Title Towns
In 2002 after a tough loss in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs, first-year Freeport volleyball coach Tom Phillips got off the bus at the high school, dejected.
The first face he saw in the parking lot was Knoch volleyball coach Diane Geist.
Geist played volleyball at Freeport during her final two years at the school — “on a dare,” she says — and wanted to let the new coach who had led his team to a surprising season that she approved of the direction the program was heading.
“Diane and I have always been really good friends,” Phillips said. “Before I took over at Freeport in 2002, she told me there are tremendous athletes there, but they have no confidence in themselves.”
The two coaches made it a point to schedule matches against each other every season when they could. It helped both programs.
And both have enjoyed a long run of sustained success.
Then 2017 arrived and both coaches and their teams rose to the ultimate level.
PIAA volleyball champions.
Two coaches and two close-knit communities just 10 miles apart each reached the pinnacle of the sport Nov. 18 in Johnstown.
The Freeport and Knoch state volleyball championship runs were voted the No. 1 Butler Eagle sports story of the year.
“I know it happened,” said Freeport senior libero Claire Crytzer, “but it's still really surreal.”
“It's definitely sunk in,” said Knoch senior Kenzie McDowell. “We've talked about it so much and celebrated it so much. Whenever I see the medal (which hands on her mirror), I smile.”
When 2017 arrived, both programs had high hopes because both had perhaps their most talented rosters, top to bottom, in history.
The wins piled up for Knoch, and they were convincing ones.
“Oh, boy. Oh, my goodness, it was amazing the way we played,” McDowell said. “We wanted every game. We played our hearts out.”
Freeport won, too, only getting tripped up by eventual PIAA 4A champion North Allegheny.
And an old friend.
Knoch.
Their trips through the WPIAL playoffs were divergent, however.
Knoch rolled to a 3A WPIAL title.
Freeport was bounced in the WPIAL 2A final by Beaver.
That, too, turned out to be a blessing.
Crytzer gathered her teammates after the five-set defeat and promised they would not lose again.
The Yellowjackets didn't, getting their revenge against Beaver in the state playoffs to punch their ticket to Johnstown.
“I don't think we win the state title if we beat Beaver in the WPIAL finals,” Phillips said.
That loss galvanized the team and they torched their way through the PIAA playoffs to reach the state title match against Delone Catholic.The Yellowjackets dropped the first game there, but won three straight to win the crown.Phillips, who recently spent nearly a week in the hospital recovering from bacterial pneumonia, broke out the tape of that state championship win whenever he needed to put a smile on his face.Crytzer and her teammates were happy to give it to him.“He cares about each of his players,” Crytzer said. “Any person who goes through the Freeport volleyball program wouldn't be the person they are today without going through that program.“He has high expectations for us and we never wanted to disappoint him,” Crytzer added. “That was the worst thing you could do: disappoint coach. Not only did we want to win it for our teammates, we wanted to win it for him.”Knoch was also determined to win one for Geist, who had spent 30-plus years chasing not only a state title, but a WPIAL crown.They got both for her this season.“Every once in a while I'll think, 'Yeah, we won a state championship,'” Geist said.What really gets to Geist is the fact the Knights won that state title without a blemish.“It's kind of hard to wrap my mind around that,” she said. “Every time we would go into a game against a tough team I'd wonder, 'Is this the night we're going to lose?' But it never happened.”Even in the state playoffs where Knoch had to overcome a 2-games-to-1 deficit in both the semifinals and finals to secure victories.In the state championship match against Allentown Central Catholic, the Knights were down 10-7 in the fifth and deciding game, but rallied for a 15-12 win.And pandemonium.And the perfect cap to a perfect 24-0 season.“I don't even have the words to describe what it means to me,” McDowell said. “Especially for Coach Geist. The next day when we got back to school, she had the trophy on her desk.”It was special for the players for another reason.Some Knoch and Freeport players are teammates on summer club teams.Phillips is close with Knoch senior hitter Sarah Armahizer, having coached her extensively on his club volleyball team.Freeport and Knoch's travels through the postseason almost always included stops at the same gym with the Yellowjackets playing the first match of a doubleheader and the Knights the second.“I think it's pretty neat,” Geist said. “We saw each other quite a bit. I think it's also great for the WPIAL and Western Pennsylvania.”All four state champions hailed from the western side of the state.District 10's Maplewood won the 1A state championship.Freeport played the three other title winners — Maplewood, Knoch and North Allegheny during the season.Even though that championship Saturday in November was six weeks ago, the memories are still fresh.And most likely will be for a lifetime.“To reach the epitome of success is just unbelievable,” Crytzer said. “We still send each other pictures of our medals. Every time I think about it I get a big smile.”
