Central Mountain tops Bellefonte on Senior Night

By Tom Elling

BALD EAGLE TOWNSHIP, PA – It wasn’t pretty, but Central Mountain girls’ volleyball (11-8 overall; 8-5 in D6) did just enough to take down Bellefonte for the second time this season. The Wednesday win was ironically by the same 3-1 set margin.

Coach Chipp McCann started all five of his seniors, and they led their team to a 25-21 first set win.

Bellefonte put it all together in set two, outdistancing the Lady ‘Cats, 25-14. Raider outside hitters Carlee Pepperman and Ella Novitsky sparked that win and were key factors all night long.

Coach McCann praised his team and especially his seniors. “It was a good win on Senior Night,” claimed a smiling McCann. “We had a lot of unforced errors, but we were able to in most cases win the next point.”

Sets three and four were nailbiters that kept the crowd excited. The student cheering section was intently involved and perhaps they were that extra player for the home team. CM took set three 25-22 then claimed
set number four 25-23.

If we had to pick a star of the night for the Wildcats, it would certainly be #9 Keely Rohrbaugh who had a terrific all-round night with kills, blocks and a fine job of serving.  McCann agreed. “She has a ton
of ability, and she is starting to really believe in herself.”

All of the team contributed in one way or the other. Payton Kinley, Katelyn Bowman and Makenna Stratts all performed well in spots and were instrumental in getting the “W.” The victory broke a four-game losing streak and extended Bellefonte’s to four.

Central Mountain’s last regular season game will be a five-hour trip to Parkersburg, WV. “We’re going Friday night as sort of a reward for the players. Then we’ll have some time to prepare for Altoona in the semis of the Quad A playoffs.”

Sidelights:
Raider sophomore Aubrey Schreppel recorded her 500th assist. In a classy move, the game was halted as she was presented with flowers and balloons for her milestone.

Head baseball coach Mike Kramer did another stellar job running the scoreboard.

Bellefonte will be the number 3 seed in the Class AAA tournament. To win the D6 title, all they have to do is top BEA (16-2) and if they do, then repeat that feat and down Hollidaysburg (17-1).