PIAA Girls’ Volleyball: Tri-Valley, Pine Grove advance to state quarterfinals
Tri-Valley's Callie Melocheck sets the ball during Tuesday's PIAA Class A first-round match against Ephrata Mennonite. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)
HEGINS — Courage. Courage has carried the Tri-Valley girls’ volleyball team into the state quarterfinals.
Locked in an epic, 2-hour struggle against Ephrata Mennonite on Tuesday evening, the Bulldogs refused to get tentative, refused to give in, refused to lose. So, when a double block by Faith Melocheck and Lexi Lesher rejected a final attack by the Legends, Tri-Valley pulled out a 25-27, 25-18, 25-22, 17-25, 15-11 victory in a PIAA Class A girls’ volleyball round-of-16 match in front of a raucous, packed gym in Hegins.
“It was outstanding. We didn’t start playing cautious when it got close,” Tri-Valley coach Courtney Scheib said. “We just kept bringing it, and it totally paid off for us. I’m so proud of them. They played amazing.”
District 11 champion Tri-Valley (22-1) got all it could handle from District 3 runner-up Ephrata Mennonite (16-4), which featured strong serving and powerhouse blasts off the right arm of senior middle hitter Joelle Burkholder. The Legends repeatedly set their star attacker, and the Dawgs had few answers for Burkholder’s sledgehammer spikes.
The first set featured 13 ties. A block gave Ephrata Mennonite a 25-24 lead, but Tri-Valley’s Liv Lupole belted a kill into the corner. Burkholder answered with a kill of her own, and a Tri-Valley hitting error gave the Legends the first set.
The Dawgs regrouped in Set 2, building leads of 5-1 and 17-10 before putting the set away 25-18 to tie the match at one set apiece. Excellent serving and setting from Callie Melocheck shined as did hitting and blocking from Faith Melocheck, Emma Moore and Lesher.
Tri-Valley kept up the pressure in the third set, though the Legends clawed back and led 22-21. Then Lupole went to work. A kill and an ace put the Dawgs up 23-22. Faith Melocheck blasted a kill through a block, and an Ephrata Mennonite error gave Tri-Valley the set and a 2-1 lead.
The Legends weren’t done. They took an 18-14 lead and closed out the fourth set when Burkholder notched a kill and Chayla Fox hit back-to-back kills to knot the match at two sets all.
In the fifth set, Tri-Valley went ahead to stay 8-7 and pushed its advantage to 14-10 on a Faith Melocheck kill, a Callie Melocheck ace and a Lesher kill that caused the Dawgs to push and shake Lesher in celebration. Burkholder kept the match alive with another kill, but the block by Faith Melocheck and Lesher ended it.
Tense, intense rallies — players lunging and diving to keep the ball in play — kept fans on the edge of their seats. Those fans made their presence felt as both schools brought large student sections that shouted and stomped their feet, the sound bouncing off the walls of Tri-Valley’s small gym.
“In the end, having a home-court advantage definitely helped, I think,” Scheib said. “It was loud in here, and it was crazy, and we had a lot of people cheering for us. So, I think that definitely helped, but just knowing that we have to win to survive and move on … we just pushed ourselves. It helped us because they were a good team and they played very well, too. We just had a little bit of an edge on them.
“Since we’ve hit the playoffs — Schuylkill League, districts, some scrimmages that we’ve had even — it’s definitely helped push us,” Scheib added. “So when we see teams like this, we’re prepared for that. And we’re able to go the long haul, to go five sets if we need to.”
Callie Melocheck finished with 50 assists, 15 digs and eight aces; Faith Melocheck added 21 kills and 13 digs; and Lupole posted 17 kills, 11 digs and four aces. Kirra Klinger compiled 23 digs, four assists, two kills and one ace; Moore chipped in four kills and two blocks; Kylie Clemmer had seven digs, three kills and one ace; and Lesher contributed seven kills and one dig.
With the win, Tri-Valley advances to Saturday’s quarterfinals to take on District 1 champion Faith Christian (18-6) at a site and time to be announced. Faith Christian routed District 12 champion Maritime Charter 25-6, 25-7, 25-14 in Tuesday’s first round.
Saturday’s quarterfinal is a rematch of last year’s state quarterfinal between the two clubs, won by Faith Christian 25-19, 25-12, 13-25, 25-18 at Exeter Township High School in Reading.
“It means our seniors get to play another game,” Scheib said. “It means we get to play another game together as a team. I get to coach these girls again, another game. It’s just awesome to be able to do that, and it means we survived and we get to keep going. We’re one step closer to our ultimate goal.”
