Freeport tradition goes on
BUFFALO TWP — A banner in Freeport High School's gymnasium reads, “Freeport Volleyball Tradition Never Graduates.”
It's not just for decoration. It means something to past, present and future members of the program.
Zoe Pawlak should know.
She arrived on the varsity scene as a freshman middle hitter in the fall of 2012 and has helped the Yellowjackets add to their string of section titles, which now numbers 10 in a row. She helped Freeport win its second WPIAL Class AA title in 2013. The first came three years earlier.
“I looked up to the girls who came before me and when I got to varsity, I wanted to do my best for the team,” said Pawlak, now a senior outside hitter and team captain, along with Morgan Ruppersberger and Meredith Tirdel. “As girls move up through the grades, they want to do whatever they can to keep the tradition going.”
The Yellowjackets began to flourish after Tom Phillips took the reins of the program in 2002.
“I think it's a matter of bringing up young talent and working hard every day in practice,” he said. “We have a very good junior varsity team. They go up against our varsity in practice and that makes both teams better. I'm very proud that we continue to win that section title.”
There may be a long way to go before this season's Section 4-AA championship is decided, but Freeport didn't look like it was ready to give up the crown in Tuesday's home match against Knoch.
Pawlak dropped 14 kills on the Knights as the Yellowjackets coasted to a 25-14, 25-15 and 25-19 sweep.
“Our defense played well and our passing was crisp,” said Phillips. “We kept the ball off the floor and we served aggressively.”
Freeport (2-0) was up 17-12 in the first set when, with Maggie Ward behind the service line, the 'Jackets reeled off six straight points to put the game out of reach. Pawlak tallied three kills during the run and Ward an ace.
Phillips said a key to Tuesday's win was controlling Knoch junior hitter Sarah Armahizer, who ended the night with four kills.
“She can take over a game just like Zoe,” he said. “It was our goal to slow her down tonight.”
The second and third sets were close early before Freeport's firepower took over. Ruppersberger had three kills in the third set.
“We had some passing errors that hurt us tonight and we let some balls drop,” said Knoch coach Diane Geist. “We need to work on reading Zoe better, with her tip and roll.”
Abbie Fissore paced Knoch (2-1) with seven kills in the match and Carly Bozzo had 11 digs.
Both teams will continue with section play Thursday. Freeport travels to Obama Academy while Knoch hosts Valley.
