HS ROUNDUP: Zangardi keys North Pocono sweep in D2-4 Class 3A volleyball quarterfinals

Oct. 26—COVINGTON TWP. — Pia Zangardi put a charge into the offense to get North Pocono's volleyball postseason going in the right direction.

In the opening set of the District 2-4 Class 3A subregional tournament, Zangardi went on a quick four-point surge fueled by three straight aces, then she came up with timely digs defensively throughout the match. Her efforts helped the second-seeded Lady Trojans to a win over No. 7 Shamokin, 3-0 (25-16, 25-13, 26-24), on Wednesday at North Pocono High School.

North Pocono (18-2), which won its 10th straight match, advances to play No. 3 Crestwood (11-4) on Monday in the first match of a semifinal doubleheader at Berwick.

"We have been working very hard, and it was good that we had the home-court advantage because the energy is always high here and you just feel more comfortable," said Zangardi, who finished with 15 digs. "Our defense was good, and we were really aggressive at the net, which was also good. Our serves were really on, and overall, we played really well as a team."

Zangardi's burst of service points gave North Pocono a 10-6 lead. Lauren Clarke added three points that helped the Lady Trojans build a 15-8 advantage; Autumn Koch contributed a couple of solid kills; and the Lady Trojans used a late surge that included kills from Soyer DeLucy, Celia DeCesare and Mia Summa to put the first set away, 25-16.

"We knew that we had to keep our side of the net controlled better than they did on their side," Summa said.

North Pocono's balanced attack carried over into the second set, and Summa got into her normal rhythm with her setter, DeLucy, who finished the match with 30 assists.

Summa had six of her 15 kills in the set, which included three early that helped stave off a fast start by Shamokin, which represents District 4. Mariah Wolff also had a kill, and Clarke finished the set with a kill for a 25-13 win.

"Having momentum with the offense is great," Summa said. "Every hitter wants to hit the ball down to the floor, but we also know in the playoffs that the defenses are going to be tough. So we had to attack hard and swing as hard as we could."

With a convincing overall lead, Summa and Wolff started the third set with kills to get the Lady Trojans going again. DeCesare then strung together three straight kills, with two coming during a service run by DeLucy, and North Pocono built a 12-7 lead.

"We just tried to keep our energy up and stay together as a team," said DeCesare, who finished with six kills. "I felt happy that I could do that and help keep the team going."

North Pocono appeared headed toward a sweep when Koch had a kill for a 21-16 lead. Shamokin then built its best momentum of the match. Ava Bonshock helped the Indians draw even at 24 with a five-point service run. But DeCesare put the match away.

Shamokin (9-8) 16 13 24

North Pocono (18-2) 25 25 26

Abington Heights 3, Dallas 1

At Abington Heights, Sadie O'Brien had seven kills and four blocks, and Brielle Wentz had 29 assists to lead the fourth-seeded Lady Comets to a win in the District 2-4 Class 3A subregional quarterfinals.

Abington Heights plays at top-seeded Berwick in the second game of a semifinal doubleheader. North Pocono plays Crestwood in the first match at 5 p.m.

Veda Dickinson contributed 12 kills, three aces and 11 digs. Katherine Hastie had eight kills and Madison Smith had 31 digs and two aces for Abington Heights.

Dallas (14-9) 25 24 16 18

Abington Heights (14-6) 23 26 25 25

Girls soccer

At Lakeland, Abby Davis recorded the 50th assist of her career on a goal by Brooke Hill in a nonleague win.

Hill scored two goals, Kirsten Navich had a goal and an assists, and Davis finished with two assists.

Carbondale Area (1-11-1) 0 0 — 0

Lakeland (9-8) 5 1 — 6

FIRST: Kirsten Navich from Brooke Hill, 1:00; Brooke Hill from Abby Davis, 9:00; Hill from Navich, 15:00; Kendra Williams from Davis, 18:00; Molly Calachino from Reina Walters, 28:00. SECOND: Naomi Rude from Ari Aquino, 60:00.

Shots-corners: CAR 4-5, LAK 19-5.

Saves: Maureen Newcomb (CAR) 13, Myha Kilmer (LAK) 2, Gabby Martini (LAK) 2.

Wyoming Area 4, Mountain View 1

At Mountain View, Hannah Fairchild scored three goals and Emily Kostik had two assists to lead Wyoming Area to a nonleague win.

Kylee Kozloski scored for Mountain View.

Wyoming Area (12-5-1) 1 3 — 4

Mountain View (4-11-1) 0 1 — 1

FIRST: Hannah Fairchild (WA) from Emily Kostik, 10:45. SECOND: Bella Costa (WA) from Sophia Menta, 34:43; Fairchild (WA), 17:32; Fairchild (WA) from Kostik, 9:40; Kylee Kozloski (MV) from Claire Getz, 3:20.

Shots-corners: WA 16-9, MV 5-4.

Saves: Abigail Francis (WA) 4, Paige Smith (MV) 13.

Holy Redeemer 7, Dunmore 0

At Dunmore, Mary Lombardi scored three goals to lead the Royals in a nonleague win.

Holy Redeemer (16-2) 4 3 — 7

Dunmore (10-7-1) 0 0 — 0

FIRST: Elyse Kunec, 14:00; Tessa Ceselka, 31:00; Mary Lombardi, 32:00; Avery Kozerski, 44:00. SECOND: Lombardi, 60:00; Lombardi, 65:00; Avery Chepolis, 70:00.

Shots-corners: HR 28-4, DUN 0-0.

Saves: Amira Pirrone (HR) 0, Giulie Escobar (DUN) 17, Liz DePrimo (DUN) 3.

Boys soccer

Zach Evans and Rocco Rava scored in the first half, while the defense and keeper Aidan Bassi had three saves in the shutout as North Pocono finished the regular season in the Lackawanna Division I with a win.

Scranton (3-11) 0 0 — 0

North Pocono (11-3) 2 0 — 2

FIRST: Zach Evans (NP) from Eliot Bowen, 11:31; Rocco Rava (NP), 16:21.

Shots-corners: SCR 3-2, NP 11-6.

Saves: Bradley Cox (SCR) 8, Aidan Bassi (NP) 3.

Contact the writer: jbfawcett@scrantontimes.com; 570-348-9125; @sportsTT on X