Defending PIAA 1A champ Maplewood falls to Elk County Catholic in state semifinals
WARREN — Sheila Bancroft knew the Maplewood girls volleyball team that competed in Tuesday's PIAA Class 1A semifinal didn't possess the same level of talent as the one which won that same tournament last year.
However, the head coach’s biggest issue was Elk County Catholic having better players than the ones Maplewood beat en route to its 2022 state title run.
Notably better, according to Bancroft.
The Crusaders not only avenged its previous playoff loss to the Tigers, but assured the state will have a new small-school champion come Saturday's final at Mechanicsburg. The District 9 top seed from St. Marys will take a 20-0 record into that match thanks to a 25-16, 26-24, 28-26 sweep of the six-time PIAA titlists.
"We didn't play the best we could," Bancroft said, "and we picked the wrong time to do that. (The Crusaders) didn't really lose anyone from last year, so I knew we needed to have everyone at their best (Tuesday)."
"We needed to play error-free. We didn't do that."
Maplewood, District 10's top 1A team, was eliminated at 18-4 overall. Had the Tigers defeated Elk County Catholic, they would have appeared in their 10th PIAA final.
The Guys Mills program won the first of its seven state championships in 1985. Bancroft was the coach for the last six.
"This (loss) is a hard one to accept," Bancroft said. "It'll take time to settle in, but I think these players will look back in favor at what they accomplished."
Lengthy payback for Crusaders
Elk County Catholic coach Tricia Bauer admitted it was a stretch to call Tuesday's outcome a revenge result.
The Crusaders, then formally known as Elk County Christian, lost the 1985 and 1986 PIAA Class 2A girls volleyball finals. The first of those championship matches was against Maplewood at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
The Tigers rallied for a 9-15, 15-2, 15-10 victory. The PIAA used side-out scoring from 1974-2002.
Bauer was a middle school student in the St. Marys area when Elk County Catholic lost those matches. They were, at best, passing memories for her.
That's not the case for one of Bauer's assistants.
"Vicky Struble was on each of those (state final) teams," she said. "They lost to Maplewood in the first one, so (Tuesday's) win is pretty exciting for her."
Should the Crusaders beat District 6 West Branch, their opponent for Saturday's 1A final, they would join Clarion Area (1A in 2012 and 2020) as PIAA girls volleyball victors from District 9.
Quarterfinals: Maplewood rises to another challenge in the PIAA girls volleyball playoffs
Also Tuesday: Cathedral Prep celebrates historic PIAA soccer win
Contact Mike Copper at mcopper@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNcopper.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Elk County Catholic sweeps Maplewood in PIAA 1A girls volleyball semis
