Lillian Otto Hopewell hosted Quaker Valley on Thursday night for their annual Pink Out match in support of Breast Cancer Awareness. Coming off Tuesday’s big win over OLSH, the Vikings looked to carry that momentum into their first rematch of the season— and they did just that.
In the opening set, Hopewell jumped out to a quick 9-1 lead. Quaker Valley fought back, cutting the margin to 11-6 and later 15-10, but the Vikings regained control. Strong passing from Ella Goodrum, Marina Pinchotti, and Brianna Inderelst set up Bella Ceccarelli, who found multiple hitters. Hannah McDowell, Lahna Murray, Sky Ross, and Mikayla Kurta all finished great plays, allowing Hopewell to close out the set 25-15.
Set two began with Quaker Valley taking an early 12-7 advantage. Hopewell regrouped, however, and rallied behind a hot stretch from McDowell on the left side. Ceccarelli fed her repeatedly, leading to five kills and an ace to even the score. After the set tightened at 18-18, key points from Avery Boyd and Inderelst put Hopewell back in front. On set point, Pinchotti’s pass and Ceccarelli’s set connected perfectly with Kurta, who buried the ball to seal a 25-22 win.
Learning from their slow start in set two, Hopewell played with more urgency in the third. A block and kill from McDowell set the tone, and Inderelst’s standout defense, including an excellent diving save that Ceccarelli smartly tipped over the net, energized the team. Inderelst then charged from the back row and crushed a ball, overwhelming the Quaker Valley defense, swinging momentum firmly in Hopewell’s favor. From there, the Vikings dominated to finish the sweep with a 25-13 victory.
The win keeps Hopewell a perfect 8-0 in section play and 10-0 overall. Next up is a key road rematch against #3 Avonworth in a rare Monday matchup, which always a tough place to play.
Beyond the court though, the night was an even bigger success. The Pink Out fundraiser is projected to have raised close to $1,700 for breast cancer awareness. A heartfelt thank you goes out to all who helped organize the event and to everyone in attendance for their generous support.
Here is a recap of each set:
Set 1
1-0 Hopewell on the board as Bella Ceccarelli sets up Lahna Murray for a kill
2-0 Ceccarelli again with a set, this time to Brianna Inderelst for the kill
4-0 Ceccarelli with a serve that Quaker Valley returns to an Inderelst kill
6-1 Ella Goodrum with a great pass to Ceccarelli who sneakily set it just over the net
8-1 Murray with a serve that QV returns long. The fast start forcing an early QV timeout
9-1 Mikalya Kurta with a kill off a Ceccarelli set
11-6 A QV serve error stops an early run
12-7 Inderelst passes to Ceccarelli who sets up a nice kill from Hannah McDowell
14-8 Addison Davis with a great pass that ends up with a Murray kill
15-10 Ceccarelli with a no-look set that finds the floor
17-10 Murray with a block
19-10 Sky Ross with a kill off another Ceccarelli set
20-11 Murray with a finesse tip that fools the defense
22-14 Ross with a quick heads-up tip over the net causing an error
23-15 Kurta with a powerful kill off Pinchotti pass to Ceccarelli’s set
24-15 Addison Davis ace
25-15 Hannah McDowell with a great kill to finish set 1
Set 2
1-0 Hopewell on the board first
2-0 McDowell with a nice serve forcing an error
3-5 Murray with a kill to stop an early QV Run
3-8 QV forces an early Hopewell timeout
5-12 QV continues to control the front part of the set
7-12 McDowell with back-to-back kills from Ceccarelli
9-12 Kurta with a left-handed slam
10-12 McDowell hammers a QV return
11-14 McDowell with left-handed flip to the floor.
12-14 McDowell with another strong swing
13-15 Murray with a kill from a great Pinchotti pass
14-15 McDowell with an ace
16-17 Ceccarelli with an ace
18-18 Hopewell gets it back to even off Murray serves
19-18 Avery Boyd with a strong hit off a Ceccarelli set to put Hopewell back in front
21-20 Inderelst with a kill
23-20 Inderelst with an ace
24-21 Boyd barely bumps a shot over the net surprising QV.
25-22 Pinchotti with a great pass to Ceccarelli that Kurta finishes for a kill
Set 3
1-1 Hopewell on the board off a Murray tip
4-1 with an early run off Bella Ceccarelli serves
6-5 A wide QV return tops an early run
8-5 McDowell with a block
9-5 McDowell with a kill off a Ceccarelli set
10-5 Inderelst serve causes a QV error
11-6 Inderelst sells out on a diving dig that Ceccarelli flips over for a point
12-6 Kurta hammers a kill
13-8 McDowell with a strong kill
14-8 Hopewell with some excellent defense
15-8 Inderelst hammers a shot from the back row for a kill
16-8 Davis with an ace
18-9 McDowell with a great serve causing an error
19-10 Murray with a kill
21-13 Inderelst with a hard hit that QV returns out
23-13 Hopewell with some great defense again that eventually forces the error
24-13 Inderelst serves for another point
25-13 Hopewell closes out the match 3-0 on a QV error
Earlier in the night the Junior Varsity team came out strong, looking to avenge their only loss on the season which occurred at Quaker Valley.
The first set went back forth early, with Hopewell grabbing the lead in the middle portion on some nice offensive plays from Jiselle Cain & Madeline Earley. After getting to a 22-17 score off an impressive Addison Blosnick block, QV came roaring back with a 5-point run to tie the match at 22-22. Blosnick finished it out though, with 2 impressive serves closing the set 25-23.
The second set was more of the same. Going back and forth with several great plays from Lily Oldham and Teagen Murray on both offensive and defense. Blosnick and Abigail Babinsack had some important plays to keep pace with QV throughout the back half of the match. Murray then ripped off 3 straight aces to give Hopewell some late breathing room and Oldham finished off the match with an ace of her own.
The JV team heads to Beaver this weekend for their first tournament of the season.
Here’s a recap of the JV sets:
Set 1
1-1 Hopewell on the board off a Jiselle Cain kill
2-2 Cain with another kill
4-2 Lily Oldham with an ace
6-8 Madeline Earley with a nice hit forcing a Quaker Valley error
8-10 A good read on a long QV serve
10-10 Addison Blosnick with back-to-back aces
12-10 Blosnick on fire from the serve line with another ace
14-11 Teagen Murray with a nice kill to the back corner
16-12 Earley with a great block
17-13 Oldham with a great cross court kill
19-15 Blosnick with a nice hit forcing an error
21-17 Abigail Babinsack with a kill off a nice pass from Tessa Burgess and set from Murray
22-17 Blosnick with a block
22-22 QV with a 5-point run to tie it up and force a timeout
23-23 A long QV serve keeps the match in reach
24-23 Blosnick with a great serve forcing an error
25-23 Blosnick with another serve that gets returned for an immediate kill from Babinsack.
Set 2
1-0 Hopewell on the board first off, a Murray serve that QV returns out
2-1 Cain with a kill to the back left corner
5-4 Murray with a powerful kill of a Sydney Malackanich set
6-5 Oldham with a desperation dig that clears the net causing a QV error
7-7 Oldham with another cross court shot forcing an error
8-8 Back and forth we go, Oldham with another kill
10-12 Blosnick with a pass to Murray who sets it right back for a Blosnick kill
12-12 Blosnick with a block to tie it back up
13-15 Earley with a down ball forcing an error
15-17 Hopewell with 2 important points to stay close
17-18 Babinsack with an ace
19-18 Babinsack with 2 more sharp serves forcing QV errors
20-19 Ava Ray with a nice pass to Murray who sets up Oldham for the kill
22-19 Murray with 3 straight aces
24-20 QV serves it wide giving Hopewell match point
25-20 Oldham with an ace to close the match.
