Lillian Otto Hopewell traveled to OLSH on Wednesday night for their final regular season game, bringing along their 12–1 Section record. OLSH entered the night with the same mark, meaning this match would decide the WPIAL 2A Section 1 Champion.
Sometimes a match with this much build-up doesn’t live up to the hype, but this one absolutely did!
Set 1:
Both teams traded early points before OLSH began to find their rhythm, building a steady lead with strong hitting and forcing Hopewell into an early timeout. Despite solid efforts from Brianna Inderelst, Hannah McDowell, and Lahna Murray, OLSH controlled much of the frame, taking Set 1 by a 25–15 score.
Set 2:
The Chargers again jumped out quickly, forcing Hopewell to regroup after a 0–4 start. The Vikings fought back behind steady play from Addison Davis, Inderelst, and McDowell, who stacked together several late kills and an ace to close the gap. Despite the rally, OLSH’s early cushion held as they claimed Set 2, 25–20, to go up 2–0 in the match.
Set 3:
Down two sets, Hopewell’s energy and defensive game plan flipped. McDowell opened with back-to-back aces, and Inderelst, Boyd, Murray and Kurta dominated at the net with an improved blocking game on OLSH’s hitters. Marina Pinchotti added consecutive aces, while Hopewell’s serve pressure and defensive completely changed the tone. The Vikings cruised to a 25–15 win to stay alive.
Set 4:
With some newfound momentum and a great away Hopewell crowd behind them, the Vikings kept things rolling in the 4th set. Boyd, McDowell, Kurta, and Murray all delivered key kills, with Ceccarelli setting up the hitting offense. With strong serving from Davis and clutch defensive passing from Ella Goodrum, Hopewell evened the match with a 25–18 win, forcing a fifth and final set for the Section title.
Set 5:
The deciding set was everything you could want from a championship match. Hopewell started strong, capitalizing on OLSH errors and key kills from Kurta and Murray to take a 7–3 lead. OLSH fought back though, tying it up at 8–8. OLSH pushed ahead 12-9 and was on the verge of closing it out, but Hopewell responded with incredible poise, winning 3 straight points to tie it back up at 12-12. From there, the set turned into a point-for-point battle with the gym erupting on every score. The final set was tied at the scores of 13-13, 14-14, 15-15, & 16-16. McDowell, Inderelst, and Kurta each delivered clutch swings down the stretch, and with the score tied again at 17–17, the Vikings refused to back down.
With Pinchotti serving, Hopewell grabbed the lead at 18-17 on a back row kill that OLSH couldn’t handle and then finished the incredible comeback performance off on the final point which brought the team bench and Hopewell crowd to their feet, sealing the win 19–17 and claiming the WPIAL 2A Section 1 Championship!
An incredible comeback and statement victory for Hopewell, who showed true championship heart and grit when it mattered the most.
With the Section Championship completed, the focus now flips to a return to the WPIAL 2A Playoffs, where Hopewell will await more information regarding seeding, game times and potential opponents.
Here is a recap tonight’s sets:
Set 1:
1-1 Hopewell on the board
2-2 OLSH with an error
3-6 Hopewell with a good read on a long serve
4-6 Brianna Inderelst with a kill off the set from Bella Ceccarelli
4-8 OLSH forces an early Hopewell timeout
6-10 Lahna Murray with a tip shot causing an error
7-11 Hannah McDowell with a kill off a great set from Ceccarelli
8-13 OLSH in front with some strong hitting
10-13 Ceccarelli with a serve that OLSH returns long
12-15 Addison Davis with a serve causing an error
13-18 OLSH with another strong kill
14-19 Hopewell with another timeout trying to stop the OLSH run
14-22 Hopewell in trouble this set
15-24 OLSH with set point
15-25 OLSH wins set 1
Set 2:
0-4 OLSH with an early run, forcing a timeout.
1-5 Hopewell on the board with a long OLSH hit
2-6 OLSH with a long serve
3-8 Ceccarelli with a nice punch shot that catches the back line
3-11 OLSH continuing to pour on the offense
5-15 OLSH with a block
6-15 McDowell with a strong kill off the Ceccarelli set
7-15 OLSH returns one wide after a nice block from Kurta
8-17 Kurta hammers a kill for a point
9-17 Inderelst with a kill
10-18 Inderelst with a kill that catches the very back of the line
12-18 Murray tips one for a point
13-19 Avery Boyd with a hit causing an error
16-20 OLSH with a return out forcing a timeout
17-22 McDowell with a nice hit on an overpass that OLSH returns back to an open spot.
18-23 McDowell with a kill
19-23 McDowell with an ace
20-24 Kurta hammers a kill
20-25 OLSH wins set 2
Set 3:
- McDowell starts off set 3 with back-to-back aces
3-1 Ceccarelli dumps one for a point
4-1 Inderelst kills an overpass
5-5 Boyd places a shot for a point to stop an OLSH run
6-6 Boyd and Murray combine for a block
7-6 Hopewell back in the lead
9-6 Boyd with another block, timeout OLSH
10-6 Boyd with a kill.
11-8 OLSH with a wide return
13-8 Marina Pinchotti with back-to-back aces
14-9 Murray with powerful hit for a point
16-9 Murray with some good serves, the second forcing an error
19-10 Ceccarelli with a great flip shot for a point
20-11 Kurta with another kill off a great set from Ceccarelli
21-13 Boyd with a big swing that OLSH sends to the rafters
22-13 Davis with a strong serve that gets returned wide
23-15 Murray with a tip shot causing an error
25-15 Boyd with back-to-back blocks to finish out Set 3
Set 4:
Inderelst with a hit that catches an OLSH finger
2-2 Boyd with a cross-court kill
3-2 Murray places a shot on a quick set from Ceccarelli
5-5 McDowell pushes one right into the middle for a point
7-6 Hopewell grabs a lead
8-7 McDowell with a kill
9-8 Kurta hammers an overpass
10-10 OLSH ties it back up
11-11 Back and forth we go in set 4
13-13 Hopewell with a nice block that OLSH returns long
14-13 McDowell with a block
16-14 A great rally ends with an OLSH hit wide
18-14 Murray with an ace, OLSH burns another timeout
20-16 McDowell hammers a kill off the set from Ceccarelli
21-17 Ceccarelli with a great defensive play that finds the floor
22-17 Boyd with a great kill
23-18 OLSH returns one long. Ella Goodrum with 2 great passes
24-18 Hopewell reaches set point on the Davis serve
25-18 To the 5th set we go!
Set 5:
Kurta destroys a kill that flies to the ceiling
3-1 OLSH with a long return.
4-1 OLSH with an error
6-2 OLSH with another long return. Hopewell’s back row reading the hits well.
7-3 Murray with a big swing that OLSH blocks wide
8-5 Hopewell with a return pass that somehow finds the floor
8-7 OLSH with a quick run, forcing a timeout.
8-8 Tied up
9-8 Hopewell back in front on a long hit
9-10 OLSH takes the lead on a block
10-12 McDowell with a much needed kill to stay in the set.
11-12 Inderelst with a hit forcing an error
12-12 Inderelst with another kill
13-13 Tied up again
14-13 McDowell with an ace
14-14 OLSH answers to tie it back up
14-15 OLSH gets to match point.
15-15 Hopewell answers again with a great block.
16-15 Hopewell takes the lead to reach match point
16-16 OLSH answers with a flip shot that finds the middle.
17-16 Hopewell grabs the lead to get to another match point.
17-17 OLSH answers again on a kill
18-17 Hopewell back in front again
19-17 I’ll let the video describe this point!
Earlier in the night, Junior Varsity finished their season with a 2-1 loss to OLSH. Hopewell won Set #1 25-16 but then lost Set #2 17-25 and the deciding 3rd Set 11-15.
Their season ends with an impressive 13-3 record. VSN will be putting together a Junior Varsity season recap over the next few days, so stay tuned for that!
