It’s been one year since the Lady Eagles faced West Shamokin and lost in the first round of playoffs. This year the Lady Eagles worked hard to beat West Shamokin in the Quarterfinals of Districts but fell short.

In the first set, the Lady Eagles started off slow with West Shamokin up 12-6. This changed when junior Brianna Foy went back to serve and tied up the game 12-12. The game continued to go back and forth until West Shamokin pulled ahead at the end to finish the set 25-20.

In the second set, the Lady Eagles started down again only this time by 5. Throughout the entire set, the Lady Eagles would get the ball and earn 2 or 3 points, but West Shamokin kept the pressure on the girls. West Shamokin earned more kills and passed everything we threw over the net to win the second set 25-21.

The third set, the Lady Eagles still came out slow and made more mistakes. The girls seemed to give up towards the end and let West Shamokin take the third and final set 25-16.

“We came out slow and again looked nervous. West Shamokin is a tough place to play and they were state semi-finalists last year. They didn’t play afraid and they handled the pressure better than us. My girls never quit and we can’t quit. I’ve learned that you find out most about yourself in the midst of pressure and challenge. We haven’t experienced enough tough moments for us to have confidence in those moments. We served well once again, but we weren’t able to side out and get the ball back efficiently enough for us to be successful,” said Head Coach Mike Kraft.

Senior Kylee Gooding had 9 kills and 1 service point, while Foy had 6 aces, 3 kills, 5 digs, and 10 service points. Sophomore Mattie Cherry had 15 assists, 4 aces, and 9 service points.

“Playoffs are often more about confidence, heart, and the belief that you can win those pressurized games. My girls go into every game with the belief they can win and they are fun to watch. I know they gave their heart to this game and that showed last night when the emotions hit them after the game,” said Kraft.

The Lady Eagles finished off the season with a winning record of 14-5.

The Lady Eagles performed the best statistically in program history this season. The Eagles obliterated Bellwood, swept Philipsburg, steamrolled Huntingdon, dominated Central, and beat Hollidaysburg.  In the first round of playoffs, the Lady Eagles hosted the first playoff game in program history and finished third in their league. Other firsts were achieved when the team made the gold bracket at the Saint Francis Tournament, three players were nominated to the all-conference team, players reached career milestones of 1,000 assists and 500 kills, and qualified for district quarterfinals.