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If one looked at the District 2-4 Class 6A girls volleyball sub-regional standings, it was obvious that Williamsport would be considered the heavy favorite over Wyoming Valley West in the quarterfinals of the subregional championship at the Magic Dome in Williamsport on Monday night.
And that's exactly how the match played out, as the Millionaires completely overwhelmed Wyoming Valley West, 3-0 (25-6, 25-10, 25-7).
"Our last two matches have been real hard, and we needed to start hitting really hard in a game and work together as a team. I feel like they did that tonight. We also were able to play a lot of people and show our depth, and everybody contributed to the win," Williamsport coach Patti Jones said.
Williamsport jumped on Wyoming Valley West with huge leads early on in all three sets, including getting out to a 9-1 lead in the first set.
"Our serving has a lot to do with that, and we just kept attacking. The girls were convinced that they weren't going to play at a lesser level. They just wanted to keep working together, getting that ball up, setting the ball and then sitting it down. That's what we did," Jones said. "We were up there on the blocks. We had a lot of blocks, a lot of really good hits, and serving was great. I don't really have a whole lot of complaints tonight. If we can continue to play the same way moving forward, I think we're going to be quite successful."
Wyoming Valley West simply had no answers in the first set, or in any set for that matter. Williamsport led 19-4 and cruised home to win the set, 25-6.
Jenna Schmidt got the Millionaires out to a 10-0 lead in the second set with a 9-0 serving run to once again put a set out of reach early. Williamsport showed a sense of urgency that coaches like to see from their teams in win-or-go-home postseason situations.
"They were a little nervous coming in, as we were as well. We just hadn't seen a lot of video, but I said just play loose. You can't go out there and play nervous," Jones said. "When you play nervous, you play tight, and then we're just not playing our game. Urgency, yes. Wanting to do well, yes. But not playing nervous. Just going out and having fun and working together as a team."
Williamsport won the set, 25-10, and jumped out to yet another big lead in the third set, leading 12-3 and 17-4 en route to a 25-7 set win to clinch its spot in the semifinals against a talented Hazleton team seeded one spot below Williamsport at No. 3.
The Millionaires will host that match at the Magic Dome on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
"I think they have some good outside hitters. I think there's a good outside hitter and a good right-side hitter, and we're just going to have to put our block up," Jones said. "If we can put our block up, cover the tips, and keep hitting hard and serving aggressively to get them out of system, I think we'll be successful."
Williamsport 3, Wyoming Valley West 0
(25-6, 25-10, 25-7)
Williamsport kills: Pippy Kieser 8, Ava Fischer 8. Williamsport service points: Jenna Schmidt 16, Mollie Roan 11. Williamsport assists: Peyton Dincher 10, Libby Radspinner 9. Williamsport digs: Pippy Kieser 8, Ava Fischer 5. Williamsport blocks: E'gypt Ringkamp 3.