Bulldogs chomp Ramblers, move onto championship
Nov. 1—COCHRANTON — The Meadville girls volleyball team is one step closer in its pursuit of a D-10 title. The Bulldogs defeated Cathedral Prep in three straight sets Tuesday in the semifinal round of the District 10 Class 3A playoffs (25-12, 25-9, 25-12).
Meadville, who had a bye in round one of the playoffs, will play Warren in the District 10 championship match on Thursday. A start time and location for the championship match has not been announced by D-10 yet.
"It's huge to have success in the District 10 tournament," said Meadville head coach Tim Schleicher. "Our girls went out on the floor and earned a win against a team that has really improved a lot since we've seen them."
It took the Bulldogs a couple of points to get completely set at the start, but once they found their rhythm they operated like a well-oiled machine for the remainder of the quick match. Emma Parks went off in the first set with several big kills and service aces. Meadville went up 18-8 before closing out the set.
"She's our go-to player," said Schleicher regarding Parks. "I like how we work on things to like improve her game and make her even better. She's been super receptive and coachable and has a nice connection with Elliott (Schleicher)."
The Bulldogs kept barking in the second set with some textbook setting and kills. Meadville also got some big plays off the block with seniors Sydney Holt and Ellie Kellick making an impact. MASH's defense limited CP to less than ten points in the second set.
"We want to be a better defensive team and we need to make sure that we are starting that at the net," said Schleicher. "By creating good defense as close to the ball as we can, it makes the jobs for our defensive players a lot easier."
Meadville started the third set off with an ace and never looked back as they took the set and the match with a 25-12 clobbering.
Parks finished the night with 18 kills and setter Schleicher had 25 assists. Defensively, Sydney Holt had 12 digs, Parks eight and Chae Kennedy had seven. The Bulldogs had a total of six blocks with Parks making three. Aubrey Decker, Gabby Revel and Ellie Kellick all added a single block.
"We just took care of our half of the court," said Schleicher. "Now we just need to keep working on things to try and be as consistent as possible. Tonight is just another drop in the bucket to get better tomorrow. We are excited about what comes next."
Owen Krepps can be reached at 814-724-6370 or at owenk@meadvilletribune.com.
