Versatile Plum girls volleyball players look forward to host tournament

By: Michael Love
Saturday, September 14, 2024 | 11:01 AM

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Previous Next

Every third or fourth Saturday in September, one can expect a packed Plum High School gym with volleyballs flying all over the place.

This Saturday will be no exception as the Mustang girls’ volleyball team again will host its annual tournament and welcome a dozen teams for a full day of competition.

“It’s always a fun tournament,” Plum second-year coach Rachel Satira said.

“The girls always love hosting it. It’s a competitive tournament, but it’s just the atmosphere of being at home and having all these good teams come in. Everyone is in a good mood and ready to play some good volleyball.”

Pool play begins at 8 a.m. and will lead into the bracket playoffs in the afternoon. Plum will be in a pool with Brentwood, Penn Hills and Allderdice, while the other two pools will feature Gateway, Franklin Regional, Leechburg, Valley, Kiski Area, Indiana, Highlands and River Valley.

The tournament is a continuation of an early-season schedule which was to include several stern tests in Plum’s new Class 4A section from the likes of Hempfield, Penn-Trafford, Norwin and Latrobe.

The Mustangs were slated to host Latrobe last Thursday and visit Penn-Trafford on Tuesday. Plum is scheduled to take on Hempfield at 7:15 p.m. Thursday.

“Moving up, there’s been a lot of work to find out about all of the teams in our section,” Satira said.

“I know some of the players from these schools just from coaching them in club in past seasons. I know how incredibly talented they are and how they make their teams really good, too. We know it is a challenge, but the girls have been ready for it with how hard they worked in the preseason and early part of the season fine-tuning things to be ready for the grind.”

Satira said her players’ versatility has led to work with different combinations in the rotation.

“We have a setter who also is an outside, a right side who also is a setter, and a defensive specialist who also is a setter,” Satira said.

“We’ve worked on putting them in the best positions to help our team. We have had a lot to work through because they are so versatile. It is good because it gives us that flexibility in our lineup.”

Satira said a 3-0 nonsection victory over rival Gateway on Aug. 29 helped fuel the team and build momentum as it got into the heart of its season schedule.

“We were eager to play them again,” Satira said.

“The last time we played them, we took them to five, but they beat us. This one was one of our better matches early on. Gateway is a strong team who will be a factor in its (Class 3A) section. It felt good to get a win under our belts.”

Plum passed its first section test last Tuesday with a 3-0 win at Connellsville.

“We kept pushing and fighting that whole match and did a great job of not letting Connellsville get much momentum,” Satira said. “We continued to run some plays we’ve been working on and found a lot of success with those.”

The Connellsville win came on the heels of a 3-0 nonsection victory over Knoch and a semifinal finish at the Franklin Regional tournament.

The Mustangs started the tournament 4-2 in the preliminary round-robin. They lost two games to Penn-Trafford while sweeping two from Ambridge.

That put Plum in the Gold Bracket quarterfinals where it overwhelmed Shenango, 25-7, before falling to Class 3A power Freeport, 25-16, in the semifinals.

Freeport went on to defeat Penn-Trafford, 25-21, in the championship game.

“That tournament was very competitive for us,” Satira said.

“We were glad we were back there after taking a few years off. All of the teams there were very competitive, and we knew we were going to get some good games. It was a nice test to see where we stood and to see what we could do in our rotation.

“Freeport has some very strong, experienced hitters, and their speed was a challenge to overcome. Playing with speed is one of the things we’ve been working on.”

Seven starters returned from last year, including three seniors. Two of those seniors, setter/opposite hitter Cassie Dojonovic and defensive specialist Kennedy Filar, were voted captains by their teammates.

“When we had the team vote for captains, it was unanimous,” Satira said.

“They are strong, natural-born leaders who have developed such a rapport with their teammates, especially the younger players. I am so glad I have been able to coach them the past six years. I started in seventh grade with both of them.

“I know what they are capable of in leading the team on and off the court. They are honest and humble, and they do a great job in helping the team mesh better and compete better. They and the other seniors really have strong goals and expectations for how they want their (final varsity) season to play out.”

Senior middle hitter Lilliana Davis, junior defensive specialist Aubrianna Collins, junior outside hitter/setter Mackenzie Marotta, junior middle hitter Addison Then and sophomore setter/defensive specialist Kennedy Soper also returned with starting experience.

“We are a young team that is up for the challenge that 4A brings this year,” Satira said.

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: Plum