Gallery • 9 Photos

Lucia Isenberg

Courtney Williams and Mattie Cherry celebrate after a long rally

The Lady Eagles had been looking forward to the match against defending state champions Bald Eagle Area since the preseason. Tyrone came in to the match with confidence and the home crowd was energized.

The result was not what Tyrone Head Coach Mike Kraft had hoped for, but he was quick to point out that the three set loss can help his team to improve.

“Playing BEA gives us an idea of where we stand against some of the best teams in the state in our division,” said Kraft, “We now know that in order to beat top level teams it is a difference of 2-3 points and those 2-3 points are something we can improve upon and fix in the next coming weeks,” said Kraft.

The Lady Eagles started out strong in the first set and kept the score tight. Around 11-10 Bald Eagle’s best server helped BEA gain the lead. The Lady Eagles kept the competition going and got some kills, blocks, and digs. but ultimately fell 25-18 in the first set.

“Even playing the number one team ranked triple A school didn’t stop the girls from coming out strong and playing aggressive volleyball. We had a game plan and stuck to it in the first set contributing to the competitive ball play,” said Assistant Head Coach Bob Oberhiem.

In the second set, the Lady Eagles shut down, giving BEA an early 6-1 lead. After that, the Lady Eagles couldn’t come back and BEA took advantage of that wining the second set 25-13.

“[Between the second and third set] We learned how to adapt to everything BEA threw at us and we started using their weaknesses to our advantage,” said junior Courtney Williams.

Things started to pick back up in the third set.

Senior Ebonee Rice kept the ball off the floor when BEA took swings and gave the Lady Eagles a chance to rally and win the hard points. Unfortunately, in the end the Lady Eagles were defeated by BEA in the third set 25-19, but the girls never gave up.

The Lady Eagles play their next match on 9/17 away against Penns Valley.

Stats:

Reagan Irons – 7 kills, 11 digs, 1 ace, 1 block

Makenna Bauer – 7 kills, 1 block, 3 digs

Mattie Cherry – 19 assists, 5 digs

Courtney Williams – 5 kills, 2 blocks

Service Points:

Mattie Cherry – 3

Brianna Foy – 2

Miranda Goodman – 3

Reagan Irons – 2

Ebonee Rice – 4