GREENCASTLE — It’s been a postseason of firsts for the Greencastle-Antrim girls volleyball team, and the Blue Devils achieved another milestone on Tuesday evening.
Playing in the first round of the PIAA Class 3A Tournament at home, G-A spotted Conwell Egan Catholic a 1-0 lead before roaring back to win three straight games and collect a 3-1 victory.
Masalyna Miller
It is the first time Greencastle has earned a PIAA tournament win in volleyball, and comes on the heels of G-A reaching its first-ever District 3 championship game and earning its first-ever district title.
“It feels really good to get that first state win, especially after winning districts for the first time, too,” said Blue Devils senior middle hitter Emma Pool. “We tend to be a team that can come back, and we did again tonight. It shows we don’t give up.”
Greencastle (20-2) will play in the quarterfinals on Saturday (site and time to be determined) against District 7 runner-up Beaver (19-4), which defeated DuBois in the first round, 3-1 (19-25, 25-10, 25-23, 28-26).
The Eagles (14-4), the third-place team from District 12, trailed G-A 16-13 when Cecelia McBeth stepped to the service line. Conwell Egan scored 7 consecutive points, then after a kill by Abby Eagler made it 20-17, the Eagles ripped off 5 more in a row to win Game 1, 25-17.
The Blue Devils made several serve receive errors and had a hard time getting its offense untracked. So coach Madee Goodwin decided to make some changes in the lineup.
In came senior Masalyna Miller and junior Wren Roberts, both of whom had been out for several games with injuries. And, just like that, the match turned in G-A’s favor.
Wren Roberts
Goodwin said, “The plan was to not use Wren and Masalyna in this match, and maybe hold them until the next round. But we struggled in that first game, so we decided to switch up the lineup. I think it made a tremendous difference. Losing them put a damper on things late in the season, but you could tell everyone was comfortable with them in there.”
Miller contributed 4 kills, an ace and received six serves, while Roberts received 10 serves, without an error, and added 7 digs.
“We did have some receive of serve issues, and that’s where the offense starts,” Goodwin. “Toward the end we were making much better choices.”
Eagler rallied Greencastle to a 25-19 win in Game 2 with 9 of her 18 kills. It was tied 17-17 when Kinzee Hudson began serving, and the Blue Devils scored 7 straight points to go ahead, 23-17. FIttingly, a kill by Eagler finished it off.
Hudson, a junior who had 13 service points, said, “The whole team got their energy up in the second game. It took me a while to get in a rhythm with my serve, but eventually it was good. And (getting Miller and Roberts in) really helped, because it brought us back to our original lineup for the season.”
Despite Conwell Egan continuing to play great defense — the Eagles saved two points with kicks, and another one after Hannah Ross took a spike to her upper chest — Greencastle began to assert itself.
In Game 3, Greencastle took control early and ran to a 12-4 lead on an ace by Alaina Garling (13 points, 5 aces). But Conwell Egan fought back to lead 20-19. A kill by Eagler, an ace by Hudson and a kill by Garling gave G-A enough of a lead to hang on for a 25-23 win, getting the final point on a service error by the Eagles.
The Blue Devils never trailed in Game 4, although they did not pull away until late. Two kills by Kylie Kerns and an ace into the corner by Eagler helped G-A earn a 25-18 win to clinch the match.
Goodwin said, “Honestly, I don’t think we played our best tonight, but we were able to adjust. We weren’t as prepared as we usually are. But they were a scrappy team and kudos to them for being able to defend our good hitters.
“I want the girls to be proud of tonight, but we’ve got another game Saturday now, and we’ll have to get ready.”
NOTES: Brooke Forester led the Eagles with 10 kills, 4 blocks and 2 aces … Kerns racked up 25 assists and Eagler led in kills with 18 … Greencastle had 4 of its 10 service errors in the first game, and totaled 11 aces.
Greencastle statistics: Kills — Eagler 18, Pool 9, Garling 7, Kerns 4, M.Miller 4, Jordyn Wagner 3, Morgan Rennekamp 2. Blocks — Wagner 4, Pool 2, Kerns 2, Eagler 1. Service points — Garling 13, Hudson 13, Eagler 7, Kerns 7, Morgan Kline 7, M.Miller 1. Aces — Garling 5, Eagler 2, Kerns 2, Hudson 1, M.Miller 1. Digs — Hudson 15, Kline 14, Eagler 12, Garling 10, Kerns 9, Roberts 7, M.Miller 1, Rennekamp 1. Assists — Kerns 25, Garling 14, Pool 2, Eagler 1, Hudson 1.