GIRLS VOLLEYBALL: Abington Heights rallies early, pulls away from North Pocono – Scranton Times-Tribune

COVINGTON TWP. — It was a showdown both Abington Heights and North Pocono had been pointing toward all season.

When the top two girls volleyball teams in the Lackawanna League finally stared each other down, high energy and a bit of tension filled the North Pocono High School gymnasium.

Abington Heights overcame some big-game jitters and a fierce early attack by the Lady Trojans, earning a 3-0 (27-25, 25-16, 25-14) win Thursday night in the first of two showdowns between the Division I leaders.

“This was really fun,” Abington Heights’ Bella Carr said. “Having a big crowd here was insane. It was nice to see everybody come out for the game. It was really important for us to focus and block out all the noise, and we fed off the crowd.”

Abington Heights (7-0) shook off some anxious moments in the first set, which it trailed by as many as six points.

At the onset, North Pocono (6-1) fed off the vocal support from a vibrant student body that gathered in the bleachers. Avarie Roscioli started strong, demonstrating a powerful swing that has propelled the Lady Trojans to six consecutive league victories without a loss. Her aggressiveness helped build leads of 16-10, 17-11, and 18-12.

Abington Heights settled in, stayed patient in its execution, and outscored the Lady Trojans, 15-7 in the remainder of a thrilling first set. Carr put away several kills. Saloni Kishore helped sharpen the Lady Comets’ service game during the rally, and Brielle Wentz put away the final winner in the 27-25 comeback.

After that comeback, Abington Heights played with less pressure. To its credit, North Pocono, despite being somewhat disheartened after the first set, kept running its offense, but the Lady Comets’ athleticism kept digging out kill attempts. Their pop-ups then allowed the offense to get set. Carr and Alaina Krempasky took turns spiking home slams to open areas in a 25-16 win.

“I feel like we really started to focus and put 110% of our effort into every ball we tried to put down,” Krempasky said. “We have really good connections both on and off the court. We have a lot of inside jokes, and we really cheer each other on, and that really made us push harder.”

Carrying momentum, Abington Heights focused even more in the third set. Hilde Temblador landed aces, ran the offensive sets, and energized the Lady Comets, who built a 10-5 advantage.

“We have really been working on resetting as a team and really coming together and leaning on each other,” said Temblador, who had nine kills, 11 assists, six aces, and five digs. “That is a big part of our team culture, and that showed in those really tight moments of the match. When we make mistakes, we know we can still come back.”

North Pocono kept battling, but the Lady Comets found their rhythm, and Carr extended the margin to 20-10. Abington Heights did not let up and pushed through to a 25-14 win to secure the overall victory.

In addition to Carr and Temblador, Krempasky finished with 11 kills and seven digs, and Kishore had 14 digs.

“In that third set, we really found the fun part of volleyball again,” Temblador said. “When we have fun, we are still very competitive.”

For North Pocono, Roscioli had 11 kills, Julia Black contributed 15 assists and 11 digs, and Ryan Masters and Emily Jennings each had eight digs.

North Pocono will play at Abington Heights on Oct. 19th in the rematch.

Montrose 3, Mountain View 0: At Mountain View, Molly Weller had eight kills and five blocks to lead the Lady Meteors to a 25-11, 25-19, 25-12 Division I win.

Gracie Jones had 16 service points and 13 assists, and Sadie Jones had five aces for Montrose (4-2).

Aubrey Sanders had 12 assists, Karley Norton had five kills, Addison Tompkins had four kills and three aces and Abbie Mitchell had three kills for the Lady Eagles (1-6).

Blue Ridge 3, Dunmore 0: At Blue Ridge, Lynndee Barbour had 14 kills and seven service points, as the Lady Raiders rolled to a 25-14, 25-8, 25-14 Division I win.

Abigail Gelinger had nine kills, three aces, and 25 blocks, Peyton Rutter had nine service points, McKenna Zick had 26 assists and Liberty Post had four digs and 15 service points for Blue Ridge (4-3).

Western Wayne 3, Scranton 1: At Scranton, Abby Washine had 17 assists and eight aces, and Skyla McGuire had eight kills, leading the Lady ‘Cats to a 25-11, 20-25, 25-20, 25-12 win in Division I.

Olivia Haines added six kills and five aces, and Haley McGuire had four kills for Western Wayne (2-5).

For Scranton (0-6), Mariangelys Torres Leon had seven aces and six assists, Emma Kovolenus had four kills and 15 service points, and Maddy Slocum had four kills.

Lake-Lehman 3, Delaware Valley 2: At Lake-Lehman, Giolla Biscotto had eight service points and 20 assists, and Alexandra Patla had 16 kills for the Black Knights in an 8-25, 25-21, 25-14, 12-25, 15-11 win in the Wyoming Valley Conference.

Abby Fugok had six aces, seven service points and 33 digs for the Black Knights, while Amara Makarczyk had four blocks.

Katelyn Henry had six assists, Lanie Piepoli had nine digs and Kierstyn Yannone had four digs for the Lady Bucks (3-4).