Lady Eagles Fall to the Hollidaysburg Tigers and the Bald Eagles

By Ebonee Rice, Staff Writer|October 17, 2019

Lucia Isenberg

The team breaks it out after a timeout against Hollidaysburg

The Lady Eagles had a grueling week  as they took on three talented teams, Hollidaysburg, Bald Eagle, and Penns Valley. The team had fallen to Bald Eagle and Penns Valley in the past, and knew this week was their chance to make a statement. 

Hollidaysburg

The Lady Eagles opened the week with an at home match against Hollidaysburg. Hollidaysburg has been notorious for having outstanding defense and a never ending work ethic. The Eagles would have to play their best to take on the Hollidaysburg Tigers.

The Lady Eagles started out slow in the first set, and the Tigers gained a lead from the service line. Luckily, the team’s offense at the net allowed the Eagles to slowly come back. The Eagles took the set with a score of 25-14

The next set had a different tone. While Tyrone’s offense remained consistent, Hollidaysburg’s defense rose to the challenge. All of a sudden the tables were turned. Hollidaysburg’s serving continued to put the pressure on the Lady Eagles and the Eagles’ serve receive buckled. The Lady Eagles continued to battle, but Hollidaysburg took the set 25-18.

“We came out playing good balanced volleyball and won the first set pretty easily. Good coaching by Hollidaysburg got his girls playing much better in the next 3 sets and they played very aggressive offense with a good defense to take the match 3-1,” says Assistant Coach Bob Oberhiem.

The third set followed in the same manner. Hollidaysburg had maneuvered their game plan to outsmart the Eagles, putting their bigger blocker on one of the teams most terminating hitters, Makenna Bauer. The Tigers also switched liberos and hitters to adjust to the Lady Eagles’ weaknesses. The Lady Eagles still were able to earn points with freshmen outside hitter, Reagan Irons getting 9 kills and Junior hitter Makenna Bauer, contributing 10 kills. Despite this the Tigers took the set 25-19.

In the last set the Tigers continued to out defend the Lady Eagles and out serve them. The Eagles’ struggled passing, forcing a lot of balls to go out of the system. The Lady Eagles lost 21-25 to the Tigers.

Tyrone loses to Hollidaysburg 3-1; 25-14,18-25,19-25,21-25

Makenna Bauer – 10 kills, 6 aces, 3 blocks

Reagan Irons – 9 kills

Mattie Cherry – 28 assists

Ebonee Rice – 24 digs

Bald Eagle

The next game wouldn’t be any easier. The next day the Lady Eagles would take on Bald Eagle, the 2018 State Champions. The team knew they would have to play aggressive, error-free volleyball to compete with the best team in the state. 

In the first set the Lady Eagles took a while to find their rhythm. They played with high energy, but Bald Eagle is a team that makes little to no errors. Bald Eagle went on several runs from the service line, and the Lady Eagles couldn’t adjust. The Golden Eagles still played good defensively, managing to extend several rallies, but the score still ended at 14-25.

The Lady Eagles made less errors in the second set, but Bald Eagle didn’t let up. The Lady Eagles continued to make saves and keep up with the State Champs. Bald Eagle’s serving still gained too many points and they took the set 25-16

In the third set the Lady Eagles knew they would have to give this game everything they had. The team passed more consistently, allowing more in system balls. The Lady Eagles started to gain more points offensively, playing smarter to adjust to Bald Eagle. The energy was up and Tyrone was making all the right moves. Still Bald Eagle was able to make the plays that earned them that Sate title and ended the set with a score of 18-25

Tyrone loses to Bald Eagle 3-0; 14-25, 16-25, 18-25.

Mattie Cherry – 18 assists, 2 blocks

Reagan Irons – 9 kills, 5 dig

Makenna Bauer – 7 kills, 8 digs

Ebonee Rice – 14 digs

Despite the loss, the Lady Eagles felt good about the game, knowing they made improvements to their game

“In order to beat teams that are better than us, we need to play a perfect game, but we also have to play with a higher level of intelligence.  We made some definite progress in playing smarter, not harder, last evening,” says Head Coach Michael Kraft. The Lady Eagles hope to see Bald Eagle again in the playoffs.