Whitehall loses thrilling five-setter
Twojuggernauts took the court in the PIAA Class 3A volleyball quarterfinals on Saturday morning at Schuylkill Valley High School in Leesport.
On one side of the court stood Whitehall, an unbeaten team led by an intimidating core of seniors.
On the other side was Northeastern, the six-time defending state 2A champion, looking to make a name for itself in the always-rugged 3A field.
Like heavyweight fighters, the two teams went punch for punch. When the dust cleared, it was the Bobcats still standing after a 3-2 [25-17, 25-17, 22-25, 22-25, 15-9] victory to put an end to the Zephyrs’ historical season.
“Set one and two, we made some mistakes, and Northeastern played pretty flawless,” Whitehall coach George Cowitch said. “We flipped the lineup in set three to get better match-ups, and that put a lot of pressure on them from there. In the final set, we again made too many mistakes. Against a team like that, you cannot do that.”
Whitehall relied on its seniors in the quarterfinals as Joseph Herman (15 kills), Alex Khouri (six kills), Aziz Atiyeh (17 digs), and Ricky Melosky (43 assists) led the way. Junior Dylan McGinley (14 kills) also performed well for the Zephyrs.
“The seniors did exactly what we wanted them to do. We told them if we go down, we go down guns blazing,” Cowitch said. “When they look back at this match at some point in the future, they’re not going to be upset, they left it all in that gym.”
With the win, the Bobcats set up a rematch with Central York. The Panthers knocked off Northeastern in last week’s District 3 finals. Meanwhile, Whitehall’s most memorable boys volleyball season comes to a close with a 24-1 record.
“It was a great season; definitely the best volleyball season ever at Whitehall, and one of the best sports season’s in Whitehall history,” Cowitch said. “There are a ton of things to be proud of. A district title, an Eastern Pennsylvania Conference title. No one can ever take away what we won this year.”
Class 2A: After a nice postseason run, Bethlehem Catholic saw it come to a close in a quarterfinal loss to District 7 champion Ambridge in straight sets, 25-16, 25-22, 25-17 at Bald Eagle High School.
“Ambridge won the serve/receive and defensive battle,” Becahi coach Jeff Koch said. “Because of them passing so well, we couldn’t stop their main hitter who was one of the best hitters we saw all year.”
Leading the way for the Golden Hawks were Nick Greenawalt (8 kills), Brent Brown (20 assists), and Jacob Sledz (13 digs).
Becahi finishes its season with a 14-10 record and will return its entire team next season.
“A positive for us is we graduate no one,” Koch said. “We will come back hungrier and stronger then ever. This is just the beginning for us.”