USC snaps Canon-Mac’s section winning streak
UPPER ST. CLAIR – Canon-McMillan had serve and the opportunity to clinch the Class 4A Section 2 girls volleyball championship three times.
Upper St. Clair had other ideas.
The Big Macs had a 2-1 lead in the fourth set and were serving for the match with a 24-22 lead, but the Panthers fought off both match points and one in the tiebreaker to win the fourth set, 27-25.
Upper St. Clair won the fifth set, 15-8, to earn a 3-2 victory Tuesday night and delay Canon-McMillan’s championship until at least Thursday. The Big Macs can win the section championship outright that night with a victory at Bethel Park.
The loss snapped a 16-match winning streak in section play for Canon-McMillan.
“When you get to that fifth set, you just never know what can happen,” Canon-McMillan coach Sheila Mitchell said. “And when you fall behind early, it’s a lot tougher to come back because it only goes to 15. I think our errors really hurt us, especially in that fifth set. We are in the playoffs and can win the section outright on Thursday, but we have to be ready for a tough match.”
The brackets for the WPIAL playoffs will be released Friday.
Canon-McMillan (8-1, 10-3) allowed the first point in the opening set, but scored the next seven for a six-point advantage that prompted Upper St. Clair head coach Kim Manning to take a timeout.
Manning’s pep talk must have worked, as the Panthers (7-2, 11-2) went on a 12-3 run for a 13-10 lead. Canon-McMillan got within one point several times, but Upper St. Clair took the opener, 25-20.
“Volleyball is just about a lot of highs and lows,” Upper St. Clair coach Kim Manning said. “You have good streaks for your team and good streaks for the opponent, and it is just about how you respond to them, and tonight, we forgot about the bad streaks, moved on and did what we can do.”
Upper St. Clair avenged an earlier loss to Canon-McMillan this season, which the Big Macs won in four sets. The Panthers host Mount Lebanon on Thursday in their section finale.
“We are in the playoffs and want to finish off our section-season strong,” Manning said. “We will just focus on the next match. I also want to acknowledge sophomore Hayden Culp for being consistent for us on the outside and getting big kills at big times.”
The Big Macs trailed 5-1 in the second set but used a 6-0 run to take a two-point lead and held on for a 25-20 victory.
The Panthers came back to regain the advantage at 10-9 but its was the least lead they would have in the set as Canon-McMillan earned a 25-20 victory to tie the match at 1-1 heading into the third set.
Canon-McMillan trailed 16-10 in the third set but went on a 15-3 run for a 25-19 victory and a 2-1 lead.
“We have done a great job of coming back in matches this season,” Mitchell said.