Central Mountain Captures First-Ever District 6 Volleyball Championship
District 6 figured the Class AAA title game would go the full five sets;
everyone also thought it would be tight in each game. It did, and it was.
Central Mountain managed to cut down on their service errors and filled
the middle much better than in their previous 3-0 win over Bellefonte in
the semis.
The first set saw the two teams battle evenly—so much so that it went
into overtime. Hollidaysburg scored the final three points to edge the
Lady Cats, 28-26. The ‘Cats had a 21-17 lead but let that slip away and
lost in OT.
In set two, Central Mountain led 21-13, and once again the Lady Golden
Tigers made a rush, narrowing the margin to a 22-18 edge. Key defensive
play and a boost in confidence gave CM the win, 25-20, evening the sets
(1-1).
Set three saw CM overcome a 16-17 deficit and build a 23-20 lead,
closing out the set with two final clutch points. The result was another
25-20 win, putting CM up (2-1) in the series.
Hollidaysburg reversed that score in set four, going on a six-point run
to take a commanding 20-13 lead. CM had no room for error. The Lady Cats
made a late surge, narrowing the Blair County team’s lead to 20-22.
However, the late heroics went to the Tigers, securing the third
consecutive 25-20 score. This time, Hollidaysburg took the win.
With deep breaths, both teams prepped for the fifth and deciding
contest. As per the rules, the first team to fifteen (with a margin of
two points) would capture the title. Hollidaysburg started strong with a
4-1 lead, but Coach Chipp McCann’s Clinton County squad ‘chipped’ away
at that lead, going up 9-6. Hollidaysburg scored the next two, and
McCann called a timeout with just a 9-8 lead. The rest of the scoring
belonged to the Cats. The final score was 15-8, and the win propelled CM
to their first-ever District title as the Class AAA champions.
CM played their finest volleyball of the year, with each member making a
significant contribution. But the play of Gabby Beaubrun, Kylie Rauch,
and the vastly improved Reese Walizer stood out.
McCann echoed that, saying the title made him ‘very happy.’ “It was
definitely a nail-biter. We regrouped when things got rough and stayed
together. The momentum switched so many times, but I feel we had more of
it tonight. Our seniors are all about 5’5”. They didn’t let that size
disparity bother them.”
The third-year head coach added, “We have a great group of girls on this
team. They do well in school and are never behavior problems.”
The District 6 champs will likely face the WPIAL champion in round one
of the PIAA State Playoffs. Follow the Record-Online for further details
as we receive them.
