Bald Eagle tops Bellefonte in volleyball rivalry

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: October 12, 2023

Bald Eagle Area 3, Bellefonte 0

BEA 25 25 25

BEL 14 11. 15

By Kenny Varner

BELLEFONTE – Rivals came together Thursday night to compete and suppprt the fight against Breast Cancer.

The Bellefonte volleyball team hosted its Annual Dig Pink game as it welcomed Bald Eagle Area.

In the end, the veteran Bald Eagle Area volleyball team came out victorious 3-0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-15).

Leading the way in the win for the Eagles were their frontline which sent the tone early and often.

“I’ll be honest, our defense was really good tonight, which meant our passing was really good and that led to a good offense,” said Bald Eagle Area coach Zach Rote. “If you can pass the ball to the target and hit a good ball to the center it’s going to give us a good ball. We saw that tonight with our offense.”

Standing strong at the net were Rachel Bryan, Gabrielle Perry, Leah Bryan and Alexis Lidgett.

Bellefonte got a strong outside and upfront game from Grace Novitsky.

“I thought we kept our attitude up and hung in there and we stayed in it,” said Bellefonte coach Monica Smith. “We made some really good swings. Grace Novitsky was on fire from outside. They (Bald Eagle Area) served tough and we could not handle it.”

Early in the first set, the Eagles soared out to a quick 6-2 advantage.

Olivia Taylor, who was very busy in the dig department and from the service line, posted two consecutive service points. Highlighting the 3-0 charge was a spike by Mya Brooks.

Also picking up service points to start the run was Olivia Boone.

Bellefonte battled its way back to cut the lead to one for the Eagles at 9-8. Picking up service points in the frame for the Lady Eagles were Carley Clarkson and Aubrey Schreppel.

But the Eagles started to pull away thanks to a 4-0 run, upping the lead to 13-8. After a side out, Bald Wagle sent Nora Eppley to the service line. Eppley was up to the challenge, reeling off three consecutive service points.

Bald Eagle chipped their way slowly on the scoreboard continuing to extend the contest.

Bald Eagle Area went on a 12-6 the rest of the way, making it a 1-0 set lead in the 25-14 contest.

Bald Eagle used its momentum from the first game and exploded to the 25-11 win.

Taylor Hall took her turn at the service line and made them count, posting six consecutive scores, taking a close lead and extending the contest to a 17-6 advantage.

Teammate Boone finished off game number two posting four service points and putting her team to within striking distance of 25, as it finished her time at 24-8.

Bellefonte refused to go away quietly as they posted three consecutive points, making it a 25-11 when the dust settled.

Momentum-wise, the Eagles continued to roll and methodically took down the Lady Raiders in a battle 25-15.

The third game ended the contest, ending the the rivalry for another year.