Philipsburg-Osceola volleyball takes down North Catholic to earn first-ever state championship berth
The Philipsburg-Osceola Mountaineers will be making their first-ever appearance in the PIAA State Championship match after taking down defending sate champ North Catholic in the PIAA Class 2A semifinals, 25-15, 25-20, 24-26, 25-22 on Tuesday.
Philipsburg-Osceola got off to a hot start at North Catholic, winning the match’s first three points and 10 of the first 11 to build a 10-1 lead.
They built the lead to 11 at 14-3 and forced the Trojans to call two timeouts in the early goings of the match. That lead proved to be enough for the Mountaineers to earn the 25-15 set win on a point by junior Kalista Butler. Freshman Reese Hazelton racked up 10 kills in the set.
The Mountaineers got off to another quick start in the second set, winning six of the first seven points before North Catholic cut it close at 6-5 after calling a timeout with the score at 6-1. The two teams battled until a P-O timeout at 17-15. They kept swinging momentum back-and-forth until the Mountaineers finished the set out at 25-20 on a point by Hazelton.
Philipsburg-Osceola head coach Dave Eckberg said his team’s previous battles with schools like 2018 state champ Bald Eagle Area helped prepare the team for the match.
“I think we just came in with some confidence,” Eckberg said about the early portions of the match. “Seeing a kid like Reese on film is one thing. Having to defend her on the court is something else. I think that’s probably what got us off to a good start.”
North Catholic was finally able to take a lead in the third set when the Trojans went up 2-1 against the Mountaineers. The two teams traded points throughout the set until North Catholic had the 23-20 lead with only two points needed to extend the match to a fourth set.
London Cutler helped the Mountaineers come back to earn a 24-23 lead and a match point, but North Catholic took the set with three straight points to make it 26-24 and bring the match to 2-1.
The fourth set looked similar to the third set with North Catholic taking an early lead on P-O. The Trojans were able to get up 7-2 before the Mountaineers fought back to eventually tie it at nine and start a back-and-forth that went on until it was tied up at 16. It was then that the Mountaineers rattled off four straight points to make it 20-16 and build their largest lead of the set.
They managed to go up 24-21 with three match points and closed it out on the second to win the set 25-22 and earn the victory.
Eckberg said there weren’t any real changes his team made in the fourth set, but getting the score tied at nine in the fourth set helped give his team the push it needed.
“We battled back to 9-9,” he said. “You could see us getting our confidence back. ... Us being able to battle back and tie it, really gave us a shot of adrenaline.”
After the win, the Mountaineers will contend for their first-ever state title at 1 p.m. Saturday when they take on Trinity in Cumberland Valley.
Eckberg is excited for the opportunity to come this weekend and was thankful for the support from the community.
“I think it comes from a lot of hard work from the kids,” he said. “We’ve had so much support from our fans. Who needs a home court when you have fans that show up like they did tonight?
“Our administration has been so supportive of what we’ve done. I think it’s just a team effort. Everyone is chipping in at a time when everyone needs something to be happy about. I’m just happy to be a part of it.”
This story was originally published November 17, 2020 at 7:57 PM.
