Published: October 07, 2008 11:47 pm            

Ramblers down Cougars in battle of top programs

WINDBER — Windber was ranked No. 1 in the state volleyball rankings earlier this year, but the Ramblers still needed to clear a big mental hurdle in their own backyard.

They did that Tuesday night by beating North Star in four games.

“(Tuesday night’s) win is a big stepping stone to better things to come,” Windber coach Don Byer said after his team’s 25-22, 25-16, 13-25, 25-16 victory. “The girls now have a lot of confidence in themselves. Whatever they want to do, they can do. (Tuesday night’s) win was very, very big.”

North Star (11-1) came into the match ranked second in the state while Windber (11-1) was fourth. Each team wore pink jerseys to support breast cancer awareness.

The Cougars beat then No. 1 Windber in their first WestPAC match this year, making the Ramblers’ reign atop the standings a short one.

Windber made sure that didn’t happen this time, scoring the final three points in Game 1 to steal a victory in what had been a back-and-forth affair.

Shannah Brutz, who paced Windber with 13 service points, picked up the final three in Game 1, with Alyssa Ott’s big spike providing an emphatic end to the first game, which had nine lead changes and 12 ties.

Byer was impressed with how his team played from the start.

“This was a surprise to me,” he said. “The girls were up for the game all day. They were sort of loose, which was good. They weren’t very nervous. I figured they’d be really nervous.”

Windber trailed early in Game 2, but got rolling behind the service game of Ashley Steinbach and the front-line play of Ott to take a 14-9 lead.

North Star closed to within a point at 16-15. But Brutz closed out the Game 2 victory, reeling off six consecutive service points.

“They wanted the game and came out and played really hard,” North Star coach Tony Crisafulli said of Windber. “We made a lot of mistakes at the wrong times, and they were able to capitalize on it.”

Steinbach had 12 service points and 12 kills for the balanced Ramblers while Corrine Gahagen had a dozen service points.

“They cover the floor very well,” Crisafulli said. “They’re very well coached. They’re very well disciplined. That’s what cost us (Tuesday night). We weren’t that disciplined in our approach to the game. They were better prepared, I think, and I’ll take the blame for that.”

North Star dominated the third game, as Emily Lohr and Karen Schmidt got going in a 25-13 victory.

Lohr led North Star with 17 kills, nine service points and three aces. Schmidt had 14 kills, 10 service points and five aces.

Windber bounced back from the Game 3 loss quickly. After being tied at 6, the Ramblers pulled away in Game 4. Gahagen had a pair of aces to close out the victory.

Even though the teams are tied atop the WestPAC, Windber would advance to the championship game if both schools win out because North Star was there last year.

“That will give them the advantage because of the Rose Bowl rule,” Crisafulli said.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.