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Waynesburg Central sweeps Brownsville to remain unbeaten

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Waynesburg Central’s Lelia McCollum (22) celebrates with teammates Ani Cree (left) and Emma Blair after the Lady Raiders earned a 3-0 victory over Brownsville on Tuesday in Section 2-3A play at Brownsville Area High School.

Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard

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Brownsville celebrates after scoring a point during Tuesday’s Section 3-2A match against Waynesburg Central at Brownsville Area High School.

Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard

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Waynesburg Central’s Ani Cree prepares to return the ball during Tuesday’s Section 3-2A match against Brownsville at Brownsville Area High School.

Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard

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Brownsville’s Skyler Gates watches as the ball comes down before she bumps to a teammate during Tuesday’s Section 3-2A match against Waynesburg Central at Brownsville Area High School.

Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard

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Waynesburg Central’s Chatham Knight sets the ball for a teammate while the Lady Raiders’ Lelia McCollum observes the play during Tuesday’s Section 2-3A match against Brownsville at Brownsville Area High School.

Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard

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Brownsville’s Skyler Gates jumps for a spike against Waynesburg Central’s Ani Cree (11) during Tuesday’s Section 3-2A match at Brownsville Area High School.

Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard

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Waynesburg Central’s Harper Grimes spikes the ball over the net while Brownsville’s Aijanae Foster (left) and Abigayle Thomas attempt to block the attack in Tuesday’s Section 2-3A match at Brownsville Area High School.

Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard

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Brownsville’s Abigayle Thomas pushes the ball over the net against Waynesburg Central’s Ani Cree during Tuesday’s Section 3-2A match at Brownsville Area High School.

Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard

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Brownsville’s Cyan Eilam jumps to spike the ball while Waynesburg Central’s Ani Cree attempts to block the shot in Tuesday’s Section 3-2A match at Brownsville Area High School.

Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard

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Brownsville’s Ashley Evanchak bumps the ball during Tuesday’s Section 3-2A match against Waynesburg Central at Brownsville Area High School.

Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard

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Brownsville’s Aijanae Foster returns the ball over the net against Waynesburg Central’s Harper Grimes during Tuesday’s Section 3-2A match at Brownsville Area High School.

Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard

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Brownsville and Waynesburg Central head coaches Rachael Salvucci and Dan Higinbotham wait as their teams starting lineups are announced prior to Tuesday’s Section 3-2A match at Brownsville Area High School.

Jonathan Guth | Herald-Standard


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HILLER — Dan Higinbotham was able to breathe a little easier around 8:30 Tuesday evening, but the rest of his day wasn’t tranquil for the Waynesburg Central girls volleyball coach.

The reason for Higinbotham’s apprehension was the Lady Raiders’ Section 2-3A road match with undefeated Brownsville.

Waynesburg Central also came into the contest undefeated, and left Brownsville Area High School with an unblemished record of 5-0 in the section and 7-0 overall.

The Lady Raiders earned a 3-0 sweep, but the match was much tighter than the score indicated with Waynesburg winning by set scores of 25-20, 25-13 and 25-18.

“We did prepare for them specifically,” Higinbotham said. “I have watched them and I’m familiar with them, and they were a threat. I was anxious, to say the least. They are a good team. I know their coaches, and they do a good job with the girls, and I think they are our biggest competitor.

“The match was close, but my squad knows how to stay calm and keep playing, even when they have a couple of bad plays. They are consistent and I have a well-rounded attack. We used everybody today, and I was very happy to get the win.”

Lady Raiders senior Ani Cree led the match in kills with 18 and aces with six. She also had nine digs. Chatham Knight had a match-high in assists with 29. Knight chipped in with three digs and two kills.

Waynesburg’s Lelia McCollum led the match in digs with 19. She added three assists.

Railey Bochna (8 digs/6 kills/2 aces), Harper Grimes (5 kills/2 aces/3 digs) and Emily Rafferty (8 digs/5 kills/2 aces) contributed for the Lady Raiders.

“One of my starting setters was in a boot after hurting her ankle last week, so Chatham Knight stepped up, was running the 5-1 for us, and she did a phenomenal job,” Higinbotham said. “She did a really good job playing and communicating, and we know that we can count on her in important matches.”

The Lady Falcons dropped to 4-1 in the section and 7-1 overall, but coach Rachael Salvucci is optimistic that her team will bounce back.

“I think we always need one team that is a wake-up call for us, and I think this was our game,” Salvucci said. “We came out learning what our real weaknesses are, and so we can take that into practice. We work on communication all year long, and that is something we will continue to work on. I know we have a lot of sickness going around, but that is not an excuse. I told the girls, ‘If you are going out on the court, you are giving 100 percent.’ Again, it was our wake-up call.”

Skyler Gates led Brownsville in kills and service points with seven apiece. Teammate Abigayle Thomas added six service points and four aces. The Lady Falcons’ Ashley Evanchak had 11 digs.

Brownsville built up a 7-2 lead in the first set, but Waynesburg used a 7-2 run to tie the set at 9-9. Neither team built more than a three-point edge over the next 20 points for a score of 19-19 before the Lady Raiders closed the set on a 5-1 run.

“We were in with them the first and third set, so that shows me we can win, but we just have to finish,” Salvucci said. “Our free balls have to go in, we have to make sure that our tips go in, and we have to make sure that we are communicating on the court. They definitely earned their points, but we gave them a lot, too.”

Waynesburg went on an 11-0 run in the second set for a 15-5 advantage. The closest the Lady Falcons cut the deficit to was 18-11, but the Lady Raiders didn’t let Brownsville get back in the set and took a 2-0 lead.

The third set was just as competitive as the first, but after the Lady Falcons tied the score at 14-14, the visitors closed the set and the match on an 11-4 run. Brownsville cut the deficit to three at 21-18, but Waynesburg scored the next four points for the victory.

Higinbotham was glad to see his team put the match away in the third set.

“If a team is up 2-0 and they lost the third set, the momentum will be reversed, so we were happy to be able to end the match in three sets,” Higinbotham said. “Things get a lot tighter when you play that fourth set.”