Mapletown falls in volleyball semis
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Mapletown’s Ella Menear pops a return for the Maples in the WPIAL Class A semifinal match against Frazier at Peters Township on Tuesday.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Mapletown’s Krista Wilson (24) works to preserve a slim lead for the Maples in the fourth set of the WPIAL Class A semifinals Tuesday against Frazier at AHN Arena in Peters Township High School.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Mapletown's Krista Wilson (24) slams home the set made by Treslee Weston (18) in the Maples' WPIAL Class A semifinal match Tuesday against Frazier in Peters Township's AHN Arena.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Frazier's Jensyn Hartman lines up the kill that put away Mapletown in the third set of the WPIAL Class A girls volleyball semifinal match.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
The front row of Gracen Hartman (4) and Addison Schultz (14) work for a block in Frazier's five-set victory Tuesday over Mapletown in the WPIAL Class A semifinals at Peters Township.
Mark Marietta/For the Observer-Reporter
Frazier's Molly Yauch (in white) celebrates as Frazier finishes off Mapletown in five sets in the WPIAL Class A volleyball semifinal match Tuesday at Peters Township High School.
McMURRAY – Someday, the Mapletown High School volleyball team will find a way to beat the Maples’ nemesis, Frazier.
Tuesday was not that time.
But, boy, for a while it seemed like it.
Behind the laser-like kills of Jensyn Hartman, Frazier delivered the knockout blow to Mapletown for the third time this season, in five sets. This time, the matchup was held in the WPIAL Class A semifinals at Peters Township High School.
The Commodores won the fifth set, 15-7, after Mapletown sent it to that spot with a 25-23 win in the fourth set. Frazier won the first set 25-16 and third set 25-21 and Mapletown captured the second set 25-17 before winning the fourth.
Frazier (19-2) moves on to the Class A championship game Saturday at 11 a.m. at the UPMC Events Center on the campus of Robert Morris University against either Serra Catholic or Bishop Canevin.
Mapletown (18-3) will play a third-place game at 6 p.m., Thursday at Gateway High School against either Serra or Bishop Canevin. The winner advances to the PIAA tournament.
All three of Mapletown’s losses have come against Frazier.
“This was the WPIAL championship game,” Mapletown head coach Christy Menear told her teary-eyed team after the match.
Mapletown had never advanced this far in the playoffs in school history.
“This time, we battled,” said Menear. “This is the first time we went to five sets all year long.”
In the first set, a long first volley went Frazier’s way. That might have been a sign of how the match would go. Frazier would go on a 6-0 run and score seven of the final eight points for a 25-16 victory.
“The first set, I was disappointed in how we played,” Menear said. “We regrouped, went back out and played much better.”
Mapletown opened the second set on a five-point run and scored eight of the first 10 points. That forced a timeout when Mapletown went up 12-5. It didn’t help much as the Maples went on to a 25-17 win, tying the match at 1-1.
In the third set, Frazier fell behind 6-2 then 12-6. But the Commodores scored seven of the last nine points for a 25-21 victory and two sets to one lead.
“The third set, we had a comfortable lead and let them come back,” Menear said.
Midway through the fourth set, the teams exchanged runs. Frazier won six of nine points to take a 19-17 lead but Mapletown reeled off five straight point to put away Frazier 25-23 and send it to a fifth, and deciding, match.
Frazier turned to Jensyn Hartman, who blasted kill after kill, 31 in all for the match as Mapletown wilted under the attack.
“I knew it was going to go like that,” said Frazier head coach Mandy Hartman. “When you play a team two times, the third can go either way. The seedings didn’t make a difference to me. I think we were two and they were six. We knew they were going to be in the semis.”
For Frazier, Gracen Hartman had 55 assists, Mollly Yauch had 22 digs, Braylin Salisburg had 22 servicepoints and Grace Vaughn added 20.
For Mapletown, Krista Wilson had 26 kills, 6 aces and 11 digs, Ella Menear had 16 kills and 19 digs, Bailey Rafferty had 11 digs, 38 assists and 2 aces, Riley Pekar had 11 digs and Brianna Ashton had 13 digs and 2 aces.