vikingssportsn Hopewell, PA – Hopewell’s Junior Varsity Volleyball team (7-4) showed plenty of fight Tuesday night, rallying from a first-set loss and a second-set deficit to defeat Quaker Valley in three sets,
22-25, 25-21 and 15-8 during Hopewell’s Pink Out night.
The Vikings found themselves in an early 7-3 hole in the opening set before beginning to battle back. Lillian Otto helped spark the comeback with a kill off a wide set from Brooke Otto, then delivered back-to-back aces as Hopewell erased the deficit and tied the set at 10.
Hopewell continued to build momentum behind kills from Alyssa Phillips, Abby Babinsack and Otto, along with an Ava Ray ace, eventually taking a 20-15 advantage.
But Quaker Valley responded with a late run, tying the set at 20 before eventually moving in front. Lillian Otto’s kill fought off one set point, but QV closed out the opener, 25-22. Quaker Valley carried that momentum into the second set and opened a 9-4 advantage, putting
Hopewell in another early hole. This time, the Vikings completed the comeback. Ray contributed a kill and an ace, Bella Cipolla and Ray anchored the defense, while Brooke Otto mixed in a well-placed dump and later an ace as Hopewell slowly chipped away. Trailing 18-14,
the Vikings caught fire.
Hopewell scored five straight to take a 19-18 lead, with Ray tying the set on a down ball. Otto’s serving run included multiple aces and helped turn the four-point deficit into a 23-18 Hopewell advantage. Phillips eventually finished the 25-21 victory with a down ball to force a deciding third set.
Hopewell made sure it wouldn’t need another comeback in the finale.
The Vikings jumped ahead 3-0 and stretched the lead to 6-2 behind strong defense from Liliana Katcher and a block from Ellie McCoy. Brooke Otto followed with an ace, while Sam Holsinger kept another point alive with a strong dig that McCoy finished with a tip into the middle.
Phillips then helped put the match away, delivering consecutive kills as Hopewell stretched its advantage to 12-8. Quaker Valley never scored again, as the Vikings closed the match on a 4-0 run to take the deciding set, 15-8.
It was a resilient win for Hopewell, which had to respond twice, first after letting a late lead slip away in the opening set, and then after falling behind again in the second. Instead of allowing the first-set disappointment to carry over, the Vikings fought their way back into the match with strong defense and aggressive offense, saving their strongest volleyball for the finish. Hopewell is right back at it tomorrow, with Riverside coming to Hopewell.
Here’s the play-by-play recap:
Set #1
1-1 Ava Ray with a good read on a wide serve to get Hopewell started
2-1 Liliana Katcher with an ace
3-7 Quaker Valley on an early run, Timeout Hopewell
4-8 Lillian Otto hits one through the block for a kill off the wide set from Brooke Otto
5-8 Abby Babinsack on the serve, QV with a wide return
7-10 Otto with another big swing
9-10 Lillian Otto with back-to-back aces
10-10 Hopewell ties it up
11-10 Otto with another nice serve. Timeout Quaker Valley.
12-10 Otto with another ace out of the timeout
13-13 Quaker Valley
14-13 Alyssa Philips with the kill. Bella Cipolla with a nice pass forward
15-13 Ray with an ace
16-14 Babinsack with a kill off the Brooke Otto set.
17-14 Otto with a sharp cross-court kill
19-14 Katcher on a serving run, Otto continuing to hit strong outside. Timeout QV.
20-15 Otto with another kill.
20-19 QV coming back
20-20 Tied up
21-20 QV with a serving error
21-21 Tied up again
21-22 QV takes the lead. Timeout Hopewell
21-24 QV gets to set point
22-24 Otto with a kill to stay alive.
22-25 QV takes Set #1
Set #2
1-2 Babinsack with the kill off Otto’s set
2-2 Katcher on the serve, QV with an error
3-5 QV with an error, nice pass defensively from Cipolla
4-5 Ellie McCoy places a shot right to the middle for a point
4-9 QV extending their lead. Timeout Hopewell
5-9 QV with a long return to stop the run
6-10 Katcher with a good read on a long serve
7-10 Otto with an ace
9-12 Ray with a kill off Otto’s set. Excellent pass from Cipolla
10-12 Brooke Otto dumps one to the corner
11-12 Ray with an ace
13-16 Otto tips one over for a much-needed point
14-18 Katcher with a great pass, Otto with the kill.
15-18 Brooke Otto with an ace
16-18 QV with an error
17-18 Otto with an outside kill
18-18 Ray with a down ball for a point
19-18 Brooke Otto on a serving run. Hopewell retakes the lead. Timeout QV
20-18 Otto skims the net on a serve, forcing the error
21-18 Otto with an ace
23-18 Otto with another ace, 8 straight points off her serve. Another QV timeout.
24-20 QV with a wide serve.
25-21 Philips with a down ball to finish out Set #2
Set #3
1-0 Hopewell on the board early
2-0 Katcher serving, QV with a wide return.
3-0 QV with an error
4-1 Otto with the kill off Otto’s set. Ray with a great pass up.
6-2 Katcher with an excellent dig. McCoy blocks the return. Timeout QV
7-2 Brooke Otto with an ace
8-3 Sam Holsinger with a great dig that McCoy tips to the middle
9-6 A QV error stops a run
10-6 Philips flips on over causing the error
11-8 Phillips with a huge swing for a kill off Otto’s set
12-8 Ray on the serve, Phillips with another big kill. Timeout QV
13-8 QV with a wide return, good read by Cipolla
14-8 QV with a serving error giving Hopewell match point
15-8 Hopewell pulls off the comeback!
