Raiders taken to limit, fall in semifinals

1 / 3

Waynesburg's Emily Rafferty (13) slams a point to give the Raiders a 19-15 lead in the fourth set Thursday night in the WPIALClass 2A volleyball playoffs against Avonworth at Peters Township High School. An early lead slipped away and the Raiders lost to the Antelopes 16-14 in the decisive fifth set.

Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter

2 / 3

Waynesburg's Ani Cree connects for a kill against Avonworth.

Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter

3 / 3

Waynesburg's Gina Tedrow (9) and Harper Grimes (6) combine for a block in the first set of WPIAL Class 2A volleyball semifinal match Tuesday night against Avonworth.

Mark Marietta/For the

[expand]

close

Observer-Reporter

McMURRAY – During a WPIAL Class 2A semifinal Tuesday night, the undefeated Waynesburg girls volleyball team was taken to a place the Raiders had not gone before this season – a fifth set – and it wasn’t to their liking.

The second-seeded Raiders, pushed to the limit for the first time, dropped a wild five-set contest to No. 11 seed Avonworth. The Antelopes won 16-25, 25-17, 25-12, 20-25, 16-14 at Peters Township’s AHN Arena. It was the third consecutive playoff match Avonworth won in five sets.

Avonworth (15-6) advances to the championship match Saturday while Waynesburg (20-1) will play a third-place consolation game against either Our Lady of the Sacred Heart or Hopewell on Thursday at a site and time to be determined. The winner of the consolation match advances to the PIAA tournament.

Waynesburg had a sizzling start to the match, scoring the first eight points before Avonworth closed to within one point at 11-10. Waynesburg then responded with another 8-0 run and won the opening set 25-16.

The second set started the same way as Waynesburg forged a 6-1 lead. Momentum, however, shifted at that point and Waynesburg had trouble getting it back. Behind the play of Rice University recruit Julia Cernich, who finished the match with 25 kills, Avonworth rallied and won the second set, 25-17. The Antelopes dominated the third set, 25-12, before Waynesburg finally turned the tide.

Waynesburg went up 12-8 in the fourth set, then 17-11 and used a service ace by Ani Cree to make it 24-18. A kill by Railey Bochna won the set at 25-20.

Waynesburg, just as it had in the first and second sets, started quickly in the final game. A kill by Harper Grimes gave the Raiders a 6-1 lead. The Raiders led 7-2 before Avonworth made its charge. The Antelopes used a 4-1 run to tie at 10-10. A block at the net by Clementine Dutot-Lucs gave Avonworth a 12-11 lead. A kill by Cree tied the score and the teams traded points until a Waynesburg serve was ruled to be out of bounds, giving Avonworth a 15-14 lead. Dutot-Lucs then won the match for Avonworth with a kill.