Hopewell Girls Volleyball

Hopewell traveled to OLSH on Wednesday night for their final regular season game, bringing along their 12–1 Section record. OLSH entered the night with the same mark, meaning this match would decide the WPIAL 2A Section 1 Champion.

Sometimes a match with this much build-up doesn’t live up to the hype, but this one absolutely did!

Set 1:
Both teams traded early points before OLSH began to find their rhythm, building a steady lead with strong hitting and forcing Hopewell into an early timeout. Despite solid efforts from Brianna Inderelst, Hannah McDowell, and Lahna Murray, OLSH controlled much of the frame, taking Set 1 by a 25–15 score.

Set 2:
The Chargers again jumped out quickly, forcing Hopewell to regroup after a 0–4 start. The Vikings fought back behind steady play from Addison Davis, Inderelst, and McDowell, who stacked together several late kills and an ace to close the gap. Despite the rally, OLSH’s early cushion held as they claimed Set 2, 25–20, to go up 2–0 in the match.

Set 3:
Down two sets, Hopewell’s energy and defensive game plan flipped. McDowell opened with back-to-back aces, and Inderelst, Boyd, Murray and Kurta dominated at the net with an improved blocking game on OLSH’s hitters. Marina Pinchotti added consecutive aces, while Hopewell’s serve pressure and defensive completely changed the tone. The Vikings cruised to a 25–15 win to stay alive.

Set 4:
With some newfound momentum and a great away Hopewell crowd behind them, the Vikings kept things rolling in the 4^th set.  Boyd, McDowell, Kurta, and Murray all delivered key kills, with Ceccarelli setting up the hitting offense. With strong serving from Davis and clutch defensive passing from Ella Goodrum, Hopewell evened the match with a 25–18 win, forcing a fifth and final set for the Section title.

Set 5:
The deciding set was everything you could want from a championship match. Hopewell started strong, capitalizing on OLSH errors and key kills from Kurta and Murray to take a 7–3 lead. OLSH fought back though, tying it up at 8–8.  OLSH pushed ahead 12-9 and was on the verge of closing it out, but Hopewell responded with incredible poise, winning 3 straight points to tie it back up at 12-12.  From there, the set turned into a point-for-point battle with the gym erupting on every score. The final set was tied at the scores of 13-13, 14-14, 15-15, & 16-16. McDowell, Inderelst, and Kurta each delivered clutch swings down the stretch, and with the score tied again at 17–17, the Vikings refused to back down.

With Pinchotti serving, Hopewell grabbed the lead at 18-17 on a back row kill that OLSH couldn’t handle and then finished the incredible comeback performance off on the final point which brought the team bench and Hopewell crowd to their feet, sealing the win 19–17 and claiming the WPIAL 2A Section 1 Championship!

An incredible comeback and statement victory for Hopewell, who showed true championship heart and grit when it mattered the most.

With the Section Championship completed, the focus now flips to a return to the WPIAL 2A Playoffs, where Hopewell will await more information regarding seeding, game times and potential opponents.

Here is a recap tonight’s sets:

Set 1:

1-1 Hopewell on the board

2-2 OLSH with an error

3-6 Hopewell with a good read on a long serve

4-6 Brianna Inderelst with a kill off the set from Bella Ceccarelli

4-8 OLSH forces an early Hopewell timeout

6-10 Lahna Murray with a tip shot causing an error

7-11 Hannah McDowell with a kill off a great set from Ceccarelli

8-13 OLSH in front with some strong hitting

10-13 Ceccarelli with a serve that OLSH returns long

12-15 Addison Davis with a serve causing an error

13-18 OLSH with another strong kill

14-19 Hopewell with another timeout trying to stop the OLSH run

14-22 Hopewell in trouble this set

15-24 OLSH with set point

15-25 OLSH wins set 1

Set 2:

0-4 OLSH with an early run, forcing a timeout.

1-5 Hopewell on the board with a long OLSH hit

2-6 OLSH with a long serve

3-8 Ceccarelli with a nice punch shot that catches the back line

3-11 OLSH continuing to pour on the offense

5-15 OLSH with a block

6-15 McDowell with a strong kill off the Ceccarelli set

7-15 OLSH returns one wide after a nice block from Kurta

8-17 Kurta hammers a kill for a point

9-17 Inderelst with a kill

10-18 Inderelst with a kill that catches the very back of the line

12-18 Murray tips one for a point

13-19 Avery Boyd with a hit causing an error

16-20 OLSH with a return out forcing a timeout

17-22 McDowell with a nice hit on an overpass that OLSH returns back to an open spot.

18-23 McDowell with a kill

19-23 McDowell with an ace

20-24 Kurta hammers a kill

20-25 OLSH wins set 2

Set 3:

• McDowell starts off set 3 with back-to-back aces

3-1 Ceccarelli dumps one for a point

4-1 Inderelst kills an overpass

5-5 Boyd places a shot for a point to stop an OLSH run

6-6 Boyd and Murray combine for a block

7-6 Hopewell back in the lead

9-6 Boyd with another block, timeout OLSH

10-6 Boyd with a kill.

11-8 OLSH with a wide return

13-8 Marina Pinchotti with back-to-back aces

14-9 Murray with powerful hit for a point

16-9 Murray with some good serves, the second forcing an error

19-10 Ceccarelli with a great flip shot for a point

20-11 Kurta with another kill off a great set from Ceccarelli

21-13 Boyd with a big swing that OLSH sends to the rafters

22-13 Davis with a strong serve that gets returned wide

23-15 Murray with a tip shot causing an error

25-15 Boyd with back-to-back blocks to finish out Set 3

Set 4:

Inderelst with a hit that catches an OLSH finger

2-2 Boyd with a cross-court kill

3-2 Murray places a shot on a quick set from Ceccarelli

5-5 McDowell pushes one right into the middle for a point

7-6 Hopewell grabs a lead

8-7 McDowell with a kill

9-8 Kurta hammers an overpass

10-10 OLSH ties it back up

11-11 Back and forth we go in set 4

13-13 Hopewell with a nice block that OLSH returns long

14-13 McDowell with a block

16-14 A great rally ends with an OLSH hit wide

18-14 Murray with an ace, OLSH burns another timeout

20-16 McDowell hammers a kill off the set from Ceccarelli

21-17 Ceccarelli with a great defensive play that finds the floor

22-17 Boyd with a great kill

23-18 OLSH returns one long.  Ella Goodrum with 2 great passes

24-18 Hopewell reaches set point on the Davis serve

25-18 To the 5^th set we go!

Set 5:

Kurta destroys a kill that flies to the ceiling

3-1 OLSH with a long return.

4-1 OLSH with an error

6-2 OLSH with another long return.  Hopewell’s back row reading the hits well.

7-3 Murray with a big swing that OLSH blocks wide

8-5 Hopewell with a return pass that somehow finds the floor

8-7 OLSH with a quick run, forcing a timeout.

8-8 Tied up

9-8 Hopewell back in front on a long hit

9-10 OLSH takes the lead on a block

10-12 McDowell with a much needed kill to stay in the set.

11-12 Inderelst with a hit forcing an error

12-12 Inderelst with another kill

13-13 Tied up again

14-13 McDowell with an ace

14-14 OLSH answers to tie it back up

14-15 OLSH gets to match point.

15-15 Hopewell answers again with a great block.

16-15 Hopewell takes the lead to reach match point

16-16 OLSH answers with a flip shot that finds the middle.

17-16 Hopewell grabs the lead to get to another match point.

17-17 OLSH answers again on a kill

18-17 Hopewell back in front again

19-17 I’ll let the video describe this point!

Earlier in the night, Junior Varsity finished their season with a 2-1 loss to OLSH.  Hopewell won Set #1 25-16 but then lost Set #2 17-25 and the deciding 3^rd Set 11-15.

Their season ends with an impressive 13-3 record.  VSN will be putting together a Junior Varsity season recap over the next few days, so stay tuned for that!

The Hopewell Girls volleyball team continued their march to the playoffs and hopefully a section championship with a sweep last night over New Brighton.

It was a special and memorable night as it was Senior Night as six members of the Hopewell team were recognized before the match.

Hopewell Volleyball Senior Athletes:

#4 – Addison Davis – Libero

#6 – Sky Ross – Right Side Hitter

#9 – Briana Inderelst – Outside Hitter

#11 – Isabella Ceccarelli – Setter

#15 – Lahna Murray – Middle Hitter

#24 – Ella Goodrum – Defensive Specialist  

Vikings Sports Now ace photographer Ed Thompson made the drive to Hopewell to get photos from the evening. Here is what Thompson put together from the Lady Vikings JV match, Senior Night Festivities and the Varsity Match. Thanks Ed, we appreciate you.

Hopewell's Bella Ceccarelli

Hopewell's Bella Ceccarelli

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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.

Hopewell Township– A competitive volleyball match is one of the more nerve-wracking things that you can watch in person and that was certainly the case tonight as the Hopewell Girls Volleyball team opened the 2025 season against Central Valley.

Hopewell came away with a 4-set win, but each set was close as the ladies from Central Valley played a tough match, found a way to hang around and gave Hopewell everything they could handle.

Credit to both programs for playing a very entertaining match to start the season.

My Three Stars of the Match: 1) Bella Ceccarelli 2) Briana Inderelst 3) Mikayla Kurta

Here’s a recap of the big points of the match:

1st Set:
*Ceccarelli solid serve, Mikayla Kurta with eventual kill. Hopewell 3-1
*Ceccarelli with a quick flop shot in the middle of court, which was wide open, Hopewell 4-3
*Long rally, Sky Ross with the tip for the winner, Hopewell 5-3
*Addison Davis with the serve nice rally but Inderelst with the winner up the line, Hopewell 6-3
*Following a rally, Hannah McDowell with a slam and winner at the net, Hopewell 10-5
*Inderelst with an ace, Hopewell 12-5
*Mariana Pinchotti with an ace, Hopewell 14-7
*Ceccarelli sets up Kurta for the kill down the middle, Hopewell 16-10
*Ceccarelli with an across the court set for McDowell who puts it away down the line, Hopewell 23-19
*CV has match point but Kurta comes up with a big kill, 26-26
Central Valley wins set 26-24

2nd Set:
*Kurta and Ceccarelli with a double-team block at net, 1-1
*Kurta with a kill down the middle, 2-2
*Nice rally and eventually Inderelst with the winner down the line, Hopewell 4-2
*A lob in the middle and McDowell with a gentle flip over the net, Hopewell 7-4
*Ceccarelli with a nice serve, rally and eventually Ross with the winner, Hopewell 12-9
*Ceccarelli with the ace, Hopewell 13-9
*Ceccarelli with the serve, CV with unforced error, Hopewell 14-9
*Kurta with a powerful kill down the middle of the court, Hopewell 15-10
*Addison Davis with a nice serve which leads to CV unforced error, Hopewell 16-10
*Davis still on serve, Avery Boyd with a great dig and then eventually comes up with winner, Hopewell 17-10
*Addison Davis with an ace, Hopewell 19-10
*Davis with the serve eventually Boyd and Lahna Murray with a double-team block at net, Hopewell 20-10
*Set Point- Hopewell wins 25-19

3rd Set:
*McDowell with an ace
*Inderelst sets up Kurta for the kill, Hopewell 2-1
*Ceccarelli sets up Murray for the kill, Hopewell 4-2
*Addison Davis with an ace, Hopewell 6-2
*Inderelst with great backcourt dig and eventually CV with unforced error, Hopewell 9-4
*Inderelst with another nice dig, then Ceccarelli sets up Murray for the kill, Hopewell 12-5
*Inderelst with an ace, Hopewell 21-17
*Inderelst with a hard, deep serve leads to CV unforced error, Hopewell 22-17
*Nice rally, Ceccarelli sets up Inderelst for the winner down middle of court, Hopewell 23-17
*Set Point- Hopewell wins 25-18

4th Set:
*Hopewell played the final set without McDowell (lower body injury)
*Boyd nice play at the net leads to CV error, Hopewell 3-2
*Addison Blosnick with a hard return lead to CV error, Hopewell 7-4
*Murray sets up Blosnick for the kill, Hopewell 9-4
*Kurta with a one-handed flop shot over the net, Hopewell 11-8
*Kurta and Ceccarelli with a nice double-team block at the net, Hopewell 12-8
*Davis with a nice serve, eventually with a nice kill down the middle, Hopewell 17-10
*Pinchotti with an ace, Hopewell 22-13
*Ceccarelli with a nice set to Blosnick, who blasts a winner down the line, Hopewell 24-20
*Match Point!!

After the match, Viking Sports Now talked with Hopewell captains Ceccarelli and Inderelst about tonight’s opening night win.