Freeport girls volleyball rolls past Derry to remain undefeated in Section 5-AA

By: Michael Love
Tuesday, October 11, 2022 | 10:09 PM

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The Freeport girls volleyball maintained its two-game lead on the rest of Section 5-2A Tuesday evening with a dominant 3-0 victory over Derry at Freeport Middle School.

“We just played how we know we can,” senior setter Cassidy Dell said. “We played very loose, very relaxed, and we had some fun. “

The win put Freeport at 11-0 in Section 5-2A with a section match Thursday at Neighborhood Academy. A win there will give the Yellowjackets at least a share of their 18th consecutive section championship.

Freeport concludes the regular season next week with a nonsection home match with Class 3A Mars on Monday, a home section contest with Ligonier Valley on Tuesday and a section matchup at Burrell on Oct. 13.

“We played pretty well, but I know we can still play even a little stronger,” senior libero Ava Soilis said. “We’re getting there, and I think we’re peaking at the right time for playoffs, which is a good thing.”

The match was Freeport’s annual Pink Out for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and proceeds from the evening’s festivities, including concession sales, benefited a local family fighting a cancer battle.

Freeport’s power was on display early in Game 1 as a combination of kills from sophomores Leah Schrecengost and Alaina Whitlinger and junior Josie Russo, a pair of service aces and a couple of Derry hitting errors combined for a 12-2 Freeport lead.

The Yellowjackets continued to flex their muscles with kills from Dell, senior Hadley Helgren and junior Sydney Selker and communication in the back row from Soilis.

Freeport was in control throughout and finished off the game, 25-9, with an emphatic kill from Russo.

It didn’t get any better for Derry in Game 2 as Freeport jumped out to a 7-1 lead and extended it to 12-2 on a kill from Whitlinger.

The Yellowjackets finished off the game, 25-8, as a Russo kill and a Whitlinger hit that wasn’t successfully returned by the Derry defense wrapped up the victory.

Game 3 saw Freeport build leads of 9-3, 16-4 and 20-6. A Russo kill wrapped up the win at 25-9.

Russo and Schrecengost led Freeport with seven kills apiece, and senior setter Cassidy Dell contributed 22 assists.

Despite the loss, Derry remains in playoff contention at 6-5 in section play. The Trojans host Deer Lakes on Thursday.

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: Derry Area, Freeport