Heartbreaker
JACKSON TWP — Tom Phillips could point to a lot of things that went wrong Wednesday — but it all went back to intensity.
In Wednesday's WPIAL Class AA volleyball quarterfinals, Freeport won two of the first three games, but Ambridge came up strong in the end, battling its way to a 24-26, 25-21, 21-25, 25-23, 15-8 victory at Seneca Valley High School.
The loss ends the season for the Yellowjackets, who needed to reach the semifinals to grab one of the four state playoff spots.
“From beginning to end, we just didn't play well,” Phillips said. “I don't know if we were not prepared. You play like we did tonight and you don't even win in our section.
“It was just an overall lack of intensity. We struggled passing the ball. Our offense is potent when we pass the ball,” Phillips added.
Things looked well for the Yellowjackets after the third game, but in Game 4, the Bridgers took the first four points and seven of eight — reminiscent of Game 2 where they opened with the first nine points after Freeport won the previous set — to show they were not going to fold.
The Yellowjackets chipped away slowly, eventually scoring four consecutive points — the final two coming on a Megan Sweeny ace and a double hit from the Bridgers — to tie the game at 18.
With the score tied at 19, Ambridge scored the next five points to take a 24-19 advantage before Freeport countered with the next four, spurred by consecutive kills by Alexis Schrecengost and two by Zoe Pawlak, but a diving shot by Freeport was knocked down at the net to give the Bridgers the game.
“We struggled with ball control and the tempo of the game and it started with Game 1,” Phillips said. “The intensity was not there. When you control the ball, you control the match ... (Ambridge) did tonight. They did everything tonight.”
In Game 5, the teams were tied five times, the last at 7-all before the Bridgers pulled away.
Lexi Hilzendeger's tip-over, a Freeport error, Nicole Kuhn's kill and Lindsay Queer's drop shot made it a four-point Bridgers lead. After Freeport recorded the next point, Ambridge closed out the match with the final four points.
“When it comes to Game 5, it's a can't-miss series,” Phillips said. “Serving is 90 percent mental and if you don't have that mentality, you're not going to do well. Our first two serves were service errors. We needed to get a good start, like 8-4.”
The Bridgers fought Freeport throughout, even in the games it lost.
Game 1 saw the Bridgers take a 10-8 before the Yellowjackets tied the game, then the game saw four more ties, the last at 24-all before the Bridgers dropped the final two points on errors.
After the Yellowjackets fell into a big hole in Game 2, they clawed their way back, using a 7-1 spurt to trailed 20-18, but would pull no closer.
Freeport jumped out to a 6-1 lead in Game 3 but the Bridgers worked it back to a 7-all tie. Six ties later at 19-all, Freeport garnered the next four points, including a kill by Schrecengost, en route to the win.
Then, Freeport's mistakes became more apparent.
“I told them you have to stop the ball at the net,” said Phillips, who had been impressed with how intense his team's practice was on Tuesday. “You can't wait for the passer to pass you the ball. The block game was practically zero.
“The kids knew what was at stake for the team tonight. I thought they had the opportunity to move along further.”
Notes: Schrecengost led Freeport with 17 service points and 10 kills while Ashley Sample added 17 points ... Ambridge had also defeated Thomas Jefferson 3-2 in the opening round.
