Bellefonte volleyball muscled out win over Penn Cambria

By Kenny Varner Jr.
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Updated: August 31, 2023

Bellefonte 3, Penn Cambria 0

PC 23 12 19

BE 25 25 25

By Kenny Varner

BELLEFONTE – It’s not how you start but how you finish.

Thursday night, the Bellefonte volleyball team found itself down twice in the opening contest against Penn Cambria.

However, both times the Red Raiders were able to battle back and win the contest en route to the 3-0 sweep over the Panthers (25-23, 25-12 and 25-19.

Leading the way in the Lady Raiders comeback was sparkling front row play by Carlee Pepperman and Grace Novitsky. They provided the 1-2 punch for the Red Raiders and their comeback and eventual win.

“We have a bad habit of starting slow. So we started slow and once started playing the way we should play. We were able to do the things we do,” said Bellefonte coach Monica Smith.

The Panthers opened up the first game by jumping out to a 5-1 advantage, four of those came on service points by Sophia Rabatin.

Penn Cambria would keep the pace, holding an 8-3 lead before Bellefonte would settle in and attack the lead.

Trailing 8-4 on a side out, the Red Raiders went to Ella Novitsky for some crucial service points

She did not disappoint as she rolled off four straight service point, highlighted by an ace and a block by Grace Novitsky, tying the contest at eight.

The game went back and forth and with the score tied at nine, the Red Raiders took the lead for the first time on a front row blast by Keira Clarkson, putting them ahead.

Despite the 0-3 record, the Panthers weren’t finished there.

With Reagan Ronan at the service line, Penn Cambria exploded to go back in front 14-10.

Bellefonte battled back after trailing 16-12.

A spike by Pepperman, gave the Red Raiders the ball back and put teammate Clarkson back on the line.

The result was Bellefonte rolling off five consecutive service points, taking the lead at 17-16.

The two would change the lead numerous time.

Trailing 23-22, with the game on the line, Bellefonte tied things on a blast by Novitsky, setting the stage for a 3-0 run and the 25-23 victory.

Things picked up where they left off in game number one as the Red Raiders rolled to take a 2-0 lead, topping the Panthers by a 25-12 victory.

Bellefonte jumped out to a 12-7 advantage and never looked back as it outscored Penn Cambria 13-5 the rest of the way en route to the victory.

In the final game, Penn Cambria gave it one last strong effort to keep the match going but by then Bellefonte had its A-game in place and muscled out a hard fought 25-19 game to end the contest.

In the JV contest, the Lady Raiders found themselves down 1-0 on Panthers.

But Bellefonte roared back in the second and third games, taking the contest 2-1.