Nov 5, 2019 3 min read

SEVEN FIELDS – Sometimes, the most important move in a sporting event can be a timeout.

That’s what the State College High School volleyball team found out Tuesday night.

Trailing Canon-McMillan 13-7 in the fourth, and what could’ve been the deciding set, State College went on an 11-3 run to not only win the set, but use the momentum to defeat Canon-McMillan in the fifth and final set to advance in the PIAA Class 4A volleyball tournament at North Catholic High School.

The scores of the match were 27-25, 15-25, 22-25, 25-21 and 15-11.w

“All season long, these girls fought hard,” Canon-McMillan head coach Sheila Mitchell said. “Going into the fifth set, I was confident because they have what it takes to be a top contender.

“This season has meant so much. They deserve this. We’ve been fighting to go further every year. We got to the point they deserved to get to.”

State College (19-0) advances to the second around Saturday, when WPIAL runner-up North Allegheny is waiting.

Canon-McMillan’s dream season, in which it was crowned WPIAL champion, comes to an end with a 17-2 record and a lot of tears. Canon-McMillan won its first tournament game, WPIAL title and made its first venture into the state tournament with this group.

“We did amazing things this season,” said Canon-McMillan’s libero Katie Weston. “We did stuff we never thought we were able to accomplish, so I am happy overall.”

The fourth set was crucial because C-M jumped out to a 13-7 lead. After the timeout, State College cut the lead to 13-12 then later made a four-point run to take an 18-16 lead. The teams traded points until the State College lead was 20-18. Then, State College won three of the final four points for a 25-21 lead.

In the fifth set, both teams had runs that left the score tied, 7-7, at the midway point. A three-point run gave State College a 12-10 lead. Canon-McMillan couldn’t rally this time and was outscored, 3-1, to end it.

“I’m not going to lie; I had my doubts when we were down seven points in the fourth set,” said State College head coach Chad Weight of his District 3 championship team. “At the timeout, I told them we have to be more aggressive and knock them back on their heels. And we did that.”

A disputed out call played a large part in State College’s 27-25 first game. Most thought the point, given State College, should have been awarded to Canon-McMillan. It proved to be a crucial point because State College went on to a 27-25 win.

“We can’t let the refs dictate the game,” Mitchell said. “It was called out so it was out. It’s a momentum-killer but you can’t let the refs dictate how you play your game.”

To it’s credit, Canon-McMillan surged in the second set, grabbing a 25-15 victory. Then Canon-McMillan, showing the same grit it displayed in the WPIAL finals, scored the final three points in a 25-22 victory.

Jenna Vogen had 19 kills, Samantha Parker 13 kills and Morgan Galligan 12 kills and 25 assists.