vikingssportsn Monaca, PA – Hopewell’s varsity volleyball team went toe-to-toe at Central Valley Thursday night, but the Vikings camp up just short in a several tightly contested sets, falling 3-1 on the road.
The Vikings had opportunities throughout the night, particularly in the opening set. After falling behind 5-1, Hopewell responded behind strong play at the net from Mikayla Kurta, Hannah McDowell and Arianna Fischer. Tessa Burgess helped fuel the comeback with a strong serving run, including an ace, as Hopewell turned the early deficit into a 19-11 advantage.
However, Central Valley battled back to tie the set at 23, and after the teams’ traded points, CV scored the final two to steal the opener, 26-24.
Hopewell answered in the second.
Addison Blosnick, Fischer, Avery Boy and McDowell all delivered kills as the Vikings built an early advantage, while Kurta added an ace. Central Valley again rallied, tying the set at 20 before taking a 21-20 lead, but this time Hopewell had the response. The Vikings regained the lead and McDowell’s serve forced an error on set point to close out a 25-23 victory and even the match at 1-1.
The third set followed a similar script. Marina Pinchotti gave Hopewell an early boost with an ace, while Burgess provided a key pass that led to a McDowell kill. McDowell then took over from the service line with back-to-back aces as the Vikings built a 10-6 advantage.
Hopewell continued to control the set behind contributions throughout the lineup, eventually taking a 19-14 lead. Central Valley again fought back, tying the set at 20 and then 21. Blosnick delivered a big kill to make it 22-22, but CV captured the final three points for a 25-22 win.
The fourth set was back-and-forth early. Boyd, Blosnick and Fischer provided kills as Hopewell stayed within striking distance, but a four-point Central Valley run created separation midway through the set. Pinchotti continued to make an impact from the service line with another ace, while Kurta’s serve helped Hopewell pick up a late point as the Vikings tried to battle back.
Central Valley ultimately closed out the fourth set, 25-17, to take the match 3-1.
The final score didn’t fully reflect how competitive the night was. Hopewell held significant leads in both the first and third sets and was tied at 22 or later in each, while answering one Central Valley comeback with a pressure-filled second-set victory.
With section play beginning next week at Mohawk on Tuesday, the Vikings will look to build on those strong stretches, sharpen their serving execution late in sets and carry the lessons from Thursday’s match into the first part of the season.
Here is the play by play from tonight’s match:
Set #1
1-1 Hopewell on the board off a CV serving error
1-5 CV out in front early forcing an early Hopewell timeout
2-5 Hannah McDowell and Arianna Fischer team up for a block
4-5 Mikayla Kurta stuffs a block
6-8 Hopewell with a point off a wide serve by CV
7-8 Kurta with another block
8-9 Kurta with a kill off the Tiegen Murray set
9-10 Addison Blosnick with a nice kill on the pass from McDowell
10-10 Fischer kills an over pass
11-10 Fischer with another kill on a nice serving run from Tessa Burgess
13-10 Hopewell continuing a nice run
15-10 McDowell hammers a kill off the cross court set from Murray
16-10 Burgess with an ace
18-11 McDowell with a block that just catches the line
19-11 Murray with an ace
20-14 Avery Boyd with a kill to stop a small CV run
21-14 McDowell with a pass off her face that Boyd finishes on a kill
22-15 Boyd with a hit to the back row forcing an error
23-18 Hopewell with a nice defensive set stopping another run
23-23 CV with an ace to tie it up
24-24 Hopewell with a kill that catches the line
24-26 CV grabs the last 2 points to win Set #1
Set #2
1-0 Hopewell on the board on a long CV serve
2-0 Hopewell with a nice defensive play to force an error
3-3 CV with an ace to tie it up early
5-4 Blosnick with a hit that is blocked back to her for a kill
7-4 Hopewell on an early run on Boyd’s serve
9-5 Kurta with an ace
10-6 Blosnick with the kill off a Murray set
11-9 Fischer kills a CV overpass
13-10 McDowell with a big swing for a kill
14-11 Boyd with a kill
16-11 McDowell with an ace
18-15 CV serves one long to end a run
20-16 McDowell with a huge swing for a kill
20-20 CV with a 4-point run to tie it up
20-21 CV takes the lead after a great defensive dig. Timeout Hopewell
22-21 Hopewell back in front off a long hit from CV
23-22 McDowell dumps one to the middle causing CV chaos
24-23 Hopewell gets to set point on a long serve by CV
25-23 McDowell’s serve causes an error, Hopewell wins Set #2.
Set #3
1-2 A CV serving error gets Hopewell started
3-2 Hopewell grabs the lead off Murray’s serve
4-4 Boyd with a kill off the cross court set from Murray
5-4 Marina Pinchotti with an ace
6-6 A nice pass from Burgess ends with McDowell placing a kill
7-6 McDowell with an ace
10-6 McDowell with another ace, timeout CV
11-9 CV with a long serve
12-10 Blosnick with a kill
13-10 Hopewell with a great defensive rally for a point
14-11 Murray sets Fischer for a big swing
16-12 Murray with a serve causing a CV error
17-13 Boyd with a nice right-side kill
19-14 Hopewell with a great read on a ball out to the side
19-18 CV on a 4-point run to tighten it up
20-18 Kurta with a hit forcing a CV error
20-20 Tied up at 20
21-21 Tied back up at 21
22-22 Blosnick with a big kill
22-25 CV wins 3 straight points to win Set 3
Set #4
1-0 Hopewell scores first on a back-and-forth rally
2-2 Back and forth early
3-3 Boyd with a kill off the Murray long set
4-5 Blosnick with a nice hit that catches the sideline
5-5 Hopewell ties it back up
6-5 Blosnick with another nice hit
7-5 Boyd with an ace
8-7 Blosnick with a kill off the Pinchotti pass
9-10 Fischer with a kill down the line
9-14 CV on a 4-point run forcing a timeout
10-15 Fischer kills an overpass to stop the run
11-17 Hopewell with a point
12-17 Boyd with a big kill for a point
13-17 Pinchotti with an ace
15-20 A long serve from CV
17-21 Hopewell with a point off Kurta serve
17-24 CV gets to match point
17-25 Hopewell loses the match 3-1.
