Hometown Volleyball Match Recap – Blackhawk Cougars – 10/01/2014

By: Bruce Markey
Wednesday, October 1, 2014 | 6:15 AM

The Blackhawk Cougars continued on the road towards a possible section title with a 3-1 victory over the Laurel Spartans in WPIAL Section 1-AA girls volleyball action last night in Chippewa Township.

The win moves Blackhawk to 8-1 in section play, trailing only Hopewell in the standings at the start of play on Tuesday. Those two teams could meet for the section title on October 16th.

Blackhawk took the first game by a 25-18 score, pulling away in the later stages with the help of senior Nikki Beatty with some key points to allow the Cougars to gain a 21-13 advantage which they would not relinquish.

Laurel, now 5-4 in section play, bounced back to win game 2 by a 25-15 margin. The Spartans pulled out to a big lead at 13-5 as sophomore Shelby Miles took over at the net, she finished the night with eight points and five kills.

Game three was probably the best game of the night, a tug of war between the teams with the score tied at 1,2,3,4, 6, 8, 10 and 11 but Blackhawk pulled away as  senior Tiye Boyd took over on the service line with three consecutive aces and five straight points to allow the Cougars to gain a 16-11 advantage. Boyd said she knew she needed to step her game up, that she needed to serve well. Blackhawk used scoring runs of four straight and five straight to close out the game at 25-15 and take a 2-1 match lead. Coach Cindy Guthrie said she reminded the girls to play the game one point at a time and to play as a team and it worked for the win.

Blackhawk jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the fourth and final game, Laurel fought back to cut the deficit to two but the Cougars pulled away down the stretch for the win, led by another of their returning seniors, Brooke Tamasko, who seemed to be all over the floor in the last game.Tamasko led all scorers with eleven points and six kills.

For the Cougars, they know there is still work to be done. Boyd said they are looking forward to the next few games, especially with Hopewell coming in on the final night of the regular season. Blackhawk also has a home meeting with Beaver next week.

Junior Molly Guthrie posted ten points and five kills for the Cougars, Beatty notched ten points and four kills, while junior Natalie Moyer scored eight points and Boyd added six.

For Laurel, Miles led the way with eight points and five kills, Makenna Natale and Callie Ritchie each had six points. Laurel is now behind the eight-ball in the playoff picture, the Spartans have a must win game coming up at home with Beaver on Thursday. Laurel lost the first meeting on the road to the Bobcats.

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