Quite a sister act, indeed.

Two years after older sister Brooke won a deciding match to launch the Knoch girls tennis team into the PIAA final, Ally Bauer did the same for the Knights in her state semifinal match Saturday at the Hershey Racquet Cub.

In both cases, the Bauer girls won and Knoch went on to win the PIAA 2A championship. The Knights defeated Sewickley Academy, 4-1, in the state title match Saturday.

“Absolutely incredible,” Knoch coach Nance Conlon said. “Brooke had to win her semifinal match in 2020 for us to get to the state final. Ally had the exact same situation Saturday. Brooke was a senior, Ally is a senior.

“It really is storybook. It’s a fantastic story.”

Knoch and Lower Moreland were tied at 2 before Bauer’s semifinal match at No. 2 singles against Rebecca Kideckel. Bauer — the only senior on the team — won the first set, 6-2, but dropped the second one, 7-6, in a lengthy tiebreaker.

“We took a break between the second and third sets and our coaches came down to talk to us,” Bauer said. “I was a mess at that point. I was so nervous.

“Then I settled down and was determined to get out there and do this for my team.”

Bauer won the deciding set, 6-1, the Knights had a 3-2 semifinal win and were on their way to the final. Knoch had defeated Conrad Weiser, 4-0, in the quarterfinal round Friday.

“That last (semifinal) set was the best tennis I’ve ever played in my life,” Bauer said. “It was nerve-wracking because we were the only match going on, it was all on us and everybody was cheering every point.

“When I won, our whole team stormed the court and we went wild, just like it was when Brooke did it. It was so, so cool.”

But Knoch’s day wasn’t done.

The Knights’ semifinal match ended around 12:30 p.m. Their final against Sewickley Academy was slated for 4 p.m. Sewickley played its semifinal early Saturday morning.

“Sewickley pretty much cruised through their match,” Conlon said. “We had a lot of long matches and not a lot of time to rest after lunch. My team was definitely tired.”

Some of Knoch’s players took a nap after lunch. Bauer was not among them.

“I couldn’t do it ... just couldn’t calm down,” she said.

Knoch took care of business in the finals, sweeping the singles matches. Emily Greb defeated Ashley Close 5-7, 6-1, 6-0 at No. 1 singles. Bauer won her match 6-3, 7-6, at No. 2 and Lindsey Greb won 6-3, 6-3 at No. 3.

The teams split in doubles, Knoch’s Ava Santora and Jade Nether winning in three sets. Kenzie Gumto and Lara Ejzak played No. 2 doubles for Knoch.

“Six of these seven girls are back next year. They’re already pumped for next season and so are the coaches,” Conlon said.

Bauer will be moving on to Lafayette, where she will be continuing her tennis career at the collegiate level.

“No better way to go out,” she said of her high school career. “This is so, so sweet. Brooke and I both have a memory that will live forever.”

Girls Soccer

Kathleen Virostek and Lauren MacDonald both netted a goal as North Catholic downed Beaver, 2-1, in a WPIAL Class 2A quarterfinal at North Allegheny’s Newman Stadium.

Morgan Schlegel and MacDonald had an assist for the Trojanettes (15-1), who will face Avonworth in a semifinal Tuesday.

Mount Pleasant 4, Freeport 0 — In another Class 2A quarterfinal, the Yellowjackets (14-3) saw their season come to an end via shutout against the second-seeded Vikings.

Staff writer Derek Pyda contributed to this report