Lillian Otto Hopewell made the short trip on Tuesday night to Aliquippa for a road section matchup. With only 2 games left in the regular season, it was important for the Vikings to take care of business tonight to keep their late season momentum going. Hopewell was locked in from the first serve, sweeping Aliquippa 25–6, 25–4, 25–8, moving their record to 14-1 (12-1 Section).
In Set 1, Mikayla Kurta fired the first kill, and the Vikings never looked back. Brianna Inderelst and Hannah McDowell went to work at the net, while Lahna Murray ripped off three straight aces to blow it open. Inderelst finished it off with a kill, ending set 1 25–6 Hopewell.
In Set 2, Addison Davis lit it up from the service line with multiple aces, and Inderelst stayed hot with kills from all over the court. Avery Boyd, McDowell, and the Murray sisters (Lahna & Teagen) piled on points before Marina Pinchotti’s ace and a L Murray kill sealed it, 25–4.
In Set 3, McDowell opened with back-to-back aces, and Bella Ceccarelli spread the offense beautifully to Inderelst and L Murray. Pinchotti added another ace before L Murray closed it out in style with back-to-back aces to finish the sweep, 25–8.
All eyes now quickly turn to tonight at OLSH, where a massive matchup awaits. The winner of this regular-season finale between Hopewell and OLSH will be crowned the WPIAL 2A Section 1 Champion.
The JV match starts at 6pm with Varsity to follow around 7:15 to 7:30. It’s a match you won’t want to miss, so let’s travel well tonight to support the girls!
Here is a recap of tonight’s sets at Aliquippa:
Set 1
1-0 Mikayla Kurta with the kill to get Hopewell started.
2-1 Brianna Inderelst with a kill off the set from Ceccarelli
3-1 Ceccarelli with an ace
4-1 Kurta with another big swing for a kill
6-1 Inderelst with another kill
7-2 Sky Ross with an excellent cross court kill
10-4 Hannah McDowell with back-to-back kills
12-4 Ceccarelli with a dump to the middle after a great pass from Inderelst
13-4 McDowell is a problem for Aliquippa, with another kill.
14-5 Addison Davis with a nice save on the side. McDowell kills the overpass.
17-5 Lahna Murray with a nice serve causing an Aliquippa error.
20-5 Murray with 3 straight aces
23-6 Aliquippa with a wide serve
24-6 McDowell with a serve causing an error
25-6 Inderelst with a kill on the overpass to end Set 1
Set 2
1-1 Kurta with another kill to get Hopewell on the board
4-2 Avery Boyd with a kill off the set from Murray
5-2 Davis with an ace
7-2 Davis with another ace
8-2 Inderelst with a strong kill
9-2 Goodrum with a pass to Ceccarelli that Boyd finishes the kill
11-2 Davis continues the strong serves with another ace
13-3 Inderelst with the back row kill off the pass from Davis
16-3 Inderelst with an ace
18-4 McDowell places one over that causes an error
19-4 Murray kills an overpass
21-4 Murray with a block
22-4 Blosnick with a kill after a great serve from Marina Pinchotti
23-4 Pinchotti with an ace
24-4 Davis with a pass to Teagen Murray who sets up sister Lahna Murray for the kill
25-4 Blosnick with a nice kill to end Set 2
Set 3
1-0 Inderelst with the tip on the overpass
4-0 McDowell with back-to-back strong serves
5-0 McDowell with an ace
7-0 McDowell with another ace that catches the line
9-1 Ceccarelli on the serve now, causing an error
10-3 Inderelst with a strong kill of the Ella Goodrum pass.
11-4 Davis with an ace
13-5 McDowell with a strong kill
15-5 L Murray with a great running kill, somehow staying out of the net
17-5 L Murray with another big swing off the Ceccarelli set
19-7 McDowell with a hit that finds the floor
21-7 Pinchotti with a strong serve causing an error
22-7 Pinchotti with an ace
23-8 Lily Oldham with the pass to Ceccarelli who sets McDowell for the kill
25-8 L Murray finishes the match with back-to-back aces.
Earlier in the evening, Junior Varsity continued their strong late season run, sweeping Aliquippa 25-8 & 25-23. The second set was a very entertaining match, with several long back and forth rallies. Aliquippa got within 1 point twice at the end of the set, but each time
Hopewell came up with a timely play to stay in front. The JV moves their record to an impressive 13-2 on the season with their final match of the season tomorrow at OLSH.
Here’s a recap of the JV Sets:
Set 1
1-0 Hopewell strikes early with Jiselle Cain hitting an overpass for a point
3-1 Cain with a block
7-3 Abby Babinsack with a nice touch over the net on the set from Sydney Malackanich
10-3 Teagen Murray finishes a kill on a nice set from Mach
12-3 Murray with another kill
14-3 Mach with an ace
16-3 Blosnick with a nice read on a ball out on the near side
18-4 Blosnick hammers a kill off a nice pass from Cici Smetana and set from Malackanich
19-4 Blosnick with an ace
20-8 Aliquippa with some nice serves to go on a run
22-8 Murray with an ace
23-8 Madeline Earley with a kill that runs the top of the net and over for a point
25-8 Lillian Otto hammers a kill to end set 1
Set 2
1-0 Hopewell places a kill nicely on a cross court shot
3-2 Lily Oldham with an ace
5-3 A nice save from Smetana and Cain results in a point
8-3 Back-to-back aces from Smetana
9-4 Tessa Burgess sells out to save a ball that gets over the net and wins a point
11-8 Murray with the kill off a set from Bella Cipolla
13-10 Kaycee Gini with a nice read on a left side ball out
15-13 Blosnick with a kill
16-13 Smetana with an ace
17-14 Blosnick with a great kill off a beautiful pass from Burgess
19-16 Murray with a strong kill
20-19 An incredible rally pulls Aliquippa within 1.
22-20 Cain with a great block
23-22 Aliquippa back within a point
24-22 Earley with a push that causes an Aliquippa error
25-23 Burgess with the pass to Cipolla for the set that Babinsack finishes with a kill to end the match.
