Central York girls' volleyball overcomes deficits to sweep South Western
Central York girls' volleyball trailed, 18-11, in Game 2. But then it happened.
Allison Rife entered the game, recorded a couple kills, threw her hands in the air and the Panthers pulled out a 25-23 victory.
For an encore, Central York rallied from another sizable deficit in Game 3. Down 22-14, Central once again relied on its front line depth and pulled out a 27-25 victory to earn the three-game sweep (25-14, 25-23, 27-25).
"This is the biggest we've ever been at Central. ... This year we have a lot of height across the board," Central York coach Nate Ocasio said. "We're a very deep team and we have 13 girls ... that can step in and do the job."
In Game 3, Ashley Gallagher hit home a couple kills and Lehigh University recruit Emily Poole needed to use every inch of her 6-foot, 2-inch frame to glide to the net and tap home another point to help the Panthers close out the Mustangs.
"I think when Allie Rife came off the bench, she brought this huge energy (in Game 2) when she just nailed one into the court," Central setter Emma Saxton said. "We were like, 'We've got this.'"
South Western's Tori Sager, Summer Small and Bonna Sheehan combined for 19 kills. But Central's defense snapped out of its funk in Game 3 just in time.
"I think we were just too all over the place and excited," Poole said.
Ocasio added of South Western's tough play as the match continued, "You can expect that when you play South Western, they're very scrappy and they frustrate you. It's hard to score points against them."
Central York def. South Western 25-14, 25-23, 27-25 at Central York
South Western — Hannah McMaster (14 assists, 5 kills, 4 digs, 1 ace, 1 block), Tori Sager (15 digs, 7 kills, 3 aces), Summer Small (6 kills, 2 digs), Kaitlyn Chell (8 digs), Bonna Sheehan (11 assists, 6 kills, 5 digs, 1 ace), Madisyn McMaster (10 digs, 4 kills, 2 aces).
Central York —Kamryn Stambaugh (6 kills, 4 aces, 3 blocks, 2 digs), Natalie Hawksworth (5 kills, 1 dig), Laura Fahs (8 digs, 3 aces, 1 kill), Emma Saxton (16 assists, 3 digs, 1 block, 1 kill, 1 ace), Ashley Gallagher (4 kills, 4 digs, 1 ace), Emily Poole (3 digs, 2 kills, 1 ace).
JV Score — Central York def. South Western, 25-17, 9-25, 15-13.