The Berks Catholic girls volleyball team fell into an early hole in the first set of its District 3 Class 3A semifinal match against Middletown Tuesday, which set the tone for a 3-0 loss at Wolf Gymnasium.
The fifth-seeded Blue Raiders won by scores of 25-23, 25-19 and 25-19 to send the top-seeded Saints (19-4) into Thursday’s third-place match, needing a win to qualify for the PIAA playoffs..
Berks Catholic will host second-seeded Greencastle-Antrim — a 3-2 loser to third-seeded Spring Grove in the other semifinal — time to be announced.
Middletown (19-2) will play at Spring Grove in the final.
The Blue Raiders jumped to an 11-6 lead in the first set before the Saints went on a 9-3 run to take the lead.
Berks Catholic eventually went up 23-2, but the Blue Raiders went on a 4-0 run to win the set.
“We were competitive in every match, but we just let them get too much of a lead in the beginning,” Saints coach Lexi Leddy said. “We didn’t come out fiery enough. The girls fought hard and came back, tied it up, and then we didn’t have enough grit towards the end.”
In the second set, Middletown led by as many as nine points early and Berks Catholic could get no closer than 18-15.
The third set was more competitive, but the Saints were unable to avoid the sweep.
“I told them that loss should hurt,” Leddy said. “They should listen to that team cheer in their home gym saying how they won and should use that as motivation into Thursday’s game because we still have a chance for states.”
After winning the Berks II title, the Saints have suffered tough losses in the county and district playoffs, but still have a chance to make a run in the PIAA playoffs.
“It’s always tough going into a game after a loss like that but the girls have to bounce back because it’s do or die at this point,” Leddy said. “I think we still have potential going into states and winning that game, but they have to fight.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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