Baldwin girls volleyball team recognizes senior players with five-set win

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, October 15, 2018 | 7:57 PM

Notebook items from around the Baldwin High School campus:

• The Baldwin girls volleyball team played perhaps its best “fifth game” of the season Oct. 9 at home against Canon-McMillan.

The Highlanders edged C-M, 3-2, on senior recognition night — defensive specialist Kerri Herron, right-side hitter Flannery Larson and libero Mackenzie Meis were honored — to remain undefeated in section play.

After the two teams battled back and forth in the first four games, settling for a 2-2 tie, Baldwin stormed past the visitors by a convincing 15-3 margin in Game 5.

Meis recorded 10 consecutive service points, while Allison Murray, a junior middle blocker, and Riley Lenard, a junior right-side hitter, provided eight points between them with an assortment of kills and soft hits at the net area.

“Although we didn’t want to go to five sets with Canon Mac, we were able to come back and win the match,” said the 5-foot-8 Lenard. “Our team has done a really good job this season of staying positive through the whole match, even if we’re losing the set. We also are very aggressive while serving, and even though there’s not much height on the team, we are good at placing the ball in smart spots on the court.

“(Against C-M) proved that even if we aren’t playing our best, being smart, supportive and always giving 100 percent effort can push us to winning a match.”

The Highlanders’ trio was complemented by Herron, junior setter Mia Hampsay, junior outside hitter Anna Baloh and junior defensive specialist Maggie Zandier.

Ally Schenk, a junior middle blocker and the team’s tallest player at 6-foot-1, started things off on a good note in Game 5 to make it 1-0.

Baldwin soared to 11-0 advantage and led 14-3 when Murray and Larson provided the game- and match-winning point with a resounding double-team block at the net.

Murray, who is 5-11, recently was lauded as a player of the week by the WPIAL Volleyball Coaches Association.

“We did not expect to go five (against C-M),” Murray said. “Canon Mac played really good defense and got almost everything up. Libero Katie Weston is always on top of her game.”

• Baldwin graduate Doug Altavilla, a redshirt junior quarterback at Mercyhurst, connected on 15 of 17 passes for 224 yards and two scores Oct. 6 in the Lakers’ 24-6 win over Edinboro.

Altavilla, a 6-1, 200-pound third-year starter, also scored on runs of 11 and 46 yards. On the season, he has completed 97 of 160 aerials for 1,060 yards. For his college career, he has thrown for 5,739 yards.

Altavilla is the all-time leading passer in Baldwin football history, and was a first-time all-conference selection.

Three of his 15 completions against Edinboro went to his younger brother Nick, a 5-11, 175-pound wide receiver and a Baldwin grad. Nick is a redshirt sophomore.

• Four players served as co-captains for the Baldwin football team in its recent homecoming game against West Allegheny — seniors Lucas Perfetti (OL), Jaqwon Parker (DE) and Mason Stahl (QB), and junior RB Angelo Priore.

• Baldwin graduate Jack Hillgrove was in the press box for the Fighting Highlanders’ homecoming game.

Hillgrove, a former member of the boys golf and volleyball teams at Baldwin, is a freshman studying in Waynesburg University’s sports broadcasting and information program, directed by former Pirates broadcaster Lanny Fattare.

Hillgrove did play-by-play of the game on a WA online live stream.

• There are two sets of siblings on the Baldwin football team.

Connor Lavelle is a sophomore wide receiver/defensive back. His brother, Evan, is a freshman lineman.

Jackson Brandwene is a senior kicking specialist. His sister, Emma, is a junior kicker.

Emma made school history earlier this season by becoming the first female to score points for a Baldwin football team.

Emma successfully booted six PATs in the Fighting Highlanders’ 58-13 nonconference win Aug. 31 at home against Butler.

Ray Fisher is a freelance writer.

Tags: Baldwin