Freeport volleyball rolls past Deer Lakes, stays perfect in section play

By: Michael Love
Wednesday, October 4, 2023 | 12:12 AM

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The Freeport girls volleyball team didn’t let visiting Deer Lakes gain any momentum in a Section 5-2A match Tuesday at Freeport Middle School.

The Yellowjackets were impressive from the start and swept the Lancers, 3-0, with scores of 25-11, 25-5, and 25-4.

“I think tonight was a very clean game for us,” Freeport coach Tom Phillips said.

“We stayed in system, passed the ball really well and kept the ball off the floor. It’s no secret that we have lots of weapons. But you can have all the weapons, but that first-ball pass, that serve-receive, taking care of business on that first ball, those are the things that are key and things we’ve really been working on.”

Freeport kept trucking toward what it hopes is a 19th straight section crown. It has won 27 of 27 games in section play this season.

The Yellowjackets improved to 11-1 overall and 9-0 in section play. They host Valley on Thursday and will face three other teams — Gateway, Clarion Limestone and Laurel — for tournament action Saturday before a big section contest at second-place Derry next Tuesday.

“We had a little bit of a wake-up call against (Class 4A) Seneca Valley (a 3-0 loss) last week,” Phillips said.

“We didn’t play well. We didn’t pass well, and we chased our tail all night. But sometimes getting punched in the nose makes you step up and go, and we saw that tonight.”

Deer Lakes fell to 5-5 overall, 5-4 in the section. The Lancers hope to rebound Thursday at home against Ligonier Valley as they continue their push for a WPIAL playoff berth.

Deer Lakes travels to Valley on Tuesday.

“Freeport is very good, and we weren’t tonight,” Deer Lakes coach Mike Nypaver said.

“We made too many errors, and they took advantage of all of them. They have so many strong players, and it was tough to catch up to them a lot of the time.

“We now have to reset our entire mindset and hold our heads up. We have a lot of volleyball left to play, and we are battling for that playoff spot, and hopefully we can get it. Ligonier Valley played really well the first time we faced them, and Valley is tough. We really need both of those wins to lock that spot up.”

Freeport seniors Grace Beach, Josie Russo, Sydney Selker and Autumn English didn’t let a pre-match senior night ceremony affect their concentration.

“Senior night has always been a pretty emotional night, and it was that way tonight. But we all have that goal of being section champs, and this was an important match to have,” said Russo, who finished with 10 kills and five blocks.

“We all came out ready to play. We took them out of their game from the start of the match.”

Phillips called a timeout with the Yellowjackets leading 24-3 in the third set to give the four seniors an opportunity to salute the home crowd. Many in the crowd gave the quartet a standing ovation.

“To be able to be here and see all the people who have supported me and supported everyone on the team, it was a really special feeling,” Beach said.

Freeport did what it does best in the first set.

The Yellowjackets took advantage of Deer Lakes hitting, serving and defensive errors and delivered offense from Beach, Russo, Selker and English; and juniors Alaina Whitlinger and Leah Schreckengost.

Three straight Freeport hitting errors allowed Deer Lakes to tie the set at 3-3. But the Yellowjackets then corrected themselves and went on an 11-1 run to take control.

A kill from Selker and a hit from Whitlinger brought Freeport to the edge, and two Deer Lakes hits that landed out of bounds ended the set.

Freeport came out firing with power to start the second set. The Yellowjackets scored the first six points before a hit into the net got Deer Lakes on the board.

Russo led the way with five kills in the set, including the final one to seal the win. Whitlinger added three kills. Selker powered a kill to the floor to get Freeport to within set point.

Phillips said that in addition to the big six, younger players such as sophomore defensive specialist Peyton Cene and junior libero Ruby Furer have stepped up in their varsity opportunities.

Whitlinger and Schreckengost added 12 and nine kills, respectively.

“You look at that stat sheet, and you see that balance,” Phillips said. “That is what we want.”

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Deer Lakes, Freeport