HS Girls’ Volleyball: Blue Mountain, Pottsville sweep into Schuylkill League semifinals
Pottsville's Maggie Brennan (11) goes for the kill during Monday's match against Nativity. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)
MINERSVILLE — Blue Mountain and Pottsville have clarity.
They know how they want their systems to run, what they should look like. And when they execute, good results usually follow.
That was the case in the Schuylkill League girls’ volleyball playoffs as Blue Mountain took down Marian 25-19, 25-18, 25-22 and Pottsville defeated Nativity 25-11, 25-9, 25-14 in a quarterfinal doubleheader Monday evening at Minersville Area High School.
Those results set up Tuesday’s semifinal pairings at Martz Hall. Blue Mountain (16-3) will take on Panther Valley (16-2) in the opener at 5:30 p.m., and Pottsville (15-4) will meet Tri-Valley (18-0) in the nightcap at approximately 6:45 p.m. The winners will return to Martz Hall for the championship match at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Blue Mountain’s clarity means getting the ball to Jaedyn Bartholomew, and the senior hitter didn’t disappoint. The school’s single-season and career leader in kills added 20 more to her total, with 16 digs and one ace. Every time the Eagles needed a side out, they’d go to Bartholomew, and more often than not, the left-hander overpowered the Fillies (15-6).
“She’s unbelievable,” Blue Mountain coach Gregg Gergely said. “She’s the school record-holder in kills for a reason.”
Blue Mountain’s overall height advantage made the difference as Piper Reinhart added seven kills and one block, and Bella Grasso dished out 42 assists with one ace. With her big night, Grasso broke the school record for assists in a season with 746 and counting. The previous record of 715 was held by 2017 graduate Ashley Snesavage, who was a two-time All-State setter for Blue Mountain.
The Eagles took control of the match right away, opening leads of 13-8 and 22-14 before wrapping up the first set. Good serving by Zoe Leibensperger and Bartholomew kept Blue Mountain comfortably in front. The second set featured more of the same as Blue Mountain built a 16-8 lead, prompting a Marian timeout. Bartholomew delivered kills on two of the last three points of the set for the Eagles. The Fillies showed some fight in the third set, taking a 12-7 lead before kills by Bartholomew and blocks by Reinhart enabled the Eagles to get back in the set. A Reinhart kill capped the straight-sets win.
“I thought we played really consistent,” Gergely said. “The third set they went up on us a little bit, but we responded. Then we settled back in and chipped away and took control of the set again. … I thought we blocked really well.”
Eris Hayes led Marian with 15 assists and three digs. She also reached a milestone, notching her 1,000th career assist. Alena Lombardo added nine kills and three blocks; Caydense Smith had 17 digs; Kali Grochowski added seven kills and five digs; and Maddy Davis chipped in seven kills and two digs.
Pottsville’s clarity begins with setter Megan Yost, who varies her sets in height and placement, allowing some Crimson Tide hitters to fake attacks and others to take the swing, and moving her sets to different parts of the frontcourt. She’ll even try to catch an opponent off guard by hitting a drop shot over the net on two. Yost finished with 26 assists, eight digs, two blocks and one kill.
Anna Burke notched nine kills, six blocks, four aces and three digs as Nativity had no answers for Pottsville’s height advantage. Ava Schwartz compiled 14 digs, five kills, two blocks and one ace for the Tide.
“We executed a lot of plays,” Pottsville coach Maria Sherakas said. “They moved the ball, so they worked well together as a team. I think we served consistently.”
In the first set, good hitting by Rhyan Brennan helped Pottsville jump out to a 20-9 lead, and Burke’s serving finished off the set. The second and third sets featured more of the same as the Tide led 18-7 in Set 2 and 21-13 in Set 3. A Burke kill, off a Yost assist, produced the final point.
The Green Wave did all they could as Finley McNamara had six kills; Morgan Howell made 18 digs and hit two aces; Addisan Ricard added 17 assists and four digs; and Callista Wessner hit four kills.
