vikingssportsn Hopewell’s JV girls’ volleyball team showed some fight when it mattered most, rallying from a late deficit in the opening set before taking control in the second to earn a 26-24, 25-10 sweep of Beaver Falls.
Abby Babinsack got Hopewell started with a kill and added an early ace, but Beaver falls answered with a run of its own. The Vikings settled in behind contributions throughout the lineup, including kills from Alyssa Phillips and Lillian Otto and strong serving from Bella Cipolla and Ava Ray.
Ray helped Hopewell build some separation with back-to-back aces during a run that pushed the Vikings ahead 12-8. Otto followed with a pair of kills, Liliana Katcher added an ace and Babinsack delivered another as Hopewell stretched the advantage to 17-10.
But Beaver Falls wasn’t going away. The Tigers stormed back, eventually erasing the Hopewell lead and moving ahead 24-22 with two chances to close out the set.
That’s when the Vikings responded.
Ray kept Hopewell alive with a well-placed shot for a kill and then stepped to the service line with the Vikings still facing set point. Ava delivered an ace to tie it at 24-24 and continued serving as Hopewell scored the next two points to complete the comeback, 26-24.
The momentum carried directly into Set Two.
Sam Holsinger opened the set with a one-handed dump and then began directing a balanced Hopewell attack. Cipolla passed to Holsinger for a Phillips kill, Otto hammered a cross-court winner and later finished a Holsinger bump set before mixing in a tip that forced another Tigers error.
Hopewell continued to pull away with contributions from everywhere. Babinsack and Katcher added aces, Otto scored from several spots and Phillips continued to find the floor. Holsinger kept the offense moving, setting Phillips and Babinsack for kills who also connecting with Ray throughout the set.
Ray once again took over at the service line late, delivering back-to-back aces and forcing another Beaver Falls error as the lead grew to 23-8. Phillips followed with a finesse shot to the left side before Holsinger set Ray for a backrow kill to finish off the 25-10 victory and the match.
More than anything, it was a nice response from a Hopewell team that could have easily let the first set slip away. After seeing a 17-10 lead turn into a 24-22 deficit, the Vikings didn’t panic.
Ray came through in the biggest moment, first keeping the set alive with a kill and then stepping to the service line and helping Hopewell score the final four points. Instead of carrying the frustration of the blown lead into Set Two, the Vikings carried the momentum of the
comeback and turned it into a convincing finish.
The JV now gets some much-deserved rest and will pick back up next Tuesday 9/22 @ Avonworth.
Here’s the play-by-play recap from tonight:
Set #1
1-0 Abby Babinsack with the kill to get things started
2-2 Babinsack with a flip to the middle. Ava Ray with a nice pass.
3-2 Babinsack with an ace
4-6 Beaver Falls on an early run
5-6 Good read by Lilianna Katcher on a long serve
6-7 Alyssa Phillips with a nice hit off the net finding the middle
7-7 Bella Cipolla with an ace
8-8 Cipolla with a nice pass to Sam Holsinger, setting Philipps for the kill
9-8 Babinsack with a tip shot to the middle
11-8 Ray with back-to-back aces
12-8 Ray with another nice serve leading to an error. Timeout Tigers.
14-9 Lillian Otto with a nice shot for a kill
15-9 Katcher with an ace
16-10 Otto with a nice one-handed shot for a kill
17-10 Babinsack with an ace
18-11 Nice read by Katcher and Ray on a long serve
18-16 Beaver Falls on another run, Timeout Hopewell
18-18 Tie game
18-20 Beaver Falls with a 2-point lead
19-20 A wide serve from Beaver Falls stops the run
20-21 Ray with a nice down-ball off the net for a kill
21-21 Cipolla with an ace to tie it back up
22-21 Cipolla with another ace
22-22 Beaver Falls ties it up again
22-24 Beaver Falls gets to Set point
23-24 Ray with a flip shot for a kill
24-24 Ray with an ace
25-24 Hopewell with a nice comeback to get to Set point
26-24 Hopewell win Set #1. Clutch serving by Ray to close out the comeback.
Set #2
1-0 Holsinger with a nice one-handed dump to get Set 2 started
2-2 Cipolla with a nice pass up to Holsinger for the set to Phillips for a kill
3-2 Otto with a nice swing for a cross-court kill
4-2 Babinsack with a strong shot causing the Tigers error.
5-2 Katcher with an ace
6-2 Otto with another kill. Nice bump set from Holsinger.
7-3 Otto with a tip shot forcing an error by Beaver Falls
8-3 Babinsack with an ace
9-5 A great back and forth rally ends in Tigers net error. Several great passes and hits
10-5 Otto with a nice down ball from a tough angle. Forcing the error
11-5 Ray tips a bump set over from Holsinger.
13-6 Otto with an ace that just flips over the net
14-6 Otto with a great serve
15-7 Gianna Rossi with a nice read on a long serve
16-7 Cipolla’s serve causes a Beaver Falls error
18-7 Ray with a cross-court shot off the net that catches a hand
19-8 Phillips with a nice kill off the pass from Cipolla and set from Holsinger
20-8 Babinsack with a hard hit off Holsinger set for a kill
22-8 Ray with back-to-back aces. The second just crying over the net
23-8 Ray continuing to serve well tonight, forcing a Beaver Falls error.
24-10 Phillips with another finesse shot finding the floor on the left side
25-10 Holsinger sets Ray on a back row kill to finish out Set #2 and the match.
