Oct 31, 2018 3 min read

MCMURRAY – With a 2-0 advantage against Bishop Canevin in the WPIAL semifinals Wednesday night, the Fort Cherry High School volleyball team had won two more games than it had all season against their section rival Crusaders.

Then, like a well-oiled machine, the top-seeded Crusaders calmly stole all hope away.

Trailing deep into the third game, Bishop Canevin rallied with six straight points to win the set, then emerged victorious in the final two games to defeat Fort Cherry, 3-2, in a Class A semifinal at Peters Township High School.

“The momentum shifted,” Fort Cherry coach Kelly Lacek said about the third set. “We know Bishop Canevin is a fantastic competitor. We are in the same section and see it.”

The Rangers were swept by Canevin in the regular season by a pair of 3-0 results.

“I knew tonight it wasn’t going to be a 3-0 night for anybody,” Canevin coach Kevin Walters said. “There were no tricks tonight. (Fort Cherry) knew what we could do. We knew what they could do. They have a very good program and very good team.”

The loss for fifth-seeded Fort Cherry (11-4) sends it to the consolation match against Greensburg Central Catholic at 10 a.m., Saturday, at Fox Chapel High School. If the Rangers win, then they will qualify for the PIAA tournament.

Canevin (15-0), the defending WPIAL champion, will play Carmichaels in the Class A title match at noon Saturday, also at Fox Chapel.

Canevin scored 10 of the last 14 points in the third set to stave off a quick elimination. The Crusaders then put together an impressive fourth game, going on runs of three, five and six unanswered points to take command. They erased a 10-8 deficit in the fourth game by rattling off 13 of the next 18 points, tying the match with a 25-17 win.

“If we do what we are naturally trained to do, they can’t beat us,” Walters said of his message to the team after being down 2-0.

“We started gaining the confidence, and once you win that first set you are in (the opponents’) head. You want them to think about it.”

Canevin jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the fifth and final game to cruise to a 15-7 win.

“I think (our players) took it a little easy,” Walters said about falling behind 2-0. “We are talking about 15- to 17-year-old kids who might have been thinking if they just walk out on the court they will win.”

It was the second time in three years Fort Cherry has lost in the semifinals.

The Rangers built the two-game lead – a 25-19 win in the first game and 25-20 in the second – with strong play from Raegan Carter and Katherine Nemec, who had several spikes to shift momentum in favor of Fort Cherry. 

“I think (our players) all came out to play,” Lacek said. “They weren’t all in (against Canevin) before. This time they were. They believed in themselves.”