Knoch sweeps Kiski Area in WPIAL Class AAA volleyball quarterfinals

By: HSSN Staff
Tuesday, October 30, 2018 | 11:25 PM

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From Kennedy Christy, Hannah Rowe and Skylar Burkett spiking the ball down from the front row, to Kerrie Fitzpatrick setting them up and Kenzie Kerkan digging out kill attempts in the back row, Knoch girls volleyball looked every bit the part of a defending WPIAL and PIAA champion Tuesday night.

The top-seeded Knights clicked on all cylinders en route to a 3-0 sweep of No. 8 Kiski Area in the WPIAL Class AAA quarterfinals at North Allegheny.

Knoch (20-0) extended its winning streak to 44 matches dating back to last season and advanced to play Section 3 rival and fourth-seeded Central Valley in the quarterfinals Thursday at a site and time to be announced. Kiski Area finished the season at 12-4.

The Knights won 25-11, 25-14 and 25-21. Knoch coach Diane Geist was pleased with the way her team played from start to finish after having a lapse in the second set of a 3-1 win over Ambridge in the first round on Thursday.

“We had some ups and downs the last couple of weeks towards the end of the season, but they came out tonight wanting to win,” Geist said. “They wanted to play well. They were hitting hard, passing well and serving well. Really at this point of the year, it’s in their hands. You can only do so much on the bench. You can call a timeout or something, but it’s really up to them and their mindset.”

Knoch raced out to an 11-3 lead in the first set and never looked back. Christy had six kills in the first and Rowe had five. Fitzpatrick, primarily a setter, even snuck in a couple of kills.

“We know this feeling, and we’re hungry for it,” Fitzpatrick said. “We know what it takes to do this. We worked really hard in practice. We scouted this team as well as we could. We saw they had some height, so we worked on how to get around their blocks, and I thought we handled that very well. We’re definitely excited for the next round, and we’re going to keep pushing.”

The Knights used a 9-0 run in the second set, highlighted by three consecutive aces by Kerkan, to build a comfortable margin. Rowe, Burkett and Christy all had kills during the run.

“They’re a solid team all the way around. There aren’t any weaknesses,” Kiski Area coach Paul Tomlinson said. “We knew that coming in. We wanted to block a little better and make their setters work a little harder to get the ball. There’s a reason they are the defending state champions.”

Knoch had a snafu with their rotation in the third set that ended up being a violation and the Knights lost a point, giving Kiski Area a 7-5 lead. The Cavaliers got some momentum from it and led 16-15 in the third, but back-to-back kills by Rowe gave Knoch the lead for good. Christy closed out the match with a kill.

Rowe and Christy finished with 17 kills apiece, and Fitzpatrick had 29 assists.

“They make my job so easy because they’re so tall, and when you have hitters that can jump that high they hit the ball straight down,” Fitzpatrick said about Rowe and Christy. “We just connect so well, and we have for the last three years.”

Cassie Shoupe, Lilliana Harding and Violeta Kenzevich had six kills apiece for Kiski Area.

The Cavaliers made a positive leap this season by winning a postseason match for the first time since 2010. They return three starters — Kenzevich, Harding and Kamdyn Serakowski, who provide a solid foundation for next season.

“I look for us to be just as strong or even stronger next year,” Tomlinson said. “We’re losing some valuable seniors, but we have a lot of talent returning. Our three starting juniors are probably the hardest swingers on the team. We have a good sophomore class with some tall girls that will be good middles, outsides and defensive players. I’m looking for us to have another great season next year.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer.

Tags: Kiski School, Knoch