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June 5, 2024

Volleyball

Panthers swept by Fightin’ Planets in state opener

By Trevor Teubner

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

MARS — Saegertown’s boys volleyball team was eliminated by Mars after losing 3-0 (14-25, 14-25, 19-25) in Tuesday night’s PIAA Class 2A first round matchup at Mars Area High School. Saegertown came into the tournament as the second seed from District 10, with Mars being the first seed from District 7.

Saegertown struggled to get its offense going in the first few sets, unable to control the pace of the game. Mars was lethal from the outside, slamming down kill after kill with authority. Whenever Saegertown was able to get a spike over the net, someone from Mars was there to dig it and set up a return kill.

The Panthers looked to keep control of the ball and use that to their advantage, but Mars was superior in that regard.

“I knew they were a very good team, but I was very surprised with how they controlled the ball as far as serve-receive and handling free balls,” said Saegertown head coach Justin Johnson. “I thought that was the one thing we would be able to take advantage of them in the other matches I watched of theirs.

“It just didn’t go that way tonight, they made very few mistakes and made things hard for us.”

Mars dominated possession, and with how potent its offense looked, it was clear that Saegertown was playing at a disadvantage. The Panthers traded with the Fightin’ Planets at the beginning of each set, even grabbing some small leads. However, the athleticism of Mars allowed them to score on most serves from Saegertown.

“We knew that they were going to be bigger and more physical than us,” said Johnson. “We knew they were going to hit the ball harder than us, but we had faced lots of teams that can do that. I just thought that we could play better on ball control than them but they turned that back around on us. Combine that with their physicality and it was a rough night for us.”

Mars did show one weakness and that was serving. Mars was unable to remain consistent when serving the ball, giving Saegertown a few opportunities to cut the deficit when things were looking dire for the Panthers. But, how physical Mars was at the point of attack allowed the Fightin’ Planets to overpower Saegertown regardless.

Saegertown got better as the night went on, but the offense was inconsistent, as the Panthers missed hits they would’ve made against other teams.

“We missed the court a few times on some swings that normally go down for us,” said Johnson. “But, that has a lot to do with their size at the net and their athleticism and you get a little frustrated when you just can’t get a stop. You serve the ball, but just can’t get a stop.”

Collin Jones, Sam Draa and Jackson Scott led the Saegertown offense. Jones led the team in kills with 10. Draa was second on the team with five. Scott led the Panthers in assists with 16. Scott also added one kill.

Jones led the team in digs with eight. Mason Allio tallied six from the libero position.

“We just didn’t put the stops together tonight to keep control of the ball and serve to them,” said Johnson.

Even with the tough loss, Saegertown still has plenty to be proud of when looking back at the regular season and the District 10 playoffs.

“I think the biggest thing was that we had to start winning some of the bigger matches we played,” said Johnson. “We beat McDowell, we beat Cochranton and we played Meadville tough despite not coming out with a win against them. To come out of District 10 and play in a state tournament game is a heck of an accomplishment and our seniors worked hard to get there.”

Saegertown finished with a 14-3 record in the regular season and District 10 playoffs, second in the district to Meadville. Saegertown finished the year 14-4.

“The goal is always to get to that District 10 championship game and get into a situation where you can make the state playoffs,” said Johnson. “We have some big shoes to fill with seniors. We won’t even have a senior on the roster next year, so it won’t be easy. We have a lot of work to do between now and then, but we have a talented group, so it’s just about putting the work in to get back here.”

With its win tonight, Mars advances to the second round of the playoffs, where the Fightin’ Planets will face the winner of West Shamokin and Ambridge.

June 4, 2024

Volleyball

Saegertown returns to the state playoffs, first time since 2019

By Alex Topor

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

The Saegertown (14-3) boys volleyball is in the PIAA tournament for the first time since 2019 and the Panthers are slated to battle undefeated Mars (20-0), the WPIAL champion.

Mars is ranked No. 4 in the state in the latest poll from the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association. Saegertown is ranked No. 7.

“We have not seen them in tournament play. I’ve watched them online a few times. They have some athletes, no doubt, it’s a big school,” Saegertown head coach Justin Johnson said. “Just like anything else, if we’re playing well I like our chances against anybody.”

The Fightin’ Planets had three players named to the all-section team in the WPIAL. Senior outside hitter Ryan Ceh (6-foot-5), junior outside hitter Derek Platek (6-foot-4) and junior setter Kyler Robinson (5foot-10).

Saegertown’s offense is ran through freshman setter Jackson Scott. Seniors Collin Jones, Cody Huson and Sam Draa see a lot of swings on the outside. Grant Anthony and Josh Weaver play a lot of minutes in the middle with Mason Allio starting at libero.

May 29, 2024

Volleyball

Sweet, sweet victory

Defense leads the way as Bulldogs cruise to District 10 championship

By Alex Topor

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

The Bulldogs are back on top.

After missing the District 10 championship last year, Meadville swept Saegertown 3-0 (25-18, 25-9, 25-21) in Wednesday’s title match at Allegheny College. The Bulldogs have won four of the last five District 10 championships.

“It feels good. It feels good to be back here. We worked really hard to get here,” Meadville head coach Nick Bancroft said. “They work hard all the time so to be back on top is a testament to how hard they work. They deserve it.”

Meadville (17-0) and Saegertown (14-3) were the top two teams in the region this season. All three of Saegertown’s losses have been at the hands of the Bulldogs, though the Panthers took one set in each of their regular season matchups.

On Wednesday, each team showed off their offensive prowess in the opening set. Meadville’s Luc Soerensen, Parker Gosnell and Tymir Phillips took turns hammering monster spikes into Saegertown’s backcourt. On the other side, Saegertown seniors Collin Jones, Cody Huson and Sam Draa smacked plenty of kills the Bulldogs’ way.

With a tie at 14, Meadville took a timeout. From there, the ‘Dogs ended the set on a 11-4 run for an opening set win.

In the second set, it was Meadville’s defense that took over.

“If you’re gonna win that’s the old saying, defense wins championships. It’s frustrating to be on the other side of that,” Bancroft said. “When we played Saegertown before, Cochranton too, they played really good defense against us and frustrated us, so we wanted to reciprocate that to everybody else.”

Senior Luca White made several highlight reel defensive plays. His digs kept numerous plays alive and allowed Meadville to build a 10-2 lead.

“Volleyball is a team game but at some points it’s individual,” White said. “To put the ball up and let the rest of the team handle it, it means everything.”

Meadville’s defense took Saegertown out of the set and the Bulldogs cruised to a 25-9 win to go up 2-0 in the match.

“That was the best defensive night we’ve had. We frustrated them, no doubt, in that second set. They made a lot of errors,” Bancroft said. “Our stat sheet offensively won’t look as good because we frustrated them on the defensive end. “We’ve been preaching that from that get-go. That was our motto all week. We gotta play better defense.”

Meadville ran out to a 17--10 lead in the third set. The Panthers recovered to make it a two-point deficit at 23-21, but ran out of steam.

“They frustrated us in the second set for sure. They had a couple really nice digs, a couple really nice plays,” Saegertown head coach Justin Johnson said. “We did some really uncharacteristic things and that’s because they were doing those things. Not taking any credit away from Meadville.

“They played great defense and were getting lot of touches and wore us down a little bit in that second set.”

White finished the game with nine digs to pace the Bulldogs and spearhead the defense on their way to a district title.

“It’s a rollercoaster of emotions. It’s just, after last year, a good step in the right direction,” White said. “Everything we worked for in the offseason and in the regular season led us to this moment. To be able to push it out and get that medal means everything.”

Defense leads to offense, and Soerensen led that effort. The 6-feet 8-inch tall sophomore had 12 kills and three blocks. Senior and Mount Union commit Jack Brown dished 25 assists and added seven digs. Phillips tallied six kills.

“We’ve been a good program for as long as I can remember, since my seventh grade year when I managed them,” Soerensen said. “It’s really good to be back on top.”

Soerensen, just a little more than a week from winning a gold medal with the U.S. U19 team in Puerto Rico, said that environment helped prepare him for the loud and emotional gymnasium at the David V. Wise Center at Allegheny.

“Going to Puerto Rico was super cool,” Soerensen said. “It was full, packed and everybody is screaming at you. But this wasn’t a walk in the park, I was definitely nervous.”

Meadville will advance to the PIAA tournament. The Bulldogs will host the WPIAL runner-up, Armstrong, on Tuesday at a time to be announced. Saegertown will also move on to the state tournament. The Panthers will play at Mars, the WPIAL champion, on Tuesday.

“I think the big message is we get to play again. We get a second chance, which you don’t always get in life. That’s good for us,” Johnson said. “We get to go down to play on the road in Mars. That might be what we need.”

After facing the Bulldogs when they’re playing allworld level defense, the Panthers should be ready for a state playoff run.

“They’re obviously very good. We’re prepared now to play against pretty much anybody, they are that good,” Johnson said. “We have to stick together as a unit and as a team and do things a little differently, especially when we get down a little bit in these big matches.”

May 29, 2024

Volleyball

Final two

Meadville, Saegertown set for volleyball championship match

By Alex Topor

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

Meadville and Saegertown will play for the District 10 Class 2A boys volleyball championship today at Allegheny College at 6 p.m.

The two have met twice this season with Meadville (16-0) beating the Panthers (14-2) both times. Saegertown took one set in each match.

“They are very familiar. They are solid all the way around. You can’t key on just one guy. They have other great players other than Luc,” Saegertown head coach Justin Johnson said. “The key will be trying to serve them into positions that they are out of system on their attack. We need to be aggressive and go at them and see if we can put some pressure on them early on.”

Meadville and head coach Nick Bancroft is not taking the Panthers lightly.

“We have to serve them tough and keep them out of system,” Bancroft said. “Most of their offense comes from their pin hitters, and we have to be able to slow them down.”

Saegertown seniors Collin Jones and Sam Draa, who had 10 and nine kills in last week’s semifinal round, lead the Saegertown offense along with outside hitter Cody Huson. Freshman Jackson Scott runs the offense at setter with Grant Anthony and Spencer Keefer seeing a lot of time in the middle. Mason Allio is the starting libero with Westin Baker seeing time at the service line.

The Panthers beat Cochranton 3-0 in the semis to advance to the District title game for the first time since playing Meadville in 2019.

Meadville is back in the D-10 championship after missing last year. The Bulldogs swept Fort LeBoeuf in last week’s semifinals.

The Bulldogs have numerous options on offense. Sophomore Luc Soerensen is a 6-feet 8-inch game changer at outside hitter. Parker Gosnell and Max Decker also hit from the pins for the ‘Dogs. Tymir Phillips, Kellen Ball and Ben Fiely rotate in the middle with Jacob Graham and Luca White running the back row. Senior and Mount Union commit Jack Brown is the point man at setter.

“We need to be more precise with our first contacts. If we are able to establish the middle and keep them guessing where the ball is going, we are tough to stop,” Bancroft said. “And as always, we have be better on defense at the net and behind the block.”

The winner will play the WPIAL No. 2 seed on Tuesday and the loser will play the WPIAL champion.

In the latest poll from the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association, Meadville is ranked No. 5 and Saegertown No. 7.

“Make no mistake we are very happy we are playing bonus volleyball. But are going in there believing we can win,” Johnson said. “We’ve prepared by going to great tournaments and seeing a lot of teams similar or better than Meadville and we have competed very well.

“But the pressure is certainly on them. We will see how we play the underdog role.”

May 23, 2024

Volleyball

Saegertown gets past Cochranton to earn title berth

By Alex Topor

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

The last couple of years have ended the same way for the Saegertown boys volleyball team. The Panthers face Cochranton in the district semifinals, only to walk away empty-handed.

On Wednesday at Allegheny College, the Panthers finally got over the hump. Saegertown swept Cochranton 3-0 (25-14, 2523, 25-21) in the District 10 semifinal round to punch a ticket to the district final.

“We’ve had a great team the past few years, one of the top 10 teams in the state, and we just could not get past Cochranton or Meadville when it came to crunch time,” Saegertown head coach Justin Johnson said. “These seniors that played in those matches over the past couple of years, it’s huge for them. It’s huge for our program to watch those guys go through everything then finally get over the hump against a Cochranton team that, even though they lost some things from last year, is still a very good team.”

Saegertown breezed through the opener, but the next two sets were battles. Freshman Jackson Scott set up seniors Collin Jones and Sam Draa for 10 and eight kills, respectively. Both seniors, as well as Cody Huson, were pivotal in earning points at crucial times for the Panthers.

“This was such a big goal of ours. We’ve been talking all year that we want to make the state playoffs and we’ve been waiting a long time for that,” Jones said. “I’m really excited about this group to keep going.”

Jones and Draa have been starters and seen a lot of playing time for several years. They were excited to finally earn a trip to the finals. The top two seeds in the district advance to the state playoff tournament, so Saegertown is guaranteed at least two more matches.

“The last few years you make it there and you’re right there on the hill and we fell short every time,” Draa said. “This year we got over that hump finally and have beat some of those teams we haven’t beaten in years.”

Saegertown played with a lot of emotion on Wednesday. It’s a trait of the Panthers that Johnson hopes they bring with them on their playoff campaign.

“It was good to see it in a big match. Sometimes it disappears on us in big matches,” Johnson said. “Sometimes we do that in matches that don’t have a lot on the line, but it gets tight, we don’t do that. We did it tonight and I was happy to see that.

“Hopefully we can keep that going. You need to have a little bit of that if you want to be successful.”

Saegertown will face Meadville on Wednesday in the District 10 Class 2A championship.

The Bulldogs are another team the Panthers have struggled against in recent years.

“It’s a team we’ve seen a lot over the past years. They’re a great team with a lot of great players. We’ve taken sets off of them and come close to beating them in tournaments. I’m excited for it.”

“It’s all fun now. Regardless of what happens, this is a team we want to play,” Draa added.

Cochranton senior Dawson Carroll had 31 assists. Fellow seniors Noah Cummings and Fisher Dudzic had 11 and five kills, respectively. Sophomore Brady Rynd added 13.

“We fought pretty hard in those two sets. I thought we played pretty well in every facet of the game,” Cochranton head coach Rob Cierniakoski said. “The area that Saegertown had the advantage all night was in the serve-receive. Their passing kept them in system all night whereas we were running our offense from off the net the entire time. It’s tough to beat a good team that way.”

Cochranton’s season came to an end. With it, the end of the line for a group of seniors that made Cochranton history last season when the Cardinals played for the first state title in program history. The senior class consists of Carroll, Cummings, Dudzic, Jude Wagner and Gavin Sekerski.

“We’re proud of them. They played big parts over the last couple years,” Cochranton head coach Rob Cierniakoski said. “Whether they were on the court or playing against those teams in practice. It’s a good group of guys. A great group with great personalities so we’re gonna miss them, but they had a good season.”

May 20, 2024

Volleyball

Meadville, Cochranton, Saegertown advance to District 10 semifinals

By Trevor Teubner

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

CONNEAUT LAKE — Multiple Crawford County volleyball teams competed in the PIAA District 10 quarterfinal round on Saturday at Conneaut Lake Middle School. Saegertown, Meadville, Conneaut, Cochranton and Cambridge Springs all participated.

Saegertown sweeps Mercyhurst Prep

Saegertown, the second seed, faced off against Mercyhurst Prep, the seventh seed in the first match of the day. The Panthers swept the Lakers 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-16) to advance to the semifinals.

Saegertown took control of the game quickly and didn’t let go. The Panthers showed their strengths on the way to a quick win.

”We played well,” said Saegertown head coach Justin Johnson. “I thought our ball control wasn’t quite where I wanted it to be, but we played with a lot of enthusiasm and excitement and I was happy to see that.”

Collin Jones, Cody Huson and Grant Anthony led the Panthers on offense. Jones led the team in kills with nine. Huson was right behind him, scoring eight. Anthony tallied five, with Jackson Scott leading the team in assists with 30.

The Panthers played a well-balanced game, playing well on defense too. It was not easy to get points on them, and kills were hard to find for the Lakers. Even if Mercyhurst Prep got a few runs, it didn’t last long enough as the Panthers built leads early, allowing them to get away with playing more aggressive later in the match.

Saegertown served well too, allowing it to control the pace of the game and prevent Mercyhurst Prep from gaining any sort of momentum to change the tide of each set.

”We got some good serves today,” said Johnson. “We have some players jump serving, getting it into their repertoire a little bit. Offensively, we were really clicking. We got some kills from everybody today. We had a really balanced attack and I think that’s gonna help us down the road.”

On the defensive side of things, Huson and Scott led the team, with both totaling five blocks.

Saegertown advances to the semifinals, taking place on Wednesday, with time and location to be announced. The Panthers will take on the third seed, Cochranton.

Meadville continues regular season success

Meadville defeated Rocky Grove 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-12). Continuing their dominance, the Bulldogs showed no mercy against the Orioles, playing the same way they have all year — fast and with unrelenting offense. Max Decker, Tymir Phillips and Kellen Ball led the Meadville offense. Decker led the team in kills with 11. Phillips tallied ten, with Ball scoring seven. Jack Brown played as the set-up man, totaling 34 assists.

”I thought we took care of business,” said Meadville head coach Nick Bancroft. “We passed the ball a whole lot better than we had and we did what we needed to win, which is all we ask for.”

Meadville controlled the pace of the game, playing sound defense to back up its strong offense. The Bulldogs had several key serves as well, stifling the Orioles attempts at getting easy sets to attack back.

”We have to keep serving tough,” said Bancroft. “We did a good job at keeping them out of system and limiting our errors. We just have to focus on keeping that and our passing clean throughout the playoffs.”

The Bulldogs are the No. 1 one seed in this tournament after an undefeated regular season. It’s not uncommon in sports for the top seed or the so-called best team to get ahead of themselves and underestimate an opponent. However, Meadville isn’t taking anyone lightly.

”For the last four or five years we’ve had that target on our back,” said Bancroft. “We just come in and work hard, play every game like it’s our last night to play. That’s how we’ve done it all year.”

With this win, Meadville advances to the semifinals, where it will face the fourth seed, Fort LeBoeuf on Wednesday. Time and location for the game has not been announced.

Conneaut falls to Fort LeBoeuf in close series

Conneaut lost to Fort LeBoeuf 3-2 (25-16, 22-25, 14-25, 25-13, 11-15) in the closest match of the day. In a back and forth affair, the Eagles were stout on defense and played solid on offense too, but the Bison got hot at the right time and Conneaut wasn’t able to come back.

The match started out good for Conneaut, taking the first set solidly. However, one of the Eagles players landed oddly after going for a kill, causing an unfortunate injury. But, the Eagles were able to put that behind them and play a solid game.

“I think we played well,” said Conneaut assistant coach Jennifer Klink. “There were some things I wish could’ve gone a bit differently, but I think the boys played well. We don’t have a lot of experience in the playoffs and we showed that we can fight.”

And fight the Eagles did. The Eagles defense played a strong game, finding good digs on difficult serves and kills to swing their offense into action, allowing them to get the ball in their possession and control the pace of the game.

Tristan Shelatz, Charles Woods and Carson Alsdorf led the Eagles attack. Shelatz was swinging hard from the outside, tallying 16 kills. Woods scored eight kills and Alsdorf scored five, tying with Nicholas Garcia. Brevin Klink led the team in assists with 38.

Shelatz led the team in digs as well, totaling 14. Robert Gowetski was second with nine.

“They have continued to get stronger with every game,” said Klink. “We’ve battled some injuries, including that one tonight and that definitely hurt us, but for the team to come together and rally back anyway says a lot about where the program is headed.”

Conneaut fought valiantly, but it just wasn’t enough to move on to the semifinals. But, there is no reason for the players to hang their heads.

“The boys pulled themselves out of it. They came together and said we’re going to play our hearts out, and I think they did that,” said Klink.

Cochranton edges out Cambridge Springs

Cochranton defeated Cambridge Springs 3-1 (25-13, 19-25, 25-19, 25-21) in Saturday’s match.

In a match that was closer than the final score showed, Cambridge Springs played the Cardinals hard.

”It was a battle,” said Cambridge Springs head coach John Turner. “I just told the players before the game that they were capable of playing with Cochranton. They (Cochranton) are well coached, they play scrappy. But we came in there and we played well.”

The Cambridge offense heated up throughout the match, causing Cochranton to make mental errors that the Blue Devils took advantage of.

”Cambridge had a good match today,” said Cochranton head coach Rob Cierniakoski. “They really made us work today, it was a good game.”

The beginning set was Cochranton’s best. The Cardinals offense played fast, slamming kill after kill, overwhelming the Blue Devils’ defense. But as the night went on, Cambridge Springs found the rhythm it had been searching for, and played a tight game on defense, allowing it to take the second set.

But, the Cardinals bounced back and got back into system on offense, closing out the last two sets after building tempo on offense throughout.

”I think Dawson (Carroll) really stepped it up,” said Cierniakoski. “Other guys did too. But Dawson in my opinion, is an all-state player and he really controlled the match in sets three and four.”

Carroll, Noah Cummings and Brady Rynd led the Cardinals’ offense. Carroll led the team in assists with 45, scoring six kills as well as five aces. Cummings led the team in kills with 21, Rynd right behind him with 18.

Parker Schmidt, Darrin Peterson and Isaiah Simpson led the Blue Devils on offense. Schmidt led the team in kills with 17. Simpson scored nine kills and Peterson led the team in assists with 28.

Ian Anderson led Cambridge’s strong defense, leading the team in digs with 11.

”A couple of balls this way and that way, and we’re still playing game five,” said Turner. “There’s no shame at all. It’s great to see them battle the way they did. Everybody thought this game was just going to be three and over, but the team really came back to win the second game and showed Cochranton we can play with them.”

Cochranton advances to the semifinals, where they will play the second seeded Saegertown Panthers on Wednesday. Time and location is to be announced.

May 15, 2024

Volleyball

Saegertown on top

ERIE — Saegertown beat Mercyhurst Prep 3-0 (2515, 25-15, 25-13) in a region boys volleyball match on Tuesday.

Freshman Jackson Scott dished 20 assists. Collin Jones led the attack with eight kills. Cody Huson and Grant Anthony added six and five kills, respectively.

Saegertown finished the regular season 11-1 in the region and 13-2 overall. The Panthers will be the No. 2 seed in the District 10 tournament.

May 10, 2024

Volleyball

Jackson Scott leads Panthers to sweep over Ramblers

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

SAEGERTOWN — Saegertown’s boys volleyball team defeated Cathedral Prep 3-0 (25-9, 25-9, 25-14) in Thursday night’s Region 1 matchup.

Collin Jones and Grant Anthony led the Panthers’ offense. Jones scored seven kills, and Anthony totaled five. Jackson Scott led the team in assists with 22.

Saegertown has a 8-1 record in Region 1, and a 10-2 record overall. Saegertown will held to the Shaler tournament on Saturday. The tournament begins at 9 a.m.

May 8, 2024

Volleyball

Panthers sweep Orioles

SAEGERTOWN — Saegertown’s volleyball team defeated Rocky Grove 3-0 (25-14, 25-14, 27-25) in Tuesday’s Region 1 matchup. Despite a close last set, Saegertown won the third set to complete the sweep.

Sam Draa led the Saegertown offense with 12 kills. Cody Huson scored six kills and Will Nicholson tallied 3 kills. Jackson Scott led the offense in assists with 25.

Saegertown will host Cathedral Prep on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Panthers hold second place in Region 1 with a record of 8-1 in-region and 10-2 overall.

May 3, 2024

Boys Volleyball

Bulldogs dominate

Meadville beats Saegertown 3-1, remains undefeated

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

The Meadville volleyball team defeated Saegertown 3-1 (25-14, 24-26, 25-14, 25-19) in Thursday night’s Region 1 game at the House of Thrills.

Meadville won the first set without much trouble, but Saegertown came out strong in the second set to even the score 1-1 after a close second set. Meadville recovered, and took care of business in the last two sets to remain undefeated. Luc Soerensen and Tymire Philips led the way for the Meadville offense. Soerensen led the team in kills with 27, and added five blocks on defense. Philips totaled eight kills. Mac Decker added seven kills. Jack Brown remained the set-up man for the ‘Dogs, as Brown dished 47 assists. Jacob Graham was Meadville’s defensive leader, tallying 10 digs.

Collin Jones, Sam Draa and Jackson Scott led the way for the Saegertown offense. Draa led the team in kills with 13, with Jones totaling 10 on the night. Scott was the set-up man for the Panthers, scoring 38 assists. Mason Alio was the leader on defense, tallying 12 digs.

Meadville is now 11-0 and first in the region. Saegertown is 9-2, right behind Meadville, in second. Meadville will travel to the State College Tournament on Saturday, with the action set to begin at 8 p.m. Saegertown will host Rocky Grove on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

May 1, 2024

Volleyball

Region victory

Saegertown proves too tough for Cochranton in 3-1 win

By Alex Topor

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

COCHRANTON — In a rematch of a five-set battle earlier this month, Saegertown reigned supreme once again on Tuesday.

The Panthers beat Cochranton 3-1 (25-22, 24-26, 25-22, 25-21) at The Bird Cage on Tuesday.

Saegertown led 12-6 in the fourth set and seemed to be on the verge of closing out the match, but the Cards didn’t quit. Cochranton head coach Rob Cierniakoski called a timeout and rallied his troops.

Cochranton started to rattle off points while the Panthers made several hitting errors, which allowed the set to draw closer. The Cardinals drew within two points on two separate occasions but ran out of steam. Saegertown finished on a 3-0 run to close the match.

“I think a couple of the sets we got down kind of big, six or seven points. We started to change the momentum and get the score close but we didn’t play with the emotion we needed to close it out,” Cierniakoski said. “That’s something we definitely need to step up next time.”

Saegertown head coach Justin Johnson was satisfied to walk out with a win, but wanted a cleaner performance from his Panthers.

“I’m happy that we won. We haven’t won over here in a while and haven’t been real successful against these guys for the last couple years,” Johnson said. “It was good to get a win, but we need to get more consistent if we want to get to where we need to be at the end of the year.”

Saegertown fought back from early deficits in the first two sets. After trailing 4-0 in the opener, the Panthers played even till the end. With a 22-21 lead, Cody Huson delivered on two strong kills and Collin Jones’ spike ended the set in the Panthers’ favor.

In the second, the Panthers fought back from an 11-6 deficit. With a tie at 21, 23 and 24, a Noah Cummings spike and Saegertown hitting error evened the match at 1.

Saegertown controlled the third set by a handful of points throughout the majority, but the Cards kept it close at the end. Cochranton’s late run in the third and fourth sets point to something Johnson hopes to see his team improve on — consistency.

“We’ve had consistency problems all year. We look great for a bunch of points then we don’t look so good for a bunch of points,” Johnson said. “It’s something I was hoping we’d be getting away from at this point in the season with only a week and a half of this left. We have to get more consistent and play better.

“When we passed the ball well and we could have all of our hitting options I thought we played pretty well. We didn’t have too great of ball control sometimes and it hurts.”

Scott finished with 36 assists for the Panthers. Huson led the offense with 18 kills. Jones had 15 digs and 10 kills while Sam Draa added 12 digs and seven kills. Mason Allio paced the defense with 19 digs.

Saegertown is 7-0 in region action and 9-1 overall. The Panthers are set to meet region leader Meadville at Meadville Area Senior High School’s House of Thrills on Thursday.

The Cardinals were led by seniors Dawson Carroll and Noah Cummings with 45 assists and 14 kills, respectively. Brady Rynd added 13 kills.

Cochranton is 6-1 in the region and 7-3 overall. The Cards will host Cambridge Springs on Thursday.

April 26, 2024

Volleyball

Electric Panthers offense sweeps Blue Devils

By Trevor Teubner

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

SAEGERTOWN — The Saegertown volleyball team swept Cambridge Springs despite a close third set on Thursday night.

The Panthers Offense took over in the first two sets of this Region 1 game (25-13, 25-10), taking advantage of good sets and digs to keep the tempo up and find holes in the Cambridge defense.

“First two sets we played great,” said Saegertown head coach Justin Johnson. “We started out playing some good defense, and Jackson Scott ran a fantastic offense tonight for us.”

Collin Jones, Sam Draa and Jackson Scott led the lethal Saegertown offense. Jones led the team from the outside hitter position with 22 kills. Draa was just behind him, tallying 21 kills. Scott totaled 22 assists as the setter of the offense.

Saegertown controlled the momentum through all three sets by staying clean on defense, allowing the Panthers to get reset on offense and get the ball to their outside hitters, who picked at the corners of the court all night.

“They (Cambridge) played well in the first part of that third set and we ended up coming back,” said Johnson.

The third set (25-23) was the closest set of the night, and Saegertown started to lose some momentum as Cambridge began to build up points on offense. However, the Panthers hung in tough and didn’t let the Blue Devils get a lead that was too big to come back from. In the later volleys of the third, Saegertown found their groove serving, and got those last few points they needed to complete the sweep.

The Blue Devils played their best set in the third, fixing miscommunications on defense and getting serving opportunities. Parker Schmidt was the leader of Cambridge’s offense, tallying 11 kills from the outside. Isaiah Simpson was second in kills with four, and Ian Anderson was third with three. Darrin Peterson led with 18 assists, and also tallied eight digs, leading the team.

“I think we came out a little scared,” said Cambridge head coach John Turner. “Then we settled in. That third game could’ve easily went either way.”

Cambridge came out hot to start the third set, keeping pace on offense. The Blue Devils controlled their digs and got consistent sets to their slammers to slowly build a lead.

“The last set they played well,” said Turner. “They were moving, they were picking up balls. I was pleased with the third set, they didn’t hang their heads when they made a mistake.”

Saegertown is now 8-1 overall, and 6-0 in the region. Cambridge Springs is 4-5, and 3-2 in the region. Both will travel to Hempfield High School for a tournament on Saturday at 9 a.m.

April 24, 2024

Volleyball

Panthers sweep Bison

WATERFORD — Saegertown swept Fort LeBoeuf 3-0 (25-21, 25-15, 25-23) in a region boys volleyball match on Tuesday.

Jackson Scott dished 31 assists. Senior Collin Jones tallied 14 kills and 11 digs. Cody Huson added eight kills while Grant Anthony had six kills and five blocks.

Saegertown is 7-1 overall and 5-0 in region action. The Panthers will host Cambridge Springs on Thursday.

April 19, 2024

Volleyball

Panthers beat Trojans

ERIE — Saegertown boys volleyball beat McDowell 3-2 (23-25, 25-17, 26-24, 23-25, 15-12) in a region match on Thursday.

Jackson Scott dished 35 assists. Collin Jones led the attack with nine kills. Sam Draa and Cody Huson each had eight.

Saegertown is 6-1 overall and will play at Fort LeBoeuf on Tuesday.

April 18, 2024

Volleyball

Boys and Girls athletes of the week: Jackson Scott, Saegertown volleyball & Victoria Medrick, Conneaut lacrosse

Saegertown freshman Jackson Scott helped the Panthers to a 2-0 record last week. He distributed 20 assists in a win against Farrell on Thursday. On April 9 against Conneaut, he had 38 assists.

April 17, 2024

Volleyball

Panthers top Tigers

SAEGERTOWN — Saegertown swept Maplewood 3-0 (25-7, 25-15, 25-16) in a region boys volleyball match on Tuesday at Steve Scott Gymnasium.

Freshman Jackson Scott had 25 assists. Seniors Sam Draa and Collin Jones each added six kills. Draa also had 11 digs.

Saegertown moved to 5-1 and will play at McDowell on Thursday.

April 12, 2024

Volleyball

Panthers top Steelers

FARRELL — Saegertown beat Farrell 3-0 (25-9, 25-13, 25-15) in a boys volleyball match on Thursday.

Collin Jones, Sam Draa and Grant Anthony each had five kills. Freshman Jackson Scott distributed 20 assists.

Saegertown is 4-1 and will host Maplewood on Tuesday.

April 11, 2024

Volleyball

Team of the Week: Saegertown boys volleyball

The Saegertown volleyball team took down Cochranton 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 18-25, 25-15, 1510) at Steve Scott Gymnasium on Thursday.

Saegertown’s offense was orchestrated by freshman Jackson Scott with 17 assists and six kills. Collin Jones and Sam Draa added 12 and nine kills, respectively.

Saegertown was listed at No. 6 in the latest poll from the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches Association.

April 10, 2024

Volleyball

Saegertown beats Conneaut in three

SAEGERTOWN — The Saegertown boys volleyball team beat Conneaut 3-0 (25-18, 25-20, 26-24) in a region match on Tuesday.

Jackson Scott dished 38 assists to lead the way. Cody Huson and Collin Jones added 13 and nine kills, respectively. Mason Allio led the defense with eight digs.

Conneaut’s Brevin Klink had 13 assists with Carson Alsdorf adding six kills.

Saegertown is 3-1 and will play at Farrell on Thursday. Conneaut will host Fort LeBoeuf on Thursday.

April 5, 2024

Boys Volleyball

Saegertown Panthers edge Cochranton Cardinals 3-2

By Trevor Teubner

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

SAEGERTOWN — In a back and forth affair, Saegertown proved that they could hang with the big dogs. Or in this case, birds, in a 3-2 (25-21, 22-25, 1825, 25-15, 15-10) win against Cochranton Thursday night at Saegertown High School.

The game started off slow, with good defense being played by both sides. Both teams struggled with serves in the first set, but Saegertown stayed slightly more consistent, which was the difference throughout the whole match.

The Cardinals came out strong in the second and third sets, thanks to strong offensive play by Brady Rynd and Noah Cummings. Rynd and Cummings led the Cardinals with 25 and 16 kills respectively, with Dawson Carroll totaling 45 assists.

Saegertown regrouped in the next two sets and staged a comeback after winning the first set.

“In the fourth set, we stole the momentum away from them,” said Saegertown head coach Justin Johnson. “We passed and served very well in the fourth set.”

Saegertown entered the fifth set on fire, getting a few points ahead of Cochranton with just a few more serves needed. However, the serving bug bounced back onto Saegertown, nearly giving the Cardinals a chance to come back.

“In the fifth set, we got a couple point lead and we served four balls into the net in a row,” said Johnson. “But, we pulled it together in the last part of that 15-point set. With two teams as even as we are, a 15-point set could be anyones’.” Saegertown’s offense was led by Collin Jones, Sam Draa and Jackson Scott. Jones led the team with 12 kills, with Draa right behind him with nine. Scott scored six kills, and also tallied 17 assists.

Cochranton played with momentum for most of the night, but the Cardinals lost some steam in the fourth set, and were unable to come back from a five point deficit.

“We missed seven serves in that fourth set and so they were able to run away with that and take that momentum into the fifth set,” said Cochranton head coach Robert Cierniakoski.

Cochranton made several great plays on defense to get the ball back in their possession, but too many mistakes on serves made it difficult for Cochranton to establish a consistent offensive presence.

“I think we settled into the game in that second and third set, gained some momentum at the end of the first set,” said Cierniakoski. “Maybe if we don’t give them a lead at the end of that first set, get that win, maybe we don’t allow it to go to extra sets.”

Cochranton and Saegertown will be headed to NorthEastern High School on Saturday for a tournament. After that, Saegertown will play Conneaut on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at home. The Cardinals meanwhile will be traveling to Ft. LeBoeuf for a game on Tuesday at 7 p.m.

March 27, 2024

Boys Volleyball

Road victory

Meadville’s fast-paced offense too much for Saegertown in 3-1 win

By Trevor Teubner

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

SAEGERTOWN — Meadville defeated Saegertown 3-1 (25-18, 2125, 25-15, 25-19) on Tuesday night at Saegertown High School. The Panthers and Bulldogs both came out strong early, but the unrelenting Meadville offense consistently kept them ahead of the pace, making the difference in the later rounds.

Meadville took the first set of the night after a strong offensive start. Meadville put Saegertown on its heels resulting in a decisive victory in set three, before winning the match in the fourth.

The Bulldog’s offense was led by sophomore Luc Soerensen, who led the team with 27 kills and six digs. Fellow sophomore Parker Gosnell tallied ten kills and six digs. Senior Jack Brown scored 47 assists.

Missed opportunities on severs slowed down the momentum that Meadville had built up, allowing Saegertown to inch closer to making it a five set match.

“We missed a lot of serves tonight,” said Meadville head coach Nick Bancroft.”We’re a big offensive team, when we can serve the ball and play good defense we can be a tough team to beat.”

Meadville made good plays on defense throughout the match, with sophomore Tymir Phillips making two blocks, adding nine kills as well.

“We have to stay aggressive and play more consistent,” said Bancroft. “I thought Saegertown played really good, they had a nice tournament and played really good today too.”

Saegertown’s offense was led by senior Collin Jones, who tallied 13 kills and 11 digs on the night and fellow senior Sam Draa, who had 12 kills and 11 digs. Freshman Jackson Scott led the team in assists with 36.

Saegertown played with great effort all night, resulting in four close sets with Meadville, taking advantage of offensive mistakes by the Bulldogs to stay close.

“They’re (Meadville) so good offensively that you have to play neckand- neck or ahead of them because they can erase the mistakes they make on their side of the net,” said Saegertown head coach Justin Johnson.

Saegertown managed to do just that for the first few sets, but began to lose some steam after a slow start to the third. Meadville took the lead in that set, and didn’t look back, riding all that momentum in the final set to seal the deal.

“I thought we started out good, we came out ready to play, our effort was good, flying around to try and make some plays on defense,” said Johnson. “We didn’t start out very well in the third set, and we just couldn’t recover.We got a lot of good digs from some of their good attacks, but we weren’t able to handle some of those 50/50 balls.”

The Panthers will play Cochranton next Thursday at home, while Meadville will face Maplewood at home on Tuesday.

March 27, 2024

Boys Volleyball

Area volleyball teams look to duke it out for District 10 championship this spring

By Alex Topor

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

Crawford County boys volleyball teams saw a lot of success in 2023, and this season looks to be more of the same.

Last year, five locals were named to the Pennsylvania Volleyball Coaches AssociationAll-State team and 12 made the District 10 All-Region teams. Two area teams were featured in the PVCA’s top 10 poll and it was an all-District 10 PIAA semifinal match between Cochranton and Mercyhurst Prep.

This year features plenty of roster turnover, as four of the five all-staters and nine of the 12 all-region selections graduated. Local teams will reload and duke it out for a District 10 championship. The top two teams in the district playoffs will move on to the PIAA playoffs.

Meadville

Meadville had a rare playoff upset loss last season to break the Bulldogs’ streak of three consecutive PIAA championship appearances. The Bulldogs lost to Mercyhurst Prep, who won the D-10 title, in the district semifinal round last season.

“We have moved on from the loss. We have not forgotten, but we have turned our focus to this year,” Meadville head coach Nick Bancroft said. “We have a very talented and deep roster this year. We really have a lot of questions that need to be answered.

“We have a group of experienced upperclassmen and a very talented pool of underclassmen who will be fighting for varsity playing time.”

Gone from last year’s team are three seniors, Jackson Decker, Hunter Graham and Isaac Johnson. Decker, a 6-foot 4-inch outside hitter, was a threetime all-state selection and is playing for Division I St. Francis. Graham was a starting libero and Johnson saw a lot of playing time at outside hitter.

This year’s crop of seniors is Alex Burgess, Angelo Mangine, Jacob Graham, Jack Brown, Luca White and Kyle Peterson. Bancroft said playing time is not guaranteed for anyone and that it’s a competitive group.

“Jack, Jacob, Ben (Fiely), Kellen (Ball), Luc (Soerensen), and Luca have the most varsity experience time, but they know that nothing is guaranteed,” Bancroft said. “Our practices are going to be very competitive and fun, with the likes of Aslan (Shaffer), Brennan (Decker), Parker (Gosnell), Kyle, Alex, Tymir (Phillips) and Max (Decker) all chomping to get on the floor.”

Brown is a returning all-region setter. Soerensen is a returning all-state honorable mention and all-region selection. The 6-foot 7-inch sophomore played outside hitter as a freshman.

Meadville opened its season with a sweep against Cochranton. The Bulldogs finished second at the Meadville tournament and beat Saegertown on Tuesday.

“Our goals always remain the same each year. We want to improve each week and bring our best game to every match,” Bancroft said. “Hopefully we have learned to never take anything for granted and that it’s tough to win. I have no doubt that these guys are ready to show everyone what they are made of.”

Cochranton

The Cochranton Cardinals had a historic 2023 season. The team made the PIAA final for the first time in program history and had three all-state selections.

Last year also marked the third straight season the Cards advanced to the state playoffs, and second straight they played in the state semifinals.

This season, those three all-staters — Chase Miller, Andrew Custead and Landon Homa — have graduated. Head coach Rob Cierniakoski will look to returning starters Dawson Carroll, Noah Cummings and Brady Rynd to fill the leadership void.

Carroll will move from libero to setter. Cummings and Rynd will start at outside hitter for the Cards.

Other players with limited starting experience who will see a lot of it this season are Gavin Sekerski, Fisher Dudzic, and Jude Wagner.

“This year’s seniors have been a part of our last few playoff runs and that experience should help us down the stretch,” Cierniakoski said. “Our goal is to get at least one percent better each day, if we do that and stay healthy, we like our chances.”

Cochranton will play in the Northeastern, Shaler and Meadville tournaments this spring.

The Cardinals beat McDowell in an season opener before losing to Meadville at the House of Thrills.

Conneaut

The Conneaut volleyball team finished the 2023 season with five wins and a first-round postseason exit to eventual District 10 champion Mercyhurst Prep. Gone from last year’s roster is all-region outside hitter Nolan Rados. This season, the Eagles return more depth than in previous seasons.

“This year, we are continuing to stress basic fundamentals to build a solid foundation both offensively and defensively. We have a sound roster of 19 this year, and we’re excited to get into the season,” Conneaut assistant coach Jennifer Klink said. “With a large portion of our roster spots filled by returning players, we have more depth on the bench than in past years; this will also allow our JV, some of whom are first-time players, to concentrate on improving skills and gaining experience at the JV level.”

Conneaut will lean on seniors Tristan Shelatz, Brevin Klink, Maxx Feather and Carson Alsdorf.

“For Varsity, we’ll look to our four seniors to be leaders, but we have a reliable group of underclassmen who will also contribute this season,” Klink said. “As for our team goals, we hope to improve upon last year’s record and continue to grow our program.”

The Eagles will compete in the Meadville tournament, Deer Lakes tournament and Cochranton tournament this season, as well the run of local District 10 teams.

Saegertown

Saegertown finished the 2023 campaign 10-6 overall and with another District 10 semifinal exit.

Gone from that team are Brady Greco, an all-region setter now playing at Hiram College, as well as all-region libero Sam Hetrick and all-region middle hitter Quincy Zook, now playing at Trine.

“We lost three seniors that were key last year in Brady, Quincy and Sam. But we have some younger guys and some experience to hopefully fill their shoes,” Saegertown head coach Justin Johnson said. “At setter, freshman Jackson Scott will have a learning curve but so far in practice and scrimmages has performed nicely. At libero I look for Westin Baker and Mason Alio to both get some reps in that position.

“Both had a great offseason and will do a good job filling in for Sam. Quincy was a big part of our offense last season but we have some experience coming back in the middle with Grant Anthony.”

Returning starters that will be leaned on offensively are Collin Jones and Sam Draa. Both are athletic outside hitters. Also returning is Cody Huson, who is back for his second season of volleyball.

“Collin and Sam will have big roles as leaders and offensive leaders of our team,” Johnson said. “They’re great all-around players. Cody will also see a greatly increased role. His progression after only playing for one season has been phenomenal.”

Saegertown will compete at the Meadville, Northeastern, Hempfield and Shaler tournaments this season, in addition to its District 10 schedule. Saegertown opened the season with a win against McDowell before losing to Meadville.

“It’ll be a good mix of younger and older guys stepping up. Alio, Baker, and sophomore Josh Weaver will all be getting significant varsity time,” Johnson said. “If we can gel and some of the younger guys can improve, I expect to compete for a D-10 title and beyond.

“We have a little bit of the early season injury bug at the moment. Hopefully in the next few weeks we get everyone healthy and ready to roll.”

Cambridge Springs

The Cambridge Springs boys volleyball team will be coached by John Turner, also the girls head coach, this season. He takes over for Kyle Marzka and will be assisted by his son, John Turner Jr.

Cambridge finished 5-10 last season and lost to Saegertown in the opening round of the District 10 tournament. This year, Turner is hoping his group of talented seniors can improve on the team’s record and progress in the district tournament.

“Right now we have to get down to basics, moving, talking, typical volleyball,” Turner said. “We have a nice senior group I think. It’s gonna take a little bit to get used to everything that we need to do. I think we’ll be okay. The rough thing this year, right from the get-go, basketball was still playing so we really only had a few days of practice before the season started.”

The Blue Devils will be led by senior outside hitter Parker Schmidt. Schmidt, standing at 6-feet 5-inches tall, had 27 kills in the team’s season opening loss against Fort LeBoeuf.

“He is gonna be someone we depend on,” Turner said. “For leadership and really everything. We have him swinging outside this year.”

Setter Darrin Peterson, outside hitter Ian Anderson and middle hitter Hunter Rose, all seniors, will be starters this season. Juniors Devin Laniewicz and Seth Glenn will be the team’s middle hitter and libero, respectively. Freshman outside hitter Isaiah Simpson is also expected to playing meaningful minutes this season.

Cambridge lost the season opener to Fort LeBoeuf 3-2, but it was an encouraging match, according to Turner.

“Last year if we won one, we lost the next three. Or we won two and would lose the next three. The kids didn’t buckle down and come back,” Turner said. “In the opener we battled back and got to five sets. It was nice to see that, but it’s a work in progress.”

Turner is looking for his team to improve everyday and hopefully make some noise in the District 10 playoffs.

“We want to get better. Day by day, practice by practice, game by game,” Turner said. “It’s not how fast you come out of the gate, it’s how you finish. As long as we get into districts we have a chance.”

Maplewood

Maplewood returns for year two of its rebirth. Last year was Maplewood’s first year fielding a varsity team after two years without enough players.

Last season saw the Tigers finish with a 2-9 record under head coach Calum Hyde. Maplewood got wins against Cathedral Prep and Farrell.

The 2023 team was very young. It featured 21 players with a majority of underclassmen.

This season, the team should take a step forward with a year of experience under its belt.

March 22, 2024

Boys Volleyball

Saegertown sweeps McDowell in opener

MEADVILLE TRIBUNE

SAEGERTOWN — The Saegertown boys volleyball team defeated McDowell in a non-region match Thursday night for their first game of the season.

The Panthers won 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 26-24). Sam Draa led the team in kills with 11, with Colin Jones not far behind him with seven. Mason Alio tallied six digs. Jackson Scott led the team in assists with 18.

Saegertown (1-0) looks to get back in the win column again vs. Meadville on Tuesday.