he height difference, if any, up front between the girls’ volleyball teams of Westmont Hilltop and Ligonier Valley was not the deciding factor in Monday’s District 6 Class AA first-round match at Westmont Hilltop High School.
The play at the net, on the other hand, proved to be enough to boost the Hilltoppers to a 25-19, 25-13, 25-22 win over the Rams. Westmont Hilltop (15-5) advances to face second-seeded West Shamokin in Tuesday’s quarterfinal match in Rural Valley.
“I think our hitters played very well,” Westmont Hilltop coach Denise Nairn said.
“We ran all different types of plays, and I do not think they were ready to block those plays. We definitely had an advantage at the net, and I also think we played defense and served tough.”
Lauren Moran had 28 assists while Sarah Polacek added 19 kills. Courtney Krall pitched in nine more kills for the Hilltoppers, who never trailed after going up 14-13 in the first match.
“We got beat at the net,” Ligonier Valley coach Margie Washnock said. “They hit amazingly, and we were having trouble even getting a block on it, even getting a touch to help us.”
With the Rams drawing to within a point at 19-18 in the first match, the Hilltoppers reeled off six of the next seven points with Hannah Davis’ three-point service run closing out the first match.
In the second match, the Hilltoppers steadily built on a quick lead thanks to five kills and two blocks from Polacek, who wrapped up the match with a kill to set the 25-13 victory.
“We knew it was going to be a tough one,” Polacek said. “We were just trying to push for every point because (Ligonier Valley) has amazing passing. We were just trying to smash the ball down as hard as we could.”
Ligonier Valley (12-6) managed a pair of ties late in the third match, knotting the score at 20 and 21, but could not put itself in the advantage against the seventh-seeded hosts. Westmont Hilltop led 7-2 early before the Rams crept back to keep within striking distance before the Hilltoppers scored four of the final five points of the match with Sydney Droz’s kill pushing the Hilltoppers through to the next round.
“We alway seem to bellow out in the second game and then have to recover,” Washnock said. “I thought when it was neck-and-neck that we could get some momentum, but we couldn’t get it on our side long enough to keep rolling with it.
“It’s hard to come back after you go down two (games).
“Lot of credit to Westmont. We scrimmaged early in the season. I knew we were much improved, but they were much improved as well.”
Ligonier Valley’s Catou Cmar tallied 24 digs while Kirsten Smith led the way with seven kills along with 10 assists from Sarah Markosky.