Hopewell Girls Junior High Volleyball

Hopewell Township– As the 2025 season for the Hopewell Girls Junior High Volleyball program quickly comes to an end, one thing is certain, both the 7th and 8th grade teams are really improving.

A large group of these girls are improving, and the results are showing on the court. The latest example of that was yesterday as both teams defeated a very good Avonworth program.

Maybe the most impressive part about Friday’s win is that it was the Vikings 4th match in the last 5 days and despite that, they had one of their best performances of the season.

That was certainly the case with Hopewell’s 7th grade team as this group of girls continues to impress and win.

The Lady Vikings started off the afternoon by defeating Avonworth in 2 sets, 25-20 and 25-20.

Coming off her 10-ace performance against Eden Christian Academy, Brooke Otto continued her solid play with 4 more aces against Avonworth. Arionna Shell also connected with 4 aces, while Sam Holsinger and Alyssa Phillips dropped in an ace as well.

Taking a look at the 8th grade match, as has become customary, this team likes to make things interesting! After dropping the opening set, 25-22, the Vikings led Avonworth 18-17 and dug deep and won the final five points with Lillian Otto serving to pull it out, 25-21.

In the 3rd set, it was tight again at 9-9 until Lilliana Katcher and Bella Cipolla combined to serve for 4 of 5 points to go up 14-19, before winning 15-11.

Otto led Hopewell with 4 aces, followed by Katcher with 3, Abby Babinsack with 2 and Cipolla with 1.

The Hopewell girls have a much-deserved weekend off before finishing their season next week with matches against West Allegheny and Fort Cherry.

It will be a busy week for the Hopewell Girls Junior High Volleyball as they have 4 scheduled matches this week.

On Monday, the 7th and 8th grade teams both lost to Montour by scores of 2 sets to none. This afternoon, the competition didn’t get any easier as they hosted Quaker Valley. Unfortunately, both teams came up short again today.

Starting in the 7th grade match, the Lady Vikings fell in two sets, 25-18 and then 25-5. This follows a match last week where Hopewell was able to defeat QV in 3 sets.

Arionna Shell led Hopewell with 4 aces, while Sam Holsinger dropped in 1 ace.

The match with the 8th grade programs was a lot closer as Hopewell dropped a heartbreaker in 3 sets. Quaker Valley won the opening set 25-18, with Hopewell rebounding in a great second set, 27-25. In this set, Hopewell trailed 20-11 but fought back to win. In the 3rd set, Hopewell once again fell behind, 6-1, but to their credit, they came back before losing 15-13.

From the service line, Bella Cipolla paced Hopewell with 6 aces, Abby Babinsack came up with 4 aces, followed by Lillian Otto and Gianna Rossi with 2 and Lilianna Katcher had 1 ace.

The Vikings are back in action tomorrow at home as they host Eden Christian Academy with the 7th grade match starting at 3:30 PM and the 8th graders at 4:30 PM.

The volleyball program has 4 matches left in the season.

The girl’s junior high volleyball season is coming to an end and that’s too bad because both teams at Hopewell are playing well and getting better.

We saw more evidence of that on Friday as the Lady Vikings went on the road and pulled out an impressive win over rival Quaker Valley.

A shout out to the 7th grade team as this was their 4th consecutive victory! This team is really getting comfortable in their positions on the court and it’s showing on the court. Communicating is important in volleyball and this team is doing a tremendous job with that. Nice job ladies.

Taking a look at the box score of the 7th grade match, Hopewell won the opening set 25-15, lost the second set 25-12 but edged out Quaker Valley 15-13 in the 3rd and deciding set.

Looking at Hopewell’s serving leaders, Sam Holsinger, Alyssa Phillips and Brooke Otto paced the way with 3 aces apiece, while Arionna Shell and Amiyah Shell both picked up on.

Moving on to the 8th grade match, this was a huge win for this Hopewell team.

Although they’ve been playing well lately, it hasn’t shown in the win/loss column. Friday, the Lady Vikings had a chance to get some late season momentum against a quality team.

Things started out well as they won the opening set 25-17 but then dropped set two, 25-16. In the third set, things didn’t look good as they trailed 12-8, however, this group of girls showed resiliency, dug their heels in and won 7 of the last 8 points to pull out a 15-13 win!

Winning is Fun!

Shout out to Ava Ray as she led Hopewell with 3 aces, while Bella Cipolla, Lillian Otto, Abby Babinsack, Liliana Katcher and Gianna Rossi each picked up one ace.

Next week is a chance for you to come out and watch these talented players as they’ll have 4 matches at home.

The busy week starts on Monday vs. Montour, Tuesday vs. Quaker Valley, Wednesday vs. Eden Christian Academy and Friday vs. Avonworth. The 7th grade games start at 3:30 PM, followed by the 8th graders at approximately 4:30 PM. All matches are played at the Hopewell Junior High School.

After getting their feet wet and learning a new sport and how to compete, the Hopewell girl’s 7th grade volleyball team is on a roll.

Last week, they scored two impressive wins over Eden Christian Academy and Montour and continued their winning ways today.

The Lady Vikings 7th graders took on a solid South Fayette program and came away with a victory, their 3rd consecutive win. Hopewell won the first set 25-17 and followed that up with a 25-20 win in the second set.

It was a total team win, as is always the case in the sport of volleyball, but three 7th graders that had outstanding matches were Sam Holsinger, Brooke Otto and Arionna Shell. Holsinger had another strong outing from the serve line with 6 aces, followed by Otto with 5 and Shell with 4.

Taking a look at the 8th graders match, it was a case of not playing your best combined with taking on a very good team. When those two things are the case, it’s going to be difficult to win, which Hopewell didn’t. South ok Fayette won the first set 25-17 and followed that up by winning 25-16 in the second set.

Hopewell wasn’t able to get much when serving, only recording 7 aces in 34 attempts. Lillian Otto, Abby Babinsack and Lilianna Katcher each recorded 2 aces.

After the match, Vikings Sports Now got some comments from Hopewell head volleyball coach Terry Borkovic.

“The 7th grade team had a very impressive win over South Fayette,” Borkovic told VSN. “The team was solid in all phases of the game- serving, serve receive, and attacking. Sammi Holsinger had a number of service runs. Brooke Otto did a fantastic job in back court defense with some impressive digs. The seventh graders put together a total team effort to help secure the win.”

“The 8th grade team has been struggling of late. Serving and serve receive are the two areas the team needs to improve on. The physical effort is there. Their attitudes are positive. I feel that they are on the verge of a breakthrough. A win against one of the better teams in the conference will do wonders for their confidence. They are competitive against every team.”

“Defensive specialist, Lilianna Katcher has been a pleasant surprise. She works hard and strives to improve each day in practice and matches. Ava Ray, Libero, is a bundle of energy and helps the team stay competitive with passing and digging skills. Abby Babinsack and Lily Enders have been impressive with their front row attacking. We are heading into the home stretch of the season. The girls will play seven matches in ten days with a season ending match against Fort Cherry at home on March 19. I’m having fun! Yeah, more wins would be nice, but the girls are working hard and they bring positive energy. What more could a coach ask for?”

The Hopewell Junior High Volleyball program returns to action on Friday as they travel to Quaker Valley.

The Hopewell Junior High Girls 7th and 7th grade volleyball teams are extremely excited for their upcoming 2025 season.

With an already familiar 8th grade team, the Lady Vikings are craving the opportunity to improve upon their 7-8 record from last season.

Whereas the 8th grade team returns many of their players from last season, that’s not the case with the 7th grade team, which is full of newcomers to the sport of volleyball but are eagerly waiting to begin this brand-new sport.

I caught up with 8th grade head coach Terry Borkovic and discussed what he is looking forward to most this season, his goals for the team, and the differences between coaching middle schoolers and high schoolers.

Coach expressed that younger, developing players require a different approach and style of coaching.

“When coaching middle school players compared to high school, I need to have patience,” said Borkovic. “Patience is key when you’re working with younger grades. It is more of a teaching process, as opposed to coaching.”

While teaching will continue to be the key focus for this group, Coach Borkovic still has high hopes for ongoing success due to the commitment and energy displayed by the group.

“I think we have a really good group of girls here to grow and develop,” said Borkovic. “I’m looking forward to the energy, and watching the players improve from one match, from one practice to the next. Obviously, we’d like to have a winning record, but I just want to see the girls improve.”

While Coach Borkovic is coaching the 8th grade team, Lexi Thompson will be the coach of the 7th grade team.

We talked about what she is looking forward to this season, some of her favorite memories, and some tactics on how she develops new volleyball players.

Coach Thompson believes success with new volleyball players is centered around understanding the individuals on the team and ensuring that fundamentals are the focus.

“I want to get to know my girls as a person and watch them grow as volleyball players,” said Thompson. “To teach the new girls, you have to get back to the basics; the ‘nitty gritty’ of being a volleyball player and then putting it all together and watching them succeed.”

The Hopewell coaching staff’s formula and complimentary style is working because success is the name of the game for Hopewell Lady Vikings Volleyball. One of the remarkable parts about the Hopewell High School Girls volleyball program is the long-term stability that has been in place with the coaches. Coach Borkovic has been the Hopewell Volleyball Coach for 35 years, and Coach Thompson, a previous Hopewell Volleyball player, has been a Junior High Coach for four years. Having that stability between the Junior High and Varsity programs is extremely beneficial and allows for quick transition into the JV and Varsity levels.

All home games will be played at Gym A at the Hopewell Junior High, 7th Grade starts at 3:30 PM and 8th grade follows. Please some out and support this hard-working team at one (or more) of the following Home Games:

2/19: vs. South Fayette

2/24: vs. Quaker Valley

3/3: vs. West Allegheny

3/10: vs. Montour

3/12: vs. Eden Christian

3/14: vs. Avonworth

3/19: vs. Fort Cherry