HS VOLLEYBALL: Summa leads North Pocono past Dunmore in annual Pink Game
Oct. 5—DUNMORE — On an emotional night where the survivors, those fighting and the memories of the ones lost to breast cancer were honored, players from North Pocono and Dunmore waged an intense battle between two of the top girls volleyball teams in the Lackawanna League.
Mia Summa delivered the final blow as North Pocono defeated the host Lady Bucks, 3-1 (25-21, 25-22, 25-27, 25-20), on Thursday night in the annual Pink Game at Dunmore High School gymnasium.
North Pocono improved to 13-1 overall and 10-1 in the league where it trails Blue Ridge (11-0) with three matches remaining.
"This was such a big game for us because it is the Pink Game and it is one of our favorite games of the year," said Summa, who finished with 12 kills, 12 digs and eight aces. "Dunmore is a very good team. They always have such good energy, and we knew we had to be one step ahead of them."
North Pocono overcame an early surge from Dunmore to swipe the first set. The Lady Trojans were able to come back from a 4-1 deficit and settle into their offense. Celia DeCesare had a key block and two kills to fuel the effort that provided a 21-15 lead.
Dunmore (10-2 overall, 9-2 in the league) battled back, however, as middle hitter Tristan Canavan unleashed a three-point run that included a couple of powerful aces.
North Pocono finished the set with an ace from Autumn Koch.
"That was so important," said Koch, who had five kills and eight digs. "Having that energy to finish the set gave us confidence going into the second set. Getting that win set the tone for us and helped us keep our energy up."
In the second set, North Pocono seized the early momentum with a five-point run from Summa that included a Koch kill and a pair of aces.
Soyer DeLucy, who ran the offense as the setter and had 27 assists, had a couple of kills and then launched timed assists that Summa and DeCesare planted for kills as the Lady Trojans built a 16-11 lead.
Dunmore wouldn't surrender. Allie Dempsey had a four-point run, and Canavan had a kill that tied the score at 16-16. But DeCesare got active again and landed a couple of kills, and North Pocono played defense and pushed through to finish the set, 25-22.
"We just tried to stay positive and go for everything," DeCesare said. "It was really exciting. That was one of the most exciting games that we have played all year."
Dunmore stayed in the match in the third set. Amanda Dempsey, who finished with 15 kills, had four kills during a surge where the Lady Bucks took a 16-14 lead. Summa and DeCesare powered North Pocono back to 20 — 19. Abbey Earley provided a three-point run, Canavan had a kill, and Amanda Dempsey scored for a 27-25 win.
North Pocono stayed patient in the fourth set, and the defense took over, led by Pia Zangardi, who finished with 24 digs. Summa went on a seven-point run that she started with a kill as the Lady Trojans built a 16-8 lead. Dunmore tried to claw its way back as Canavan supplied an important block and three points while Leena Conte had an ace to close to within 23-20.
But North Pocono inched ahead on a sideout, and Summa slammed the door.
"We knew that we had to come together as a team," Summa said. "We were making not-so-good errors at the end of the third set. So, we came together and talked more at the end of the set."
Canavan finished with 16 kills, four blocks, and four aces, while Earley had 15 digs and 10 points, and Sienna Delfino had 18 digs for Dunmore.
North Pocono (10-1) 25 25 25 25
Dunmore (9-2) 21 22 27 20
Lackawanna Trail 3, Mid Valley 0
At Mid Valley, Chloe Van Fleet had 11 points and five aces, Anikah Toth had five kills and 9 points, and Gretcher Rejrat had eight kills as Lackawanna Trail defeated Mid Valley
Haddiyah Lunsford had two kills and three assists, Naddiyah Lunsford had three kills and two blocks and Mae Kaufmann had three kills and two aces for Mid Valley..
Lackawanna Trail (8-4) 25 25 25
Mid Valley (1-10) 11 11 14
JV: LT, 2-0.
Susquehanna 3, Montrose 1
At Montrose, Lauren Huyck had nine assists and six aces, Ivy Bishop had 10 kills and six digs and Isabella Bishop had six kills to lead Susquehanna.
Sadie Jones had four aces and Maggie Jones had four kills for Montrose.
Susquehanna (3-8) 25 25 15 25
Montrose (3-8) 18 18 25 22
JV: MON, 2-0.
Elk Lake 3, Scranton 2
At Elk Lake, Carolyn Cannella had six service points, Kayden Forkal had six kills and 10 blocks and Cheyenne Ford had three kills and three service points to lead Elk Lake.
Natalia Archangeli had six kills and six aces, Catherine Hill had 24 assists and 11 aces, and Kyleah Wilson had 25 digs and eight assists for Scranton.
Scranton (4-7) 25 20 25 23 9
Elk Lake (6-4) 11 25 17 25 15
JV: EL, 2-0.
Forest City 3, Valley View 1
At Forest City, Sydney hodges had 16 points and 42 digs, while Caitlyn Burns had 20 digs, six kills and three blocks to lead the winners.
Ashley Bossick added 10 points and 33 digs, Cara Langman added 23 points and Kayleigh Graham had 12 digs for the Lady Foresters.
Layla Marino had 10 aces and nine digs, Adrianna Barcarola had four digs and Ciara Shedd had three aces for Valley View.
Valley View (1-10) 25 8 17 23
Forest City (3-8) 22 25 25 25
JV: Forest City, 2-0.
Western Wayne 3, Mountain View 0
At Mountain View, Lauren Beamer had 12 kills and five aces, Raegan Palmer contributed 23 assists and four aces, Allie Pauler had seven kills and Emily Romanowski had five kills for Western Wayne.
Addison Kilmer had three blocks and 12 kills, and Racheal Evans had 19 assists to pace Mountain View.
Western Wayne (9-2) 25 25 25
Mountain View (6-5) 21 15 19
Abington Heights 3, West Scranton 0
At West Scranton's Pink Game, Veda Dickinson had six kills and 10 digs and reached 100 kills in her career.
Madison Smith had 15 kills and Kathryn Beck added eight kills for Abington Heights.
Adrianna Fay had eight digs, Emily Stefani had four kills, and Kali Mayer had 6 digs for West Scranton.
Abington Heights (8-3) 25 25 25
West Scranton (1-10) 8 14 9
Contact the writer: jbfawcett@scrantontimes.com; 570-348-9125; @sportsTT on X
