Armstrong girls volleyball navigating new section, opponents after dropping down to Class AAA

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, September 23, 2018 | 7:45 PM

It always seems to take longer travelling to a destination than it does returning. There’s 27 miles of road that separate Armstrong High School from Knoch’s Saxonburg campus, but following last Monday’s 3-0 loss to the Knights, the drive back for the Armstrong girls volleyball team was not only one of the quietest but one of the longest bus rides since, well, last season’s WPIAL Class 4A title game.

“I was disappointed, and I told the girls that,” said Armstrong coach Andrea Lasher, recalling her team’s loss to the defending WPIAL and PIAA state champion Knights. “It was very, very quiet. There was a good group gathering (on the bus), and I was not involved. This is a team that takes the initiative to get together without me having to scream and yell. Hopefully, that maintains, and we get stronger from that.”

As the game against Class AAA No. 1-ranked Knoch seemed to unravel in the third set, the knot in Lasher’s stomach began to grow. She had seen her team perform like that one other time and it was in last season’s WPIAL championship game when her No. 2-seeded River Hawks waived the proverbial white flag in the third set to top-seeded North Allegheny. Armstrong went on to lose to the Tigers in straight sets, 3-0.

“When we played Knoch, I feel like we quit in that third set,” said Lasher, who has been the River Hawks’ coach since the school’s inception four years ago. “Last time I saw it, we did it against North Allegheny in that third game. And when we played Knoch, I saw it again and it had the same kind of feel.”

Lasher, who coached Class AA Ford City before the school merged with Kittanning to form Armstrong (6-1, 6-0), cautioned her players before the season that dropping down from Class 4A to Class AAA this year would be no walk in the park. Things might just be a little bit harder. Sure, teams like North Allegheny, Baldwin and Oakland Catholic are no longer on the schedule, but there’s plenty of talent in Class AAA to make a team forget about those schools, which the River Hawks found out last Monday against Knoch.

“I told them that they are finally seeing that there is strong competition, and its not going to be an easy ride,” Lasher said. “We suffered our loss to Knoch, which could be a blessing in disguise, and I think that opened their eyes.”

The “blessing in disguise” is that it could quite possibly be that it’s all right to have a tough midseason defeat. It’s humbling for a team that returns four starters, dropped down from the WPIAL’s highest classification and is coming off a run to the WPIAL title game the season before.

“I think it was a good thing for us to feel, (to) see, (it) put us in our place and to put into our heads that its not going to be a breeze,” Lasher said.

After the litmus test with nonsection Knoch, the River Hawks had no time to feel sorry for themselves. Armstrong went right to work the next day and returned to section play. They came out on their home court and made quick work of Section 1-AAA foe McKeesport, 3-0, to help ease the sting.

Armstrong ran into another buzzsaw last Thursday at Greensburg Salem. The athletic Golden Lions, with a stubborn defense, pushed Armstrong to five sets before the River Hawks could close the door. Once again, it was another eyeopener as Armstrong navigates Class AAA and section rivals for the very first time.

“I will give (Greensburg Salem) credit, they have a quality defense,” Lasher said. “They were picking everything up, and they were as scrappy as can be.”

Armstrong is not only senior heavy but also has experience. Senior Lauren Bowser is the team kills leader from her outside hitter position, and fellow senior Danielle Kunst leads the team in digs from her libero spot. Seniors Emma Halutick (outside hitter) and Sophia Duncan (middle hitter) also return to the floor this season.

Junior first-year setter, Elsie Williams, is steadily making headway at her new position.

“She’s doing well,” Lasher said about Williams. “She has come a long way. She’s a very athletic girl, strong mindset and she’s gotten better with hands.”

Junior middle hitter Taylor Claypoole and fellow junior defensive specialist Abbey Shaffer round out Armstrong’s starting cast.

“I think that they’re realizing as the season goes on that it’s not going to be a piece of cake,” Lasher said. “We have work to do.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

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