Freeport fends off Armstrong in Class 3A volleyball thriller

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, November 2, 2021 | 11:48 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Purchase Photo Options

Previous Next

The Freeport girls volleyball team is back in the WPIAL championship game.

The top-seeded Yellowjackets lost the first game of their WPIAL Class 3A semifinal match with section rival and fifth-seeded Armstrong on Tuesday.

But Freeport won three of the remaining four games, including the deciding Game 5 by a 17-15 score, to wrap up a wild 3-2 victory.

“We just had to stay composed and play together as a team, and we did that,” junior setter Cassidy Dell said. “We knew Armstrong was going to give us everything they had. We were prepared for a close match.”

Freeport opened an 8-2 lead in Game 5, but Armstrong used a 7-0 run to gain a 9-8 advantage.

The game was tied at 9-9, and the Yellowjackets and River Hawks traded points all the way to 15-15.

A block from senior Erica Lampus and sophomore Autumn English was successful, and Freeport gained a 16-15 lead.

Then an Armstrong hitting error at the net gave the Yellowjackets the match-deciding point.

Freeport, which also beat Armstrong twice in section play, will face No. 3 Hampton for the title at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Robert Morris University’s UPMC Events Center.

The Yellowjackets and Talbots, also rivals in Section 5, split their section series and finished as section co-champions with 11-1 records.

“We know Hampton really well, and it should be a great match,” said Dell, who led the team in assists in Tuesday’s match.

Freeport, now 18-1 overall, will be gunning for its second WPIAL title in three years, its first in Class 3A, and its sixth since 2010.

Despite the loss, Armstrong (12-4) is not done. All four semifinalists, including Hampton and Plum, will enter the PIAA playoffs set to begin next Tuesday.

The other semifinal between the No. 3 Talbots and No. 7 Mustangs also went five games. Hampton rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2.

Armstrong seized the lead in the match with a 25-18 victory in Game 1. Junior outside hitter Cassidy Adams hit into a Freeport block, and the ball got down to give the River Hawks the game-ending point.

Freeport rallied from an 18-13 deficit to win Game 2. Dell had a trio of successful hits for Freeport down the stretch in the 25-22 victory.

The Yellowjackets took the lead for the first time in Game 3 at 5-4, and they built on it from there for a 25-18 win. English put down a kill for the final point.

Armstrong didn’t fold its tent in Game 4. The River Hawks gained the lead at 18-17 and didn’t relinquish it en route to a 25-20 victory.

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.

Tags: Armstrong, Freeport