Canon-McMillan remains perfect in section
Photo courtesy of Melissa Bellino
CANONSBURG – Canon-McMillan is one step closer to its third straight section championship following a 3-1 victory over Peters Township on Tuesday night in a Class 4A Section 1 girls volleyball match.
The Big Macs won the first two sets by scores of 25-22 and 25-23 before the Indians earned a 25-21 victory in the third set. Canon-McMillan won the fourth set, 25-22, to improve to 7-0 in section play and 12-1 overall.
The Indians dropped to 4-3 in section play and 10-3 overall.
Canon-McMillan has three matches remaining in the section before the WPIAL playoffs begin. The Big Macs advanced to the championship match last season.
“This was a good test for us,” Canon-McMillan coach Sheila Mitchell said. “We won in four again, and obviously, you want to get better and win in three, but they have a very strong team and didn’t let a lot of balls drop.
“These girls have played together a really long time, and I feel confident in them that if they get down a point or two, they’re not out. They are really good at shaking some things off and doing that. Hopefully, we don’t have to keep digging out of a hole, but I feel confident that they won’t stop until it’s over.”
Despite the loss, Peters Township is in good position to qualify for the postseason as one of the top three finishers in the section.
“This is a tough week for us,” Peters Township coach Chris Kelly said. “Our two section losses were to Canon-Mac and Upper St. Clair, and we have Upper St. Clair on Thursday. We have Mt. Lebanon and Baldwin to finish off. I think we are still in a good spot, but you need to win some matches.
“Tonight, at times, I played five freshmen. They don’t have the same experience that these girls have. Canon Mac’s team has been playing together for a long time. They have more high school experience and they all play club volleyball. I don’t want to use being young as an excuse, but you need to play more.”
Canon-McMillan had a 6-1 lead in the first set before the Indians cut the deficit to one with a 4-0 run. The Big Macs built their advantage to 16-12 on three straight kills by Abby Tucker.
“I think I really connected with both of our setters really well today,” said Tucker, a senior who will play volleyball next season at West Virginia University. “We worked on that specifically in practice, and I think it really carried over to today’s game, and I was really happy about that.
“I think this match was pretty similar to our last one against Peters Township. They are one of our toughest opponents. They are always a really good team, and their coach definitely puts together a good team. It has always been a battle with them during my four years of high school.”
Canon-McMillan had a 21-15 lead before the Indians went on a 5-0 run. Mitchell took a timeout and the home team closed the set scoring four out of five points.
The Indians had an 8-3 advantage in the second set but an 11-1 run provided the Big Macs with a 14-9 lead. Peters Township battled back to tie the set at 20-20 before the home team prevailed, 25-23, for a 2-0 advantage.
The visitors avoided a sweep with a 25-21 victory in the third set, before Canon-McMillan took the fourth set. The Big Macs had a 24-19 lead in the fourth, but the Indians won three straight match points before Tucker ended the match with a kill. Tucker led Canon-McMillan in kills with 11, and she had two blocks. Cali Dagen had 10 kills and 9 digs. Lilly Thornbury (9 kills, 2 blocks) and Natalie Carr (9 kills, 2 blocks, 21 digs, 4 aces) were also instrumental in the Big Macs’ success.
Brooke Peters led Canon-McMillan in assists with 18, and added 9 digs. Carsen Brown had 16 assists and Sophia Powell led the home team with 26 digs.
“I like my team very much,” Kelly said. “They work really hard, but they just need to play more. I feel like we played a little bit better this time than our first match. I think the game scores were closer, and I think we gave Canon-Mac a pretty decent match, but we had no answers for (Abby) Tucker. None. She destroyed us.”