vikingssportsn LEETSDALE, PA- Hopewell 2-2 (1-1) came out swinging and built a 2-1 set advantage, but Quaker Valley battled back to force a deciding fifth set and escaped with a 3-2 victory Thursday night in Leetsdale.
The Vikings looked good after a strong start, using an aggressive attack and strong serving to take the opening set, 25-14. Addison Blosnick and Avery Boyd delivered several early kills, while Hannah McDowell provided a spark both at the service line and from the back row. Arianna Fisher added consecutive aces as Hopewell steadily pulled away.
In the second set, Hopewell held an advantage through the first part of the set behind Boyd, McDowell and Blosnick, but QB erased a 4-point deficit with a mid-set run, tying the set at 18 before pulling away for a 25-20 win.
Hopewell responded with its most dominant stretch of the night in set three. McDowell took control early with a kill and back-to-back aces as the Vikings raced ahead 9-2. Mikayla Kurta was a force at the net with kills and a huge block, while Teagan Murray kept the offense moving and added an ace of her own. Marina Pinchotti helped close things out form the service line as Hopewell rolled, 25-10, to move within one set of the match.
But Quaker Valley refused to go away.
McDowell powered Hopewell to an early lead in the fourth, but QB fought back from a 7-3 deficit and eventually took control. The Vikings made a late push behind kills from Kurta and Boyd, but Quaker Valley held on, 25-22, send the match to a decisive fifth set.
QB grabbed the early advantage in the fifth and stretched its lead to 10-5 before Hopewell mounted one final charge. McDowell helped ignite the comeback, and Murray dropped an ace just over the net as the Vikings pulled within 11-10. After QB pushed the lead back to 14-11, Hopewell refused to fold.
McDowell hammered a kill, Boyd buried an overpass, and suddenly the Vikings were within one at 14-13. Quaker Valley ended the comeback though, with a shot to the back corner, taking the deciding set, 15-13 and the match, 3-2.
Despite the loss, Hopewell showed plenty throughout the five-set battle. McDowell was a consistent problem for the QV defense, Boyd and Blosnick supplied attacking power, and Kurta and Fischer made their presence felt at the net. Murray directed the offense while also contributing with serving, dumps and blocking, and Pinchotti, Tessa Burgess and Cici Smetana helped anchor a back row defense that made a significant number of excellent passes forward.
The Vikings were at their best when they played aggressively, combing powerful swings with a strong presence at the net. Quaker Valley ultimately survived the final push, but Hopewell showed its ability to control long stretches of the match and nearly erased a five-point deficit in the decisive fifth set. It’s a tough road loss, but also one the Vikings can learn form and build on as they move forward.
Here’s a play-by-play recap of the night:
Set #1
1-3 Hopewell on the board after a quick start from QV
2-4 Good read from Marina Pinchotti on a long serve
3-4 Pinchotti follows it up with an ace
4-6 Avery Boyd with a nice kill down the line
5-6 Hannah McDowell with a rocket serve leading to an error
6-6 McDowell with an ace
7-6 Addison Blosnick hammers an overpass to the floor
8-6 Boyd’s turn to crush an overpass
9-6 Blosnick with a strong kill through the QV block.
10-6 Blosnick with another big swing. Hopewell is hitting tonight!
12-7 A great defensive play from Hopewell to grab the point
13-8 McDowell with a massive back row kill
16-8 Arianna Fischer with back-to-back aces
17-11 QV sends a free ball wide stopping a run
19-11 Tessa Burgess with a nice serve leading to a long return
20-12 Mikalya Kurta with a kill to the middle
21-13 Kurta with a nifty hit off the set from Teagan Murray
22-13 Murray dumps one to the middle great mass chaos
23-13 Boyd with a strong kill off the Murray set
24-13 Pinchotti with the serve leading to a point
25-14 Fischer hits one through the block, Set #1 to Hopewell
Set #2
1-2 A long QV serve gets Hopewell on the board
2-3 Pinchotti with an excellent pass to Murray who sets it up for Boyd
4-3 Pinchotti with a great set to Boyd for another kill
6-3 McDowell with another big swing through the QV block
7-3 Fischer with a pair of blocks to get the point
8-5 Boyd with a nice tip on the long pass
10-6 Boyd with an ace
11-9 Blosnick with the kill to stop a QV run
12-9 Murray with another dump into the fire
13-11 Cici Smetana with a great read on a wide shot
14-11 Smetana with nice pass to Murray for a McDowell kill
17-13 Pinchotti drops a serve just over the net for an ace
18-18 QV ties up the set on a 4-point run
18-20 Timeout Hopewell after 2 more QV points
19-22 Boyd with a kill for a much-needed point
20-23 Blosnick with a strong kill down the line
20-25 QV wins Set #2
Set #3
1-0 Kurta with a nice kill to get it started
2-0 Murray serves forcing an error
3-0 Another QV error
5-1 2 excellent defensive plays from Hopewell. Pinchotti & Burgess all over the back row
6-2 McDowell overpowers QV on the kill
7-2 An excellent serve from McDowell forcing a wide return
8-2 McDowell with an ace, timeout QV
9-2 McDowell with another ace
10-3 Blosnick places a kill right to the corner
11-5 Fischer with a nice kill to the right side
12-5 Kurta finds the ball at the last second for a kill
14-7 Kurta with a huge block
15-9 Kurta smashes a kill through their block
17-9 Murray with some serves leading to QV errors. Timeout QV
19-9 Murray with an ace
21-10 Pinchotti with an ace that just catches the backline
23-10 Boyd with a block
24-10 Boyd and Fischer team up for another block
25-10 Pinchotti with a nice serving run to finish out Set #3
Set #4
1-0 A nice back and forth rally ended by McDowell’s kill
2-0 McDowell flat foots one over fooling the defense
3-2 Smetana with a nice pass to Murray who sets McDowell again for a kill
4-3 Another back-and-forth point ended by McDowell. She’s a problem for QV
6-3 QV with 2 errors in a row off Pinchotti’s serve
7-3 Boyd with a strong kill. QV afraid to swing based on Hopewell’s blocking.
8-7 QV on a run with some crafty tip shots
8-8 QV ties it up
8-11 QV hits an over pass for another point. Timeout Hopewell.
9-11 Boyd places a tip shot out of the timeout for a needed point
10-14 Smetana with a nice read on a long serve
11-15 Murray with a nice block at the net that drops in for a point
12-18 QV extending their lead, timeout Hopewell
13-18 Kurta powers a kill through the block
14-18 Boyd with a strong kill off the Murray set
15-18 QV with a wide return. Murray on a serving run.
16-21 Kurta smashes one into the QV player
17-22 QV with an error
19-23 QV returns one wide. Timeout QV
20-23 Boyd with an ace
22-24 Murray drops an overpass for a point
22-25 QV wins Set #4, on to the 5th .
Set #5
1-0 Hopewell on the board off the QV error
1-1 QV with the block on Kurta
2-2 QV with a wide return
2-5 QV grabs an early lead, timeout Hopewell
4-6 Fischer and Murray hammer a block
5-7 McDowell with a big back row kill
5-9 QV with a kill to extend their lead
5-10 QV with an ace
6-10 QV with a wide serve.
6-11 QV with a point on a back-and-forth rally
7-11 McDowell with a push to the back corner
8-11 QV with a wide shot. Murray on the serve
9-11 Murray drops an ace just over the net. Timeout QV
10-11 QV with an error out of the timeout
10-13 Timeout Hopewell after 2 QV points
11-13 Kurta hammers a kill off a great set from Murray
11-14 QV with a tip shot to get to Match point
12-14 McDowell with a kill the just catches the backline
13-14 Boyd drills an over pass for a huge point. Timeout QV
13-15 QV wins the set and match on a shot to the back corner.
After 2 straight section games on the road, Hopewell returns home on Monday 9/14 for a Non-Section matchup vs Canon McMillian before returning to section play on Tuesday 9/15 at Riverside.
