vikingssportsn Ellwood City, PA – The Hopewell Vikings (8-8 / 7-5) closed out their regular season Tuesday night with a three-set sweep of Ellwood City, but the Wolverines proved to be a much tougher opponent in their second meeting.
Hopewell earned the 3-0 victory with set scores of 27-25, 25-23 and 25-19, overcoming several stretches that allowed Ellwood City to remain competitive throughout the match.
The Vikings appeared in control of the opening set, building a 19-12 advantage behind strong offensive play from Hannah McDowell and Mikayla Kurta. However, Ellwood City rallied all the way back to take a 23-22 lead and eventually earned three opportunities at set point. Hopewell answered each time, with critical kills from Avery Boyd and McDowell helping the Vikings escape with a 27-25 victory.
The second set followed a similar pattern. Ellwood City erased an early Hopewell lead and built an 18-14 advantage before Kurta sparked the comeback with several key kills. Boyd added timely offense, while setter Teagen Murray delivered a well-placed push shot to give Hopewell set point. Boyd finished the set with a kill to secure the 25-23 win.
Hopewell showed more consistency in the third set, although Ellwood City again rallied from a 14-8 deficit to pull within one. McDowell helped stop the momentum with a key kill and strong serving, while Addison Blosnick and Ariana Fischer contributed important points down the stretch. McDowell delivered the final kill to complete the sweep, 25-19.
Kurta and McDowell paced a balanced Viking attack, with Boyd, Blosnick and Fischer providing additional offensive production. Murray directed the offense effectively, while Marina Pinchotti, Cici Smetana and Tessa Burgess contributed defensively and from the service line.
Despite the sweep, Hopewell will need to limit unforced errors and do a better job protecting leads as the WPIAL playoffs get underway. With the regular season complete, the Vikings now turn their attention to postseason competition, where consistency and execution will be critical against stronger opponents. The Vikings now await the release of the WPIAL Class 3A playoff bracket later this week to learn their first-round opponent. Matchup details, including the date, time and location, will be shared once available.
Here is the play-by-play from tonight’s match:
Set #1
1-0 Tessa Burgess with a good read on a wide serve
2-2 Marina Pinchotti with another good read on a long serve
3-2 Mikayla Kurta with an ace
4-3 Hannah McDowell with a great play on a wide set for a kill
5-4 Ariana Fischer with the kill off the Teagen Murray set
6-4 Cici Smetana with an ace
7-6 Marina Pinchotti with a great read on a wide shot over her head
8-6 Pinchotti on the serve now, forcing an error
9-6 Addison Blosnick with a big swing for a kill
10-6 Kurta with a block at the net, finding the floor
12-7 McDowell with a push shot to the corner. Great bump set from Murray
13-7 Kurta with a hard swing, forcing an error
14-9 Kurta with another nice play at the net
15-9 Murray on the serve, forcing an Ellwood error. Timeout Wolverines
16-9 Murray with an ace
17-10 McDowell with a big swing for a kill. Burgess with a nice pass up
18-11 McDowell follows it up with a tip shot fooling the defense
19-12 McDowell pushes another one to the corner causing chaos
19-16 Ellwood making a push
20-16 A long serve that just goes over the back line
21-16 Murray with a great defensive play that Kurta flips over forcing an error
22-17 Kurta with a block at the net
22-20 Ellwood not going away. Timeout Hopewell
22-22 Ellwood ties up the set
22-23 Ellwood takes the lead
23-23 Murray with a tip at the net returned wide
23-24 Ellwood gets to set point
24-24 Avery Boyd with a kill to tie it back up
24-25 Ellwood on another set point
25-25 McDowell with a kill down the line
26-25 Hopewell gets to set point
27-25 Hopewell survives a tight opening set
Set #2
1-1 Hopewell on the board off an Ellwood error
2-1 McDowell with a big swing outside for a kill. Murray with a nice cross court set
3-1 Kurta tees off on a middle set for a kill
4-1 Burgess on the serve, forcing an error
5-2 Great back set from Murray to McDowell, who places a shot to the middle
6-2 Kurta with an ace
7-6 Ellwood on a run
8-6 Hopewell with a point on a wide return
9-6 Boyd with a kill off another backset from Murray
10-6 Fischer places a shoot set from Murray for a kill
12-8 Both teams trade serving errors
13-10 Smetana with a good read on a wide serve
14-10 Kurta with a kill off the Murray set
14-14 Ellwood on a run, ties it up
14-15 Ellwood grabs a lead mid-set
14-18 Ellwood continuing a strong second set. Timeout Hopewell
15-18 Kurta with a great play to flip one over a kill
16-18 Kurta with a kill off Murray’s set
17-18 McDowell tips one over for a point
18-19 Kurta hammers a kill
19-19 Boyd ties it back up with a kill off the Murray set
20-19 Kurta again with a kill
21-19 Murray on the serve, forcing an error. Timeout Ellwood
21-21 Ellwood ties it back up
22-21 Kurta with a big block at the net
23-21 Kurta with an ace
23-23 Tied up again
24-23 Murray pushes one over for a point to get to set point
25-23 Boyd places a kill to the middle to win another tight set
Set #3
1-0 McDowell with a big swing through the block to get started
1-1 Ellwood with the point, but a great back and forth rally
2-2 McDowell tips one over for a point
3-3 Fischer with a kill off Murray’s set. McDowell with a great pass
4-4 Blosnick with a kill that rides the net and drops for the point
5-4 Smetana on the serve, Ellwood with the long return
6-4 Fischer with the kill off Murray’s set
7-5 Blosnick with a kill
8-7 Blosnick with another kill after Ellwood had tied it up
9-8 McDowell pushes one over, this time short to the side
10-8 A long return from Ellwood. Murray on the serve
11-8 Another good serve from Murray forcing the error
12-8 A wide return extends the lead
13-8 Kurta with a middle kill off Murray’s set. Timeout Ellwood
14-8 McDowell with a nice play at the net for a point
15-14 Ellwood on a run getting back into the set
16-14 McDowell with a great right side kill to stop the run
17-14 McDowell with a great serve. Fischer blocks the overpass forcing an error
18-14 McDowell with an ace
20-15 Smetana with an ace
22-17 Pinchotti with an ace
23-17 Pinchotti with a serve, forcing the error
24-18 Blosnick with a huge swing to get Hopewell to match point
25-19 McDowell closes out the match with a kill.
