Central Mountain Wins Semis over ‘Scrappy’ Bellefonte
By Tom Elling
MILL HALL– Central Mountain, after a 12-day layoff, shook off the rust and shut down Bellefonte in three straight sets (25-18, 25-23, 25-12).
“We were without Lily Downing again, so that weakened our middle somewhat, but the other girls stepped up and performed well. Heidi Miller had a good game,” Coach Chipp McCann commented. “Bellefonte has a scrappy defense. They kept the ball in play where some other teams we played could not.”
In the first set, junior Kylie Rauch scored the first Wildcat point and put an exclamation mark on the set with the final score. Heidi Miller played well on both offense and defense, and Gabby Beaubrun was solid—particularly from the left side of the net.
The second set was more competitive. Bellefonte had the lead until Katelyn Bowman stepped up, narrowing the Bellefonte surge and scoring the important 20th point. Cora Myers and Ellen Banfill made key plays at the net with a block, giving CM a 22-21 lead. Beaubrun then scored an important ‘ace’ to extend CM’s lead. Bellefonte scored again, but the Lady Wildcats fought back with a block to seal a 25-23 victory. The scoreboard read CM 2, Visitors 0.
With a 2-0 lead, the pressure was on the Lady Raiders. Down two points, Heidi Miller scored the first CM point. It was back and forth until a Beaubrun ace gave the home team a 10-9 lead. After that, the ‘Cats took control. Rauch made a block for a point; Myers and Rauch combined to push CM ahead 13-11. Sophia Hardy then showcased her strength in serving, delivering challenging serves that Bellefonte struggled to return. When the dust settled, CM led 21-11. A double hit returned the ball to the visitors, but it would be their last score. With a 24-12 lead, CM’s Bowman sent the crowd home early with another Wildcat ace, finalizing the score at 25-12.
Coach McCann emphasized that his team needs “more work on serving and a little more protection in the middle.” But he promised, “We’ll do better.”
They’ll need to be at their best on Wednesday in the District VI 3A finals. The ‘Cats’ record stands at 13-2 in the D6 rankings and 23-6 overall. Bellefonte finishes at 6-12.
The 3A finals will take place Wednesday at the Bald Eagle Area gym. The opponent will be #2 seed Hollidaysburg, a 3-1 winner over Somerset. Should McCann’s team win, it would mark the first-ever District 6 volleyball title for Central Mountain.
