H.S. EXTRA NOTEBOOK: McConnellsburg has reunion with now-head coach Marla (McElhaney) Wyland
At the Bellwood-Antis volleyball tournament on Saturday, there was a bit of a homecoming in the championship match.
McConnellsburg met Hollidaysburg in the final match and the Tigers came out on top 2-0, with wins of 25-16 and 25-11.
Hollidaysburg's coach is Marla Wyland, and she has some serious ties to the Spartans. In 1990-91, Wyland, then Marla McElhaney, led McConnellsburg to a PIAA Class A state championship in girls basketball. In that golden 31-0 season, she averaged 25.2 points per game, including 20 in the 66-60 finals victory over Pottsville Nativity BVM at Hersheypark Arena.
She was also a high-caliber volleyball player, who played that sport at Gannon University.
Wyland, who was the Tigers' JV coach a year ago, is now the varsity head coach. Hollidaysburg, in addition to winning the Bellwood tournament, took second in a tournament at St. Francis and had a 5-1 record through last week.
RANKINGS UPDATED >> This year, District 3 has a new system for doing its power rankings that should make results more immediate.
Teams are to turn in results to the district every night, and the rankings are then automatically updated according to those results. The system is now in place, and a few Franklin County teams are already starting to make noise.
In football, two area teams remain in current playoff position. Waynesboro is hanging on to 14th place in Class AAAA, while Greencastle-Antrim ranks fifth in AAA. Both classes take 16 to the postseason. Shippensburg ranks 22nd in Class AAA.
In boys soccer, Greencastle-Antrim and Chambersburg are both inside the top 16 through Wednesday's game. The Blue Devils are 12th, and the Trojans follow closely behind in 14th in AAA. On the girls side, Greencastle is seventh in AA and Waynesboro is 11th in AAA.
The Maidens and the Trojans are in fine position in girls volleyball. Waynesboro is ranked seventh and Chambersburg 12th in Class AAA.
DUO OF UNBEATENS >> It's been a good year for girls volleyball in Franklin and Fulton counties.
Two area teams remain undefeated, and a trio of squads haven't put many entries in the loss column.
Leading the way is Waynesboro, which is 9-0. The Maidens have lost only five sets all year and only two in the Mid Penn Capital Division.
McConnellsburg has given up only one set, and it is 6-0.
Nearing the unbeaten mark is Shalom Christian, which lost in its first game of the year. The Flames have not lost since then and are 9-1. Mercersburg Academy did not lose a match until Tuesday and is 4-1.
Finally, Chambersburg is doing just fine with a 7-2 record. The Trojans' first loss came in a five-set marathon with Carlisle and the second was a defeat by unbeaten Cumberland Valley.