Leechburg volleyball standing tall despite graduation losses

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, September 23, 2018 | 7:36 PM

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When Leechburg’s gymnasium was getting a makeover this summer, Blue Devils girls volleyball coach Eve Hebrank was doing a little “redecorating” of her own.

That’s how she described the process of replacing seven seniors, including starters Mikayla Lovelace, Cameron Davies, Daesha Knight, Morgan Pierce and Makenzie Fello, from a playoff team last year.

As the finishing touches were put on a giant blue devil mural on the wall, the picture became clearer on the court as well, and Hebrank had a gut feeling her younger team could surprise some opponents.

Hebrank’s instinct has been correct, with the Blue Devils at 5-2 overall and 4-2 in Section 4-A, tied with Trinity Christian for second.

“We lost a lot to graduation, but I have a group right now that volleyball is their sport,” Hebrank said. “They worked really hard in the offseason to get where they are now. I have a couple that play travel volleyball, and that helps as well. I thought we would be competitive, but I didn’t know it was going to be this exciting.”

Leechburg has wins over Eden Christian, Springdale, Riverview, Trinity Christian and a nonsection triumph over rival Apollo-Ridge. The losses were to Vincentian Academy and Greensburg Central Catholic.

The Blue Devils have a good corps of juniors — including outside hitters Brenna Callahan, Gracie Reinke and Ava Powell, opposite hitter Maddie Ancosky and middle hitter Ashley Grine — that has meshed well with seniors such as middle hitter Bev Stearman, setter Sami Bigenho and libero Kristen Knapp. McKenna Pierce, a sophomore libero, also has seen plenty of action.

Stearman, Callahan, Reinke and Ancosky were the only returners that saw a lot of varsity last year.

Reinke was injured in the loss against Vincentian, but Hebrank is hopeful she can to return to the court this season.

“They have good court awareness, and they are very passionate about the game,” Hebrank said. “It’s a very coachable group. When we get in huddles during timeouts or when we’re talking between sets, we have a list of goals and things to work on, and they try to execute them as much as possible.”

Callahan and Stearman said friendship within the team has been one of the reasons for their success.

“I just like how we bond as team. It has made us all want to win more because we want to win together,” Stearman said.

“We’re all friends here,” Callahan said. “We all sit together at lunch. We’re not just together here at practice, but we’re friends at school, too.”

Another factor is success in the lower ranks. Many of the girls on the team played together in eighth grade and junior varsity, and they were dominant during that time.

“In eighth grade we had nine girls on this team that went undefeated, and then last year in 10th grade we went undefeated in our JV season so we felt confident coming into this year for those reasons,” Callahan said. “Our group is very driven.”

Stearman, Callahan along with Powell, who is filling in for the injured Reinke, and Ancosky form a formidable front row rotation.

Callahan leads the team in kills, and Stearman has been a key offensively and as a blocker. Both appreciate the skill set the other brings to the floor.

“Bev can block the ball no matter where it’s coming from,” Callahan said. “It can be a back row, middle or outside attack. She’s always there. Even if she gets a tip off of it, she’s always going to get her hands on the ball on defense. On offense, she knows exactly where to tip the ball, and it’s almost always a kill because the other team is not used to someone being that tall and that high in the air being able to tip right down into the middle.”

“Brenna has amazing hits,” Stearman said. “She hits super hard, and she can pretty much put it anywhere. She can adjust her angles really well, and she’s very good at tips. If she ever makes a mistake, she owns up to it, and she fixes it. She’s getting better at blocking, too.”

Leechburg concludes the first round of section play by hosting St. Joseph on Tuesday. The Blue Devils want to continue to impress in the second half and challenge for a section title.

“I think people underestimate us all the time, but our program has been competitive and we like to make people aware of that year after year,” Hebrank said. “We get some slumps here and there, but the last few years we’ve been right up there in our section.

“I hate that they underestimate us, but at the same time, it’s kind of nice because we can shock some people.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer.

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