Knoch nets 3A 3-peat
O'HARA TWP — Dropping the third set could have turned into much more. Instead, it was just a bump in the road of Knoch's path to a three-peat.
The Knights answered with victory in the fourth set to dispatch Thomas Jefferson by scores of 27-25, 25-15, 19-25 and 25-20 in the WPIAL Class 3A girls volleyball championship match Saturday at Fox Chapel High School.
The Knights also defeated the Jaguars in last year's final via a sweep.
“Thomas Jefferson is not an easy team to beat,” said Knoch coach Diane Geist. “In the fourth set, we tried to get back to basics.”
That task was made easier with Hannah Rowe back on the court. The senior and all-state outside hitter had missed three weeks with a back injury. She played in Wednesday's semifinal win over Franklin Regional, after which Geist said she was “winded”.
Rowe was back in full force against T.J. Her 20th kill of the afternoon ended the match as Knoch celebrated the program's third straight district championship.
“Hannah is such a force on the court,” said Geist. “She's only had a few practices and is still coming back from the injury. To play like she did today, it shows what kind of player she is.”
Adrenaline fueled Rowe's impressive effort.
“I know almost all of Thomas Jefferson's players and I wanted to show what I can do,” added Rowe. “After I got moving, I was fine.”
The first set saw the Jaguars turn a 21-14 deficit into a 23-22 lead. Rowe dropped three of her seven kills late in the set to help the Knights gain the crucial one-game-to-none lead.
“The first game was the best one of the day and we should've won it,” said Jaguars' coach Ron Kelly. “The second game killed us. We had five service errors. Against a good team, you can't give up points like that.”
TJ's inconsistent serving combined with a Knoch attack led by Rowe and Skylar Burkett to allow the Knights to easily take the second set and a commanding 2-0 edge in the match.
“We were very calm and our passing was on point,” Rowe said of her team's ability to put the Jaguars in a deep hole. “When we made errors, we weren't stressing about them.”
TJ's Natasha Yanief led her team's rally as the Jaguars earned 12 of the last 17 points in the third set.
“We didn't miss serves,” said Kelly. “We began running a quicker offense and Knoch didn't have time to react.”
The Knights adjusted, however, and settled matters in the next set.
“The fourth set was all about attitude,” said senior hitter Morgan Frishkorn, who helped the Knights reach the semifinals in Rowe's absence. “We just wanted to end it, not let it go five sets.”
Burkett contributed seven kills, eight blocks and 12 assists. Morgan Jack added 14 assists and Kate McCarty 10 blocks.
Yanief had 13 kills to pace the Jaguars, who won Section 3 with a record of 14-0.
The Knights (21-1), who are still without injured middle hitter Kennedy Christy, begin play in the state playoffs Tuesday.
