Champs at last!
WHITEHALL — Diane Geist has had some very talented girls volleyball teams at Knoch over the years.
But on Saturday evening, she watched her players accomplish something that had eluded the program during her 30-plus years as head coach of the program.
Kennedy Christy's kill in the fourth set finished off Montour, 3-1, as the Knights capped their dominant run through the WPIAL playoffs by claiming the Class AAA championship at Baldwin High School.
It is the first district volleyball title in Knoch's history.
“The credit goes to the girls,” said Geist. “We've got nice depth, there's not much drop-off if one player goes out. All season, the goal has been to go deep in the state playoffs, but there are steps before that and this (winning the WPIAL) is one of them. I'm pretty happy right now.”
Knoch's victory came by scores of 25-23, 25-9, 25-27 and 25-16.
“It's amazing and such an honor to be here,” said Knoch senior middle hitter Sarah Armahizer, who had a match-high 24 kills. “We really wanted it and came out strong. It's great to win it and win it for Coach Geist.”
The top-seeded Knights found themselves in a struggle to gain the early advantage. Montour led the first set as late as 22-21, but two late kills from Christy helped the Knights prevail.
Montour's Rosina Esposito and Amalia Esposito both tallied five kills in the set, but the Spartans were denied a crucial victory.
“We had a chance in the first game and if we could've closed it out, maybe the outcome today would have been different,” said Montour coach Mike Marchionda.
As competitive as the first set was, Knoch (20-0) won the second going away.
Armahizer dropped eight of her kills in the second set as the Knights held leads of 6-1, 12-4 and 18-7 before winning by 16 points.
“They (Spartans) were double- and triple-blocking Sarah today, but she still played really well,” said Geist.
Montour's one respite was hard-earned in the third set. The Spartans led most of the way, but Hannah Rowe and Christy led a 5-0 run that gave the Knights a 22-21 lead.
Mia Di Clemente and Gabrielle Tanny both served up aces for the Spartans and Alex Leise blocked a kill attempt from Armahizer as Montour forced a fourth set. It was the first set the Knights had dropped this postseason following three sweeps.
That's when Armahizer and her teammates knew they had to shut the door.
“We lost our momentum in the third set,” she said. “We couldn't have a letdown in the fourth, we had to push. We didn't want it to get to a fifth set.”
That prospect was never really a threat after the Knights jumped out to an 11-6 lead.
“We shot our wad to get that third set,” said Marchionda. “(Rowe, 14 kills) was the difference. Every time we got them out of their system, they'd get the ball over to her at the pin and she'd put it away.
“Knoch deserved to win. They were the better team.”
Rosina Esposito led the Spartans with 13 kills. Knoch's Abby Pospisil tallied 17 service points and Kerrie Fitzpatrick handed out 45 assists.
Knoch doesn't get much time to celebrate. The Knights will begin play in the state playoffs Tuesday against Somerset.
“Last year, we got to the second round of states and the goal is to get further,” said Knoch senior outside hitter Bethany Nulph, who had seven kills Saturday. “I think the momentum we got from this can take us all the way.”
