WAYNESBORO — It was the end of an era — a long era — for the Chambersburg girls volleyball program on Tuesday night.
The Trojans had their season ended in a first round playoff match of the District 3 Class 6A tournament at Waynesboro, falling 3-1 to the Maidens.
Ty Frelin
That loss also marked the end of a long coaching career for Chambersburg boss Ty Frelin. The program has been around for 50 years and Frelin was a coach for 41 of them.
“”It’s just time,” Frelin said. “In 41 years, there have been a lot of ups and downs. This year, we’ve had a really good run. I’ve been blessed with a lot of great fellow coaches, and coaches of our opponents, too.
“I’ve been lucky to have a lot of great families and student-athletes in the program. That’s the only way a coach could last for that long.”
Frelin exits with a fine career record of 523 wins and 266 defeats, for a winning percentage of .662.
Bobby Culler, Frelin’s right-hand man for 37 of those years, said, “What a journey, and what a difference Ty has made in girls volleyball in and around the county.”
On Tuesday, the Trojans, who finished 11-7, captured Game 1 by a 25-21 score, but Waynesboro (15-5) won the next three, 25-16, 25-15 and 29-27 in Game 4. The Maidens will play at No. 1 seed Wilson (19-0) on Saturday at 11 a.m.
“All we needed were a couple of points in Game 4, but we couldn’t get over the hump,” Frelin said. “If we win that, you never know how a fifth set would go. Waynesboro started playing better defense after we won that first set. And we just had no answer for their middle hitter (Sara Aldrich).
“There was some great defense on both sides, which made for some long rallies. I thought we served well tonight and showed a lot of heart.”
Grace Myers led Chambersburg in service points (13) and assists (16). Other stat leaders were Ayla Whiteley (4 blocks), Olivia Shearer (13 kills) and Natalie Miller (22 digs).
Also, Kasey Moser put together a nice stat line — 3 blocks, 8 kills and 18 digs, and Kylee Perry posted a busy line of 5 kills, 13 assists and 13 digs. Also, Lexi Poe scored 11 points.
Frelin said, “We’ve had our backs to the wall for the last 3 1/2 weeks just trying to get into the playoffs, and we beat some really good teams to get here. It was like being in the playoffs for those 3 1/2 weeks.
“Congrats to all our seniors on a tremendous career. It’s been an honor and a privilege to be a part of their lives and the lives of everyone over the years.”