York Suburban senior Justin Corsa, center, and teammates become emotional after falling to Bethlehem Catholic in the PIAA Class AA boys' volleyball final Saturday.
With the month of May in the rearview mirror, high school sports should be slowing down, right? Wrong. This was a hectic week for area and regional teams.Three squads from the YAIAA traveled to State College for the PIAA boys’ volleyball championships, Sovereign Bank Stadium hosted all four District 3 baseball finals and one baseball and one softball team from the YAIAA advanced to states. Here’s a recap:
1. There was a distinctive YAIAA flavor over the weekend at Penn State for the PIAA boys’ volleyball championships. Dover, Northeastern and York Suburban all were present in Class AA. The Bobcats were the first team out after going 0-3 in pool play.
Dover's Brendan Warren (8) and Ryan Lamparter celebrate after winning the second game against Bethlehem Catholic in the PIAA Class AA boys' volleyball semifinals Saturday.
Dover and Suburban both made it to Saturday and both had disappointing results against the same opponent. First, Dover bowed out with a four-set loss to Bethlehem Catholic. Later that day, and after beating Ambridge in the semifinals, Suburban also fell to the Golden Hawks in three sets in the state title match.
2. Staying with the boys’ volleyball theme, Chambersburg was also at Penn State over the weekend. The Trojans made it to the PIAA Class AAA finals and met Pennridge. The two teams put on quite a show with Chambersburg sealing its state title with 15-11 win in the fifth set. After the game, the Trojans told the Public Opinion they were more than ready for the decisive set.
3. Dallastown captured a thrilling District 3 Class AAAA softball semifinal against YAIAA rival Central York in 10 innings Wednesday to reach the district final. Once there, the Wildcats ran out of magic and dropped a 7-6 decision to defending champion Central Dauphin.
The same night, Central’s season came to a close with a 6-3 loss to Lower Dauphin in the consolation game.
Note: Dallastown’s season is still going on. The Wildcats never got their PIAA playoff game started Monday due to weather and will open state play at noon today against St. Huberts at Temple University’s Ambler Campus.
4. West York’s baseball team had its work cut out for it Thursday in a District 3 Class AAA consolation game. With the district’s third and final bid up for grabs, the Bulldogs needed to beat defending PIAA Class AAA champion Northern to advance. West York, behind ace Kaden Hepler, did just that by pounding the Polar Bears, 8-1.
The Bulldogs kept their magical season rolling Monday by trouncing District 6 champion Hollidaysburg, 10-0, in five innings in Altoona. West York, coming off its first state tourney win in program history, faces District 7 runner-up Belle Vernon on Thursday in the quarterfinals. The Leopards beat Punxsutawney, 12-7.
5. Arguably the worst thing to do in District 3 is win the Class AAAA baseball title. The PIAA losing streak for the 3-AAAA champion reached six on Monday when Coatesville, the fifth-place finisher out of District 1, scored four runs in the top of the ninth to bounce Cedar Crest, 5-1.