The Lady Eagles flew into Central Dragon territory thinking upset.  The Dragons had already defeated the Eagles two times this season but with a strong second half of the season and a new found confidence Tyrone was hoping to create some magic in its first ever playoff game.

However, after a competitive first set the Lady Eagles could not keep pace with the Lady Dragons, losing their first playoff appearance in straight sets, 25-21, 25-18, and 25-16.

Despite the loss, Tyrone volleyball has made huge strides this year and the season was a big success for second year head coach Mike Kraft and his team.

“We spent a little over half of the year trying to find an identity on which to play,” said head coach Michael Kraft, “Every team has an identity, whether it be an extremely offensive identity, serving, defense, etc. It wasn’t until we beat Huntingdon at home (the 2^nd half of the season) that we started to turn the corner. At that time, we had already won 4 games, which was twice as much as last year. The girls fed off that and gave them a large boost of confidence.”

The team played well in the first set, matching Central point for point. But Tyrone couldn’t keep up with them and started to struggle in the next two.

Leading the way for the Eagles, Lea Crofcheck had 12 assists, 1 ace and 1 block, Alexis Cannistraci had 8 kills and 3 blocks. Torrie Foy and Emily Fusco had 3 kills. Anslee Walk had 10 digs and Carly Crofcheck had 6 digs during the playoff game.

The teams overall record this year was 6-11.  Despite the losing record, the team improved throughout the season and recorded a number of firsts in the history of Tyrone volleyball:

• First win against Huntingdon, Juniata Valley, and Penns Valley.
• The team took the defending district 6 champion to 5 sets and the district semifinalist from last year to four sets.
• This year was the Lady Eagles first ever playoff appearance and the first time winning 6 games in a season

To Kraft, this season is more of a beginning to what he hopes is the beginning of a Tyrone tradition of winning.

“Hopefully this attracts more attention to the program and persuades more girls to be part of something truly awesome: a transformation of worst in the league to one of the top contenders in a few short years,” said Lea Crofcheck.

If the team wants to beat the best in the state, they have to continue to find ways to work harder and push each other to extend above the expectations.

“We challenged the best teams in this area this year and at times, should have beaten those top teams,” said Kraft, “This year the girls learned how to love the sport and play with passion. When you are truly passionate, the girls learned that you can conquer anything.  Even with 12-13 girls all year long!”

“Huntingdon was our first signature win for our team this year and frankly, in program history,” said Alexis Cannistraci.

“In my first year as head coach, the girls began to understand the game enough to be competitive with most teams,” said Kraft, “this year, we erased the image that “traditional Tyrone volleyball” had: that Tyrone was an easy win.”

“Proving to other teams and our community that Tyrone volleyball does have what it takes to win is honestly an amazing accomplishment,” said Anslee Walk.

The Lady Eagles are definitely on the way to creating a family of passion, commitment and dedication. They need to hold each other accountable and push the bounds of human achievement.

“We made huge strides this year and I’m going to miss these girls more than anything,” said Crofcheck, “I can’t wait to see what Kraft has planned for next years season.”

“The rising sophomores began to figure things out toward the end of the year and was part of a team that experienced passion and success, what it’s like to be part of a winning team,” said Kraft, “the rising freshmen class experience their first year of competitive volleyball on the first ever junior high team. They are passionate and are eager to provide to next year’s team.”

“I’m so thankful for all the fan love and dedication,” said Maddie Veit, “they always give us big boost of confidence even when we’re down a few points.