Williamsport girls volleyball team falls to Delaware Valley in district championship match
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PITTSTON -- In the third set against Delaware Valley in Thursday's District 2-4 Class 6A girls volleyball championship, something sparked for the Millionaires.
They struggled in the first two sets offensively, but started putting things together in that third set. Unfortunately for the Millionaires, however, that spark didn’t quite carry into a rally, and Williamsport suffered a disappointing 3-0 sweep at the hands of Delaware Valley, 25-15, 25-13, 25-21.
"Del Val did very good defensively and our hitters just seemed a touch off today in that last set we seemed like ourselves. We got ahead a little bit and little by little they inched back," Williamsport coach Patti Jones said. "Our girls battled. They were a little out of sorts but they started to look more like themselves in that third set. Our hitters were hitting hard, didn't have a lot of blocks until that last set. Had a good crowd that traveled with us and a lot of parents and friends and families. That really fires everyone up."
Pippy Kieser and Ava Fischer led the Millionaires with six kills apiece while E'gypt Ringkamp had three. Ringkamp had a solo block and two assists, Geiani Whaley had a solo block and assist, Maisie Saunders had a solo block and assist and Fischer and Peyton Dincher had assisted blocks.
Mollie Roanhad a team-high 10 digs, Kieser had six, Libby Radspinner had three and Kadence Smith had two.
Fischer had a team-high 10 serving points, Whaley had nine, Radspinner had seven and both Dincher and Roan had six. Jenna Schmidt collected five. Radspinner had six set assists and Dincher earned five.
"Just seemed we couldn't get on a long serving run. We had some good serving, but we just couldn't link them all together," Jones said. "We had two girls that got us going at times and just needed a little more."
Jones and the Millionaires are familiar with Delaware Valley. They've met in past district finals recently and Jones knew they would be tough to beat on Thursday.
"They're very good defensively and very smart with ball in spots. They do have hard hitters and we were covering, they tend to put it deep and that sort of thing, so we just had to continue to adjust," Jones said. "We watched a lot of video, we played them every year. This is third or fourth year we've got them in the final, and tonight just wasn't our night.
"We just didn't seem ourselves and another day? I think we have something, because we have a great team and a lot of talent and a lot of young talent that's coming up," Jones continued.
Despite the loss, the Millionaires put together a solid season in reaching the district championship game and coming just shy of collecting a title.
"Oh my God, they have battled through stuff. They were really sick (this year) and had everybody on team sick and had to move people around. We had little injuries here and there, but finally get to where everybody seems healthy. Its a long season," Jones said. "They're just tired, but we've seen so much growth in so many girls in people who have stepped up when others were out or injured. They're a great group of girls. When they work together and support each other, they're just amazing. It was sad, obviously lot of ugly tears at the end because they're just such a great group of girls."
The Millionaires won 15 matches this year en route to the district championship match.
"They had a great season, they ended 15-6. So, we're working on playing tough teams that can challenge us because you have to keep pushing and get through club season and prepare for next year," Jones said.
Delaware Valley 3, Williamsport 0
(25-15, 25-13, 25-21)
(DISTRICT 2-4 CLASS 6A CHAMPIONSHIP)
Williamsport kills: Pippy Kieser 6, Ava Fischer 6, E'gypt Ringkamp 3. Williamsport blocks: E'gytp Ringkamp 1 solo, 2 assist; Geiani Whaley 1 solo, 1 assist; Maisie Saunders 1 solo, 1 assist; Ava Fischer 1 assist; Peyton Dincher 1 assist. Williamsport digs: Pippy Kieser 6, Libby Radspinner 3, Mollie Roan 10, Kadence Smith 2. Williamsport serving points: Mollie Roan 6, Ava Fischer 10, Peyton Dincher 6, Geiana Whaley 9, Libby Radspinner 7, Jenna Schmidt 5. Williamsport set assists: Libby Radspinner 6, Peyton Dincher 5.