After coming up short for WPIAL title, resilient Freeport heads to state volleyball tournament

By: Michael Love
Sunday, November 5, 2023 | 5:28 PM

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The Freeport girls volleyball team is no stranger to taking on the best in the state at this point in a fall season.

While the Yellowjackets players had hoped to enter this year’s PIAA Class 2A playoffs with another WPIAL title under their belts, head coach Tom Phillips said they will be ready to bounce back from Saturday’s five-set heartbreaker to Beaver Area and shoot for their second straight state crown and third overall in program history.

Freeport will be on the road to Erie on Tuesday and will pay a visit to District 10 champion North East. Opening serve is slated for 6 p.m.

“Now, the road changes, and we will go down a different path,” Phillips said.

“Our goals are still the same. We’re just approaching it from a slightly different angle. We have to go on a different route to get to the ultimate goal.”

Phillips said he is confident his team has the ability to make a run to state gold like it did last year and in 2017.

“We’ll get back into the gym (Monday),” he said.

“There’s not a whole lot of time to prepare for teams from Saturday to Tuesday. There’s not a lot you can change. I do a lot of film study, and I already began that. We knew who we could face even before our game on Saturday, and then we knew who we would face as soon as our game was over.

”It will be a challenge to play on North East’s home court. We know how tough it is when teams come to our place for a playoff match. You have to be resilient and be prepared, and I think we will be both when we get on that bus Tuesday.”

North East (17-2) earned the right to host a PIAA first-round game as it swept Corry (15-2) in the District 10 title game Friday night. The Grapepickers, district champs for the second year in a row, were led by the powerful punch of hitters Cadence Jones (18 kills), a 5-foot-11 senior, and 5-11 senior Kayla Forsythe (11 kills).

North East avenged a loss to Corry from Oct. 17 that decided a regional championship.

While North East and Freeport will do battle, Corry and Beaver Area also meet Tuesday evening. The Yellowjackets and Bobcats each would need to win two games to set up a possible rematch in the semifinals next week.

Last year, Corry traveled to Freeport, and the Yellowjackets rolled in the first-round matchup and went on to claim the PIAA title, defeating York Catholic in three games at Cumberland Valley High School.

Also last year, North East hosted WPIAL runner-up Shenango in the first round, and Shenango advanced with a three-game sweep.

The last District 10 team to win a Class 2A title was Corry in 2016.

The next season, Freeport defeated Corry in the quarterfinals at Slippery Rock High School on the way to capturing its first state championship.

Phillips said he wished his players, especially the four seniors – Autumn English, Josie Russo, Grace Beach and Sydney Selker – could have captured the WPIAL title, but, he said, they understand the task ahead and know there still is much to play for.

“This group of seniors, from the start of their freshman year after not having an eighth-grade season because of covid, have been absolutely amazing,” Phillips said.

“They’ve been stellar people in our program. They are great leaders. I couldn’t be more proud of their effort yesterday and the effort from everybody.”

Freeport fell behind 2-0 to Beaver at Peters Township High School but battled back to tie the match 2-2.

The Yellowjackets fell behind 9-2 in the fifth set and rallied to tie it at 10-10 before Beaver held them off to claim the gold.

“It would’ve been so easy to go a certain way (Saturday) with what they were facing, but their resiliency and effort was absolutely fantastic,” Phillips said.

“I was so proud of them for the way they showed that.

“I give a ton of credit to a really strong Beaver team. They have really dominated play. They have a good shot at making a run, too. Who knows? We could see them again.”

Junior Alaina Whitlinger finished the WPIAL title match with 21 kills. Fellow junior Leah Schreckengost added 19 kills.

Beach recorded 51 assists over the five games, while sophomore Peyton Cene was 16 for 16 from the service line.

“Peyton really grew up (Saturday) and stepped up and made some really nice defensive plays. People step up and step in certain situations.”

Phillips said the support from the Freeport community as the team left for Peters Township on Saturday to the game itself was amazing. He hopes that support can continue for as long as the team is alive in the state tournament.

“Saturday’s loss was a punch in the gut, but we’re moving forward,” Phillips said.

“We’ve been working hard, and we can’t let that one loss deter us from where we want to be.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Freeport