Alle-Kiski Valley high school notebook: Two area teams post signature victories

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, October 2, 2017 | 8:15 PM

A pair of Alle-Kiski Valley teams with postseason hopes posted signature wins last week.

The Leechburg girls volleyball team, seeking its first playoff appearance since 2014, swept Section 4-A leader Trinity Christian. And though the Kiski Area girls soccer team's 2-1 victory at Class AAAA No. 4 Canon-McMillan came in a nonsection game, it still carried significance given the Big Macs' status as defending PIAA champions.

Leechburg (7-2, 6-2) ran its winning streak to seven matches, knocked Trinity Christian from the ranks of the unbeaten and avenged a loss from its season opener. The Blue Devils play another key match Tuesday against Greensburg Central Catholic, another rematch of a loss from earlier this season.

Kiski Area, in third place in Section 3-4A, is seeking its third consecutive WPIAL playoff appearance. The Cavaliers (5-3, 3-2) play in the same section as the No. 2 and No. 5 teams in WPIAL Class AAAA: Norwin and Penn-Trafford, respectively. They have another chance at a significant win Saturday afternoon, with a game at Penn-Trafford (9-2, 5-0) on the docket.

Coming up aces

Freeport's boys golf team set a school record by qualifying for the WPIAL Class AA playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

The Yellowjackets (12-4, 10-2) also claimed their third straight Section 1-A championship, sharing the crown with St. Joseph. Those two teams emerged from a tight section race to become the two automatic qualifiers for the Class AA team semifinal Oct. 10 at River Forest Country Club in Freeport or Indian Run Golf Club in Avella.

St. Joseph made the postseason as recently as 2015 but missed out last year. The Spartans' top player, senior Derek Petrishen, also advanced to the PIAA Western Regional in mid-October after surviving a two-hole playoff at last week's WPIAL championships.

Viking quest

Plum has a new girls volleyball coach for the remainder of the season, albeit one with a familiar last name.

Kelsey Bonk, previously the junior varsity coach and a varsity assistant, is taking over after her fraternal twin sister, Carly, took an internship with the Minnesota Vikings.

The Bonk sisters, Valley graduates, led the Vikings softball team to a WPIAL Class AA championship in 2010 and a PIAA title in '11. They also starred in volleyball and played volleyball at Carlow.

Bad break

The Deer Lakes girls soccer team took a major hit last week, as leading scorer Lily Litrun suffered a broken right collarbone in the Lancers' nonsection game Thursday against Penn Hills.

Litrun, a freshman, had a team-high 13 goals for the Lancers (7-4-1, 3-3-1), who had won five of six games heading into Monday's Section 2-AA matchup with Highlands.

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer.

Tags: Deer Lakes, Freeport, Kiski School, Leechburg, Plum