Girls volleyball notebook: Injuries can't stop Freeport from winning

Ken Wunderley / Tri-State Sports & News Service

It's been a season like none other for the Freeport girls volleyball team and coach Tom Phillips.

"The injury bug has really bit us this year," Phillips said. "I've had more injuries this year than any of my 24 years as coach. Our trainer has been getting a lot of action."

Freeport has had four players miss time with injuries. And it's not just the players who have dealt with medical issues. The Yellow Jackets had to take a week off and postpone a match when the entire coaching staff went down with COVID-19.

One of the injured players includes senior outside hitter Leah Schrecengost, considered one of the top hitters in Class 3A in the WPIAL.

"Leah landed on her hip a couple weeks ago and hasn't played in our last four matches," Phillips said. "She hasn't been able to practice, so it's very doubtful that she will play this week. It's hard to replace her since she plays all six rotations."

The other three players who have missed playing time with injuries are sophomore middle hitter Jayme Radvan, junior middle hitter Payton Woods and senior defensive specialist Ava Dreher.

Despite the injuries, health issues and bump up in class, Freeport is still winning. The Yellow Jackets have posted a 10-1 record and are ranked No. 5 in Class 3A. They are in second place in Section 2 with a 7-1 record and have qualified for the WPIAL playoffs.

"It's really tough having that many injuries," Phillips said. "It's really testing our depth, especially at middle hitter. In our last couple matches we started a senior, two sophomores, and three freshmen. Fortunately, they've all stepped up to the plate and made a contribution.

"This is the biggest week of the season for us. We control our own destiny."

Freeport travels to Hampton on Tuesday to face the defending WPIAL champs, who are third in the section. The Yellow Jackets posted a 3-1 victory the first time they met.

Next is Thursday's regular-season finale, a home game against No. 2 ranked Mars. The Yellow Jackets were swept by the Fightin’ Planets in the first half.

"Mars is a very good team," Phillips said. "I'm glad we have them at home this time."

Freeport is competing in Class 3A this year after making back-to-back appearances in the WPIAL Class 2A title match. Phillips has led the Yellow Jackets to 14 top-four finishes in his 24 years at the helm.

"I feel we are a top-five team," Phillips said. "This week will prove a lot for us."

The WPIAL volleyball committee will meet on Friday to determine the brackets. The playoffs begin Monday with preliminary round matches.

More injury stuff

Hopewell coach Terry Borkovic is also dealing with a key injury.

The Vikings, ranked No. 2 in Class 2A, have lost junior setter Bella Ceccarelli to a season-ending knee injury.

"It happened in our rematch with [top-ranked] Quaker Valley," Borkovic said. "It's a significant knee injury. We don't see her returning this season."

Quaker Valley had won the first two sets and Hopewell was winning the third set when Cecerelli suffered her injury. The Vikings did win the third set but struggled in the fourth set, thus dropping a 3-1 decision.

"It took the emotion out of our team," Borkovic said. "We never recovered emotionally."

Borkovic turned to sophomore Marina Pinchotti, who was sharing the setting duties on Hopewell's JV team.

"Marina is an accomplished softball player who is also a WPIAL gymnastics champ, so I felt comfortable having her run our 5-1 offense," Borkovic said. "Her experience is the only question. It's a matter of her gaining confidence."

With Pinchotti running the offense, Hopewell posted wins against New Brighton and Freedom to improve their record to 11-2 overall and 9-2 in Section 1.

The Vikings have two more section matches remaining Tuesday against Aliquippa and Thursday at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.

"That will give Marina four matches of experience going into the playoffs," Borkovic said. "The team is feeling comfortable with her running the offense."

Borkovic is fortunate to have a strong group of hitters, led by senior outside hitter Jordan Sirianni, senior middle hitter Alyssa Spang and junior outside hitter Brianna Indereist.

"We don't have a big star on this team," Borkovic said. "We have a bunch of kids who play strong defense and block well. We spread the ball around to our hitters. Everyone does their job."

Despite being a second-place finisher in their section, Borkovic feels the Vikings are worthy of a top-four seed.

"I've been in the playoffs numerous times over the years," Borkovic said. "I can't control where we are seeded. The only thing I can control is my team."

Playoff qualifier controversy

The WPIAL is using different criteria for playoff qualifying this year, and the teams in Class 4A Section 2 are not happy.

In previous years, the top four teams in each section — plus ties that cannot be broken — qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.

The volleyball committee made a change to that format this season when the biennial realignment added two sections to the now 19-section alignment. Twelve of the 19 sections have six or fewer teams.

The committee decided that sections with six or fewer teams would get only three qualifiers. The other seven sections get four qualifiers.

"We added two sections so that we could set up sections geographically," said Our Lady of the Sacred Heart athletic director Mike McDonald, who also serves as chairman of the WPIAL volleyball committee. "That left us with quite a few sections with five or six teams. We decided that sections with six or fewer teams would get only three playoff berths. That's 50 percent of the teams qualifying. The same is true for sections with seven or eight teams, as they get four qualifiers."

Teams competing in Class 4A Section 2 were not happy with that decision, as it has been considered the strongest section in the WPIAL for some time.

Section 2 features three teams that were top-four finishers last year in the WPIAL. North Allegheny is the defending WPIAL Class 3A champion, while Pine-Richland was a semifinalist. North Catholic joined the section after placing second last year in Class 3A.

"That's so unfair to the teams in this section," Seneca Valley coach Brett Poirier said. "All six teams in this section are good enough to be in the playoffs. Just take a look at the teams we've beat. The same is true for Butler."

Seneca Valley has four non-section wins against teams that have qualified for the WPIAL tournament: Canon-McMillan, Penn-Trafford, Hempfield, and Hampton.

The same is true for Butler. The Tornados have wins against Hempfield, Mars, Laurel, and Fox Chapel.

"I looked up the WPIAL's mission statement," said Butler coach Meghan Lucas, who is retiring at the end of the season. "It reads: 'The mission of the WPIAL is to regulate and administer interscholastic athletic competition in a fair and equitable manner.' This is not fair. It's unfair to have such a strong section and give us only three berths."

North Allegheny (8-0 in section) and North Catholic (6-2) have already qualified. Pine-Richland (4-4) can qualify with a win Tuesday against North Hills (0-8).

Seneca Valley and Butler are tied for fourth place at 3-5.

Seneca Valley must win its remaining matches against North Catholic and North Hills and hope that Butler beats Pine-Richland on Thursday to qualify via tiebreaker rules. Butler has an even tougher road with matches against North Allegheny and Pine-Richland.

"It's so unfair to this section to have only three playoff berths," Lucas said.