District 11 Girls’ Volleyball: Nativity sweeps Lincoln Leadership
Nativity's Finley McNamara (41) prepares to hit the ball during Tuesday's District 11 Class A girls' volleyball quarterfinal against Lincoln Leadership Academy atop Lawton's Hill. The Green Wave won in three sets to advance to Thursday's semifinals. (Photo by Bob Lipsky)
POTTSVILLE — Shouts, shrieks and stomps bounced off the walls of Nativity’s tiny gym.
Lincoln Leadership Academy brought its full voices and boundless energy to Lawton’s Hill for Tuesday’s District 11 Class A girls’ volleyball quarterfinal. The Green Wave’s players and fans matched those decibel levels and intensity, creating a din that made it difficult for coaches to give instruction to their players.
Staying steady through rocky patches and taking advantage of some excellent serving runs, fourth-seeded Nativity swept No. 5 Lincoln Leadership 25-18, 25-19, 25-17 to advance to Thursday’s semifinal doubleheader at Minersville. No. 2 Marian (15-6) will take on No. 6 Salem Christian (12-10), a 3-0 winner over No. 3 Bethlehem Christian, in the first semifinal at 5 p.m. Nativity (14-8) will face No. 1 Tri-Valley (19-1) in the nightcap at 6:30 p.m.
“It was a fabulous atmosphere,” Nativity coach Jennifer Daubert said. “This is what playoff volleyball is all about.”
The first two sets followed a similar pattern — close for a while before Nativity surged toward the finish line to go up 2-0.
In the first set, a Morgan Howell ace created set point, and a hitting error by Lincoln Leadership gave Nativity the 25-18 win.
Lincoln Leadership (14-8) led 13-12 in the second set, which was also tied at 18. Strong serving by Chloe Covell and clutch hitting by Callista Wessner helped the Green Wave go on a 7-1 run to win the set 25-19.
Nativity raced to an 8-1 lead in the third set, and though the Lions cut the deficit to 13-9 at one point, the Green Wave continued to maintain their poise. Super hitting by Finley McNamara helped push the advantage to 20-13. An angled shot by Lily Baran and another kill by Baran gave the Green Wave match point, and Addisan Ricard put it away with a dink into the open court and a 25-17 set victory.
“When we were able to run our offense, it looked good,” Daubert said. “We were able to take swings and we were able to get kills. Lincoln Leadership is well-coached, very scrappy. I give credit to the other side. We’re kind of young out there. To be able to overcome nerves in a playoff atmosphere and mistakes that we had, to get a victory in three sets is a testament to the girls and their never-give-up-attitude.”
McNamara led Nativity with 13 kills, one assist and one dig. Ricard tallied 28 assists, eight digs, four aces and three kills; Wessner hit seven kills and two aces; and Howell added 11 digs, six aces and one assist. In the end, the Green Wave were just a little more consistent than the Lions, and that turned the sets their way.
“They kept their composure, and the strength of our schedule, not only in the area but in the state, certainly helps a little bit because we’ve been down before, and we’ve been able to keep our composure and come back in those matches,” Daubert said. “So I’m proud of them for the way they responded. We wanted to keep the ball in play. If we can keep the ball in play, whether that’s on our serve or cutting down on our hitting errors and just passing the ball, we try to let teams make their own mistakes. It’s more about what we’re doing on our own side than what’s happening on the other side of the net.”
