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By VAN ROSE [email protected]
Tuesday, September 27, 2005 Page: 3B
After watching Lake-Lehman middle hitter Marissa Harrison struggle to get
the ball over the net in last weekend’s Wyoming Valley West girls volleyball
tournament, Wyoming Area coach Bob Shuleski decided to try to exploit her in
Monday’s match against the Black Knights.
“Harrison buried eight shots in the net at Valley West,” Shuleski said. “So
we went after her. We picked on her all day.”
As it turned out, the plan backfired.
Harrison played an excellent overall match as Lake-Lehman posted a 3-0
victory over a fired-up Wyoming Area team that put forth a noble effort. The
scores were 25-16, 25-17, 25-22. Harrison had four kills and three aces, and
turned in an outstanding defensive effort.
“Harrison played really well,” Shuleski said. “She had some key kills and
her passing and ball handling caused us some problems.”
Despite entering the match as an underdog, Wyoming Area (4-4) didn’t back
down. Behind the solid play of senior middle hitter Joanna Smith, the Warriors
stayed close in the first two games and held a three-point lead deep into game
three.
“They definitely caught us off guard,” said Harrison, a 5-foot-11 junior
who is one of Lehman’s top hitters. “There’s no question we took them too
lightly, and I really don’t know why that was. It reached a point in game
three where we realized we had to pick it up.”
The Warriors led throughout most of game three. They took a 20-17 lead on a
wicked slam by Smith, who consistently kept the Lehman defense on the run.
However, the Black Knights kept their poise. They fought back to take a
22-21 lead on a Megan Devine ace, and forged ahead 24-22 on a Harrison service
point. Lehman prevailed 25-22 on an unforced error by the Warriors to wrap up
the match.
“They made a couple of big plays and we just gave up,” said Smith, who had
12 kills, two blocks and eight digs. “They found our weak spots and took
advantage. Lehman has a powerful team and they play really well together.”
Lake-Lehman (7-1) got another stellar performance from star player Hannah
Sorber. The 5-foot-11 senior hitter had seven kills and 22 assists, and her
play at the net on both offense and defense proved to be the difference in the
match.
“Sorber is dynamite,” Shuleski said. “She doesn’t let her team down and
it’s impossible to stop her. If she makes a mistake, she admits it and keeps
pumping up her teammates.”
Sorber came up with the play of the match during game two. She hit a wicked
slam that struck a Wyoming Area defender in the face and knocked her
backwards.
The 5-11 Smith also made some impressive plays, including a riveting block
against Harrison in game one.
“Smith was very aggressive,” said Lehman coach Noah Pickett. “She played
with confidence and had a couple of nice blocks.”
Amy Parry had 10 digs and nine assists for the Warriors. Ashley Hetro added
four kills and 16 digs, and Leandro Hetro had eight digs, eight assists and
two blocks.