Rough night on court
WEXFORD — The loss on the scoreboard was bad enough.
But it was another loss that commanded the attention of Knoch volleyball coach Diane Geist and her team.
On a kill in the third set, Abby Pospisil landed awkwardly and crumpled to the floor at North Allegheny High School, clutching her left knee.
She could not put weight on it and held back the tears after the Knights' 25-16, 25-10, 25-12 loss to Hampton in the WPIAL Class AAA semifinals Thursday night.
“We have to take a minute to breathe and kind of grieve for Abby,” Geist said. “It looks like an ACL tear. She's a thrower in track and she plays club, so we're kind of thinking about her right now. I just feel bad for her right now.”
Knoch never got into any kind of rhythm against Hampton.
It was the third meeting this season between the two schools. Knoch swept the Talbots in the first meeting, lost the second one 3-1 and were swept Thursday in the third.
Anastasia Russ, a lanky 6-foot-3 sophomore, terrorized Knoch all night at the net with a dozen kills and almost as many blocks.
“We didn't take control of the game at all,” Geist said.
“It's hard to know if (Russ) is going to tip it or hit it, so you have to guess,” Geist added. “You're not always right.”
It's Hampton's first trip to the WPIAL finals.
“When I got here four years ago, these seniors were freshmen,” said Hampton coach Matt Robertson. “We had the struggles these past years, but I think that made us stronger. We're new to this, so I think the girls aren't getting nervous at all, which is a great thing.”
Knoch still has a chance to get back into the PIAA Class AAA playoffs.
The Knights will play South Fayette at 6 p.m. Saturday at Baldwin in a consolation game.
The winner moves on. The loser goes home.
“We didn't play how we wanted to play and we have an injured player,” Geist said. “It just didn't happen tonight.”
