Philipsburg-Osceola volleyball beats Bald Eagle Area to advance to the District 6 2A finals
Not only did Philipsburg-Osceola advance to the District 6 Class 2A volleyball championship on Thursday, but did it in record-breaking fashion.
The Dave Eckberg-led group beat Bald Eagle Area 3-1 ,with scores of 25-18, 25-12, 26-24 and 25-8, on its home court in the semifinals, extending its record to 17-0. Reese Hazelton is now P-O’s all-time career leader in kills after the sophomore finished with 29 kills in the game. Kalista Butler is now first all-time in assists, following her 41-assist performance on Thursday night and Janey Johnson is first all-time in digs with an 11-dig night.
Eckberg has seen plenty of consistent stars in his 12 years at the helm of Philipsburg-Osceola’s volleyball program. But this year’s team seems to be one of the brightest of the bunch with its contributions to the history of the program.
“They’re pretty big things and we have a pretty rich history here at P-O,” Eckberg said. “That’s something that we could get all three milestones in one evening. I feel I’ve been fortunate to coach a lot of great kids while I’ve been here and they’re all special. Anytime kids can surpass milestones that have been here for 10 plus years, it’s just a reflection of how much hard work they’ve put in and I couldn’t have asked for it to go to better kids.”
Philipsburg-Osceola took an early lead in the match, going 2-0 in the first two sets. Then, Bald Eagle came storming back into the picture with a 26-24 set to trail two sets to one. The Lady Mounties found themselves in a comfortable position in the fourth set with a 25-8 victory.
Staying focused and holding each other accountable is something that Eckberg preaches to his team.
“We talked about it after Game 3 when Bald Eagle finished and took that set against us,” Eckberg said. “We said, ‘We have to cleanse that. Come in there with a fresh mindset and cleanse what just happened and go back to what we were doing in Games 1 and 2.’ Fortunately for us, because we played deep into the playoffs last year and played some very strong teams at the tournament this year where we’ve had to battle from behind. … Those kinds of things are big lessons.”
Butler had 41 assists and 14 digs, Hazelton added 29 kills, 16 digs and two blocks, London Cutler contributed five kills, 16 service points and two blocks, along with Jayden Perks’ two blocks, Johnson’s 11 digs, 11 service points and three aces, Josie Tekely’s 11 service points and Annie Johnson’s three aces.
Stat leaders for the Eagles were: Ava Stere with 8 kills and Claire Andrews and Maddie Perry each with 6; Megan Reese had a team-high 22 assists; Perry and Maddie Guenot each had 10 digs, Reese had 11 and Olivia Boone had a team-high 13; Jocelyn Hyde, Reese, and Stere each had a pair of aces. The Eagles finish their season with an overall record of 12-6,
The top-seeded Mounties will take on No. 2 Central Cambria for the District 6 Class 2A title at 2 p.m. Saturday in Altoona.
This story was originally published November 4, 2021 at 11:56 PM.
