Going into the home game against Baldwin, the girls’ volleyball team was 1-6 in head-to-head matchups from the past three seasons. The Lady Hawks’ only win against Baldwin comes from early in the 2016 season, but the Highlanders quickly bounced back to win the next two meetings of that season, one coming in the semifinals.

After the two faced off on Tuesday, Sept. 26, the Lady Hawks fell to 1-7 against the Highlanders after losing 0-3.

Major lineup changes due to key absences caused the girls to stumble in the first; they lost the opener 22-25. Sophomore Caitlin Wahal and freshman Alexa Psotka made their varsity debuts against the Highlanders in the front row. The Lady Hawks also only played with one middle hitter, Erin Sullivan, opting for setter Emma Puzausky to play out of the middle position for three rotations. This caused the Hawks to libero their right side hitters instead.

The Hawks switched the rotation at the start of the second set by putting senior Jenna Kwiatkoski in the middle hitter position and moving Sullivan to the outside in place of Psotka. Early communication errors put the Hawks behind 4-9 when they took their first timeout. Stephanie Kazalas hit a stunner right on the end line to get back the serve following the timeout. Then, consistent serving from senior Emma Stuebgen let the Hawks get within one point at 10-11 before Baldwin got the ball back. The Hawks kept the pressure throughout the game, getting as close as 20-21, but two miscommunications cost the Hawks set two by a score of 21-25.

Wahal scored Bethel’s first point of the third with a tool off the Baldwin block. Student announcer Nathan Runja said early in the third, during a BP timeout, that the Lady Hawks were making too many “silly mistakes” and need to play “less sloppy” in order to win the set. The Hawks were down by seven points but came back within two points at a score of 11-13. The Highlanders fought back and forced the Hawks to take their last timeout at 11-17. Alex DiPrampero, the other student announcer, commented that the Highlanders looked better in transition, and this may have been how the Highlanders won the third with a score of 25-20.

This now makes the girls’ volleyball team 4-4 overall, 3-3 in section, and 1-1 in non-section at the halfway point in the season. The Lady Hawks are sitting in the exact same position as they were last season at this point. The girls were able to finish fourth in the WPIAL despite their slow start, so spirits are still high.

The JV won 2-0 against the Highlanders, advancing their record to 7-1. Keep it up, girls!

Special thanks BPTV for broadcasting and announcing all of our home games thus far and for doing an amazing job!

The Lady Hawks go to the Moon Tigers on Thursday, Sept. 28 for their next section game. The girls return home on Monday, Oct. 2 for their Dig Pink game against Seneca Valley, the returning WPIAL champions. This will be a non-section match, and activities will take place during both matches to benefit breast cancer. This will be the second to last home game for the Hawks so be sure to come out for the game!

Hope to see everyone Monday! Let’s beat the Raiders and breast cancer!