vikingssportsn MONACA, PA– Hopewell’s Junior Varsity volleyball team captured a dramatic opening set Thursday night before Central Valley rallied to take the next two and hand the Vikings a 2-1 road loss.
After falling behind 4-0 in the opener, Hopewell battled back behind strong play from Lillian Otto and Brooke Otto. Brooke delivered back-to-back aces to tie the set at 6-6, while Ava Ray helped keep the pressure on Central Valley with a strong serve that gave Hopewell a 10-9 lead. Lillian provided several big kills as the Vikings eventually built a 20-14 advantage.
Central Valley rallied to tie it at 24, setting up a dramatic finish. With the score tied at 25, Lillian hammered a kill off an Abby Babinsack set before Lilianna Katcher delivered an ace to give Hopewell the 27-25.
Hopewell stayed competitive early in the second. Ray delivered a well-placed hit off a Brooke Otto set, and Lillian followed with 3 straight aces to put the Vikings ahead 7-6. Central Valley responded with a pair of big runs, however, to take the set 25-11 and force a deciding third.
The Vikings again showed some fight in the third.
After falling behind 7-3, Lillian served a pair of aces and Alyssa Phillips added a well-placed hit as Hopewell battled back to tie the set at 8-8. Central Valley answered with four straight points and eventually closed out the match with a 15-10 win.
The results didn’t go Hopewell’s way, but the Vikings showed an ability to respond when challenged. They erased deficits in both the first and third sets, won a pressure-filled opener and received contributions throughout the lineup.
For a young JV group, learning how to sustain those stretches and limit an opponent’s scoring runs will be the next step in turning competitive matches like Thursday into wins.
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Junior Varsity Play-By-Play
First Set:
1-4 Hopewell on the board after a 4-0 start from CV
2-5 Lily Otto with a kill off the Brooke Otto set
3-5 Abby Babinsack serves for a point
4-6 Otto with another kill off the pass from Gianna Rossi and set from Brooke Otto
6-6 Brooke Otto with back-to-back aces
8-8 A back and forth start
9-9 Tied up again
10-9 Ava Ray with a great serve leading to a point
13-11 Lilianna Katcher with a great serve forcing an error
14-13 A long serve from CV breaks another tie
16-14 A great pass from Gianna Rossi and set from Katcher for a Lily Otto kill
17-14 Brooke Otto with another ace
18-14 Brooke Otto places a set
19-14 Hopewell with a great defense set leading to a point, forcing a CV timeout
20-14 Brooke Otto with an ace out of the timeout
21-17 Brooke Otto with a backset to Lily Otto for a kill
22-17 Lily Otto with an ace
23-20 Gianna Rossi with a desperation over the head dig that just creeps over
24-21 A good read by the back row on a long CV serve
24-23 CV with back-to-back points forcing a Hopewell timeout
24-24 CV ties it up
25-25 Hopewell ties it up
26-25 Lily Otto hammers a kill off a rare Babinsack set
27-25 Katcher with an ace to win a dramatic Set #1
Set #2
1-2 Hopewell with a point off the CV error
3-5 Lily Otto with another hard hit for a kill
4-6 Ava Ray with a nice hit off the Brooke Otto set
7-6 Lily Otto with three straight aces
8-9 Brooke Otto with a over the back dig for a point stopping a run
8-14 CV with a 5-point run forcing a Hopewell timeout
9-17 Babinsack with a kill off the Brooke Otto set
10-21 CV on another run
10-23 Babinsack with a kill
11-25 CV wins Set #2 to force a 3 rd
Set #3
1-0 Hopewell on the board first off, the Babinsack kill
2-3 CV with an error
3-5 Lily Otto with a deep hit forcing an error
3-7 CV with 2 points forcing a Hopewell timeout
4-8 Hopewell forces a CV error
5-8 Lily Otto with an ace
6-8 Alyssa Philips places a hit to the middle for a point
7-8 Lily Otto with another ace, timeout CV
8-8 Hopewell ties it up
8-12 CV with a 4-point run forcing a Hopewell timeout
9-12 Phillips with a nice kill off the Otto set
9-14 CV with an ace forcing match point
10-14 Babinsack with a kill that just catches the line
10-15 CV wins the match on a long serve
