Experienced group aims to lead Greensburg CC volleyball back to top of WPIAL

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, September 2, 2018 | 4:00 PM

Previous Next

Previous Next

Ruby Bickerton had a front-row seat two years ago when seniors like Mikayla Bisignani, Haley Moore and Kennedy Johnston led the Greensburg Central Catholic volleyball team to a state title for the second time in three years, and she took mental notes on what made that team special.

Bickerton, like many of her current teammates, was a reserve at the time, and she is ready to apply what she learned.

“It was a great experience for me personally,” Bickerton, a senior, said. “You wanted to strive to be as good as them and strive to be on that court. I got a few opportunities to play, and I made such great friendships that year.”

The current group of Centurions won a section title in 2017 but suffered a bitter 3-2 loss to Fort Cherry in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.

It was a loss that has inspired them this fall, and they hope they can add another chapter to what has been a strong run of success for the program.

“It was heart-wrenching,” Bickerton said. “It was such a tough loss, but it taught us that we need to finish games. We can’t let our mentality of being tired late in a match stop us from playing to our full potential.”

Even-numbered years have been pretty good for GCC in recent history. They won WPIAL titles in 2012, ’14 and ’16 and PIAA titles in ’14 and ’16.

The Centurions have a new coach in Courtney Stynchula, who was an assistant the last two years under Kate McCauley, who left after last season.

Stynchula, a former volleyball player at Latrobe and Lock Haven, has been with the team since 2016. She has seven returners who had a lot of playing time and already has noticed a higher maturity level that comes with experience.

“They were excited last year, but I could tell they were a little anxious because they had big shoes to fill,” Stynchula said. “The first (round) loss in WPIALs really disappointed them, but I think they are back for revenge this year. They do not want a repeat of last year.”

Bickerton, a team captain, is the libero and is joined by outside hitter Abbey Kilkeary, middle hitter Sara Petnuch and opposite hitter Rachael Riley as returning seniors. Alex Bristlieb, Elizabeth Colecchia and Emily Zazski are juniors who started last season. Colecchia, an outside hitter, is a captain. Bristlieb is a defensive specialist, and Zazski is a middle hitter.

Stynchula sees the girls are developing better chemistry, and there’s a more serious tone to practice, which is something she said comes only with more time together on the court.

“They are developing better communication,” Stynchula said. “I honestly think it takes a senior class all four years to build that trust and to have that self esteem in one another. The seniors we have now have grown a lot as people, and they’ve learned to communicate much better.”

Greensburg Central Catholic topped Trinity Christian in the final Section 4-A game last season to clinch a sixth consecutive section title. The Centurions will be favorites to win a seventh consecutive section title and want to make a run to get back toward the top of the WPIAL.

“Having that experience together last year really helped us click for this season,” Bickerton said. “We may not have been at our strongest last year, but we can take that and improve. We’re a much stronger and closer team.

“We’ve been working very hard, and my biggest hope is that we truly improve every game and play as one whole team. You have to play like a family.”

Jerin Steele is a freelance writer.

Tags: Greensburg C.C.