Philipsburg-Osceola volleyball sweeps Central Cambria for the District 6 championship

The Philipsburg-Osceola volleyball team has lost very few sets this season.

But a sweep in the District 6 Class AA title game on Saturday at the Altoona Fieldhouse was a little unexpected.

The Lady Mounties appeared to shake the confidence of the Lady Red Devils early in the first set.

Philipsburg-Osceola broke out to a 16-5 lead off the serve of London Cutler, who had two straight aces in the run.

Central Cambria took a timeout, but the Lady Mounties just kept swinging, eventually winning the set 25-10.

“We had a game plan coming into to it and really I think they stuck to it for the vast majority of the match,” coach Dave Eckberg said. “A couple of times we had some mental lapses, but we wanted to be aggressive from the service line and consistent from the service line and I think we had one of our better performances in that regard.

“They did a great job as they always do.”

Much of the spotlight fell on Reese Hazelton, who recorded her 1,000th kills as a sophomore in Thursday’s win over Bald Eagle Area.

Hazelton, whose hard hits are tough to dig, let along block, kept Central Cambria off rhythm, mixing up those hard hits with several tips over the net.

She finished the game with 15 kills and three blocks.

“She’s certainly a gamechanger and we know that,” said Eckberg of Hazelton. “What’s great is about her is that she is selfless. She knows there may be times the other team is selling out to block her and that we are going to other hitters and they step up.

“It’s the team effort that we talk about all the time. We had Josie Tekely, our serving specialist back there, who has led us in serves a lot of the times throughout the season.”

And a team effort it was, as everyone who played recorded at least one stat or another in the game.

In the second set, it was libero Janey Johnson, who broke the school’s all-time dig record against Bald Eagle Area on Thursday. Johnson had a big service run that turned a 14-14 tie game into a 24-14 near win.

Hazelton, Jayden Perks and Paige Jarrett all recorded kills during the run, while Perks also had two blocks.

After a sideout on a service error, the Lady Mounties got game point when a Lady Red Devil return went out of bounds to win 25-15.

The third set was more of the same, as Central Cambria failed to get more than two points off the serve.

Philipsburg-Osceola got two key service runs from Tekely and Johnson, who finished out the game with four straight points to give the Lady Mounties the 25-14 win.

“With everything we have been through in the last year in a half, it should even be amplified more that we should enjoy the moment and not taking anything for granted — and they really haven’t,” Eckberg said. “In practice they will push each other. And, sometimes it can get a little chippy. But they always bounce back and come back to loving one another and that’s why they are where they are at.”

Kalista Butler finished the game with 25 assists, eight service points and four digs. Cutler added six service points and five digs, while Perks had five blocks and four kills.

Johnson tallied 16 service points, eight digs and four kills, while Hazelton also had seven digs and five service points.

Tekely had six service points, Lumadue had four kills and Jarrett had three kills.

Philipsburg-Osceola (22-1) hosts Avonworth, the District 7 runner-ups on Tuesday at P-O High School. Match time is 7 p.m.