staff.

The win sets the table for what was inevitable. Although, Cochranton gave the Ramblers quite the scare in a five-set thriller. Cathedral Prep came through with a 16-14 fifth set win to earn their way back to the district 10 championship game.

Corry versus Cathedral Prep. The championship game will be played on Thursday night, time and place to be determined. Wherever, whenever, DeeJ Experience will be there for all the action pending PIAA Approval. www.deejexperience.com

Hear from our Crotty Chevrolet player of the game Regan Kemp and Head Coach Kelly Goodsel.

Statical leaders for the night.