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By ROBERT WALLACE; Times Leader Sports Correspondent
Tuesday, November 08, 1994     Page: 2B

District 2 Class AAA champion Tunkhannock will look to advance in the state
tournament for the third straight year when it competes in the Northeast
Regional playoffs tonight at Pottsville’s Martz Hall.
   
“Our goal is to get to Shippensburg. It’s what we’ve worked for all year,”
Tunkhannock coach Don Davis said. “We’ve been a little more relaxed this week.
We’re just going to go out and do our best and have fun.”
    But Davis has no misconceptions about the caliber of the competition his
team will face.
   
Tunkhannock (17-0) will play District 1 runnerup Souderton in the first
match. The Lady Tigers defeated Souderton twice in the Pottsville Volleyball
Tournament earlier this season.
   
“Souderton is a match we have to win. We have to get off to a fast start
against them,” Davis said.
   
District 3 runnerup West York (17-6) will face District 11 champion
Bethlehem Catholic (22-0) in the other opening match.
   
The Lady Tigers lost to Bethlehem Catholic earlier in the year at the
Pottsville tourney.
   
“Bethlehem Catholic has been in the (state) finals the last few seasons,”
Davis said. “They are one of the premier teams in the east.”
   
The playoff format will be pool-play. The teams will play each other once,
and the two teams with the best overall records in Northeast Regional play
will advance to the Class AAA state championships in Shippensburg on Saturday.
   
Tunkhannock’s senior dominated lineup features Melissa Grohs, a two-time
Wyoming Valley Conference Most Valuable Player. Joining Grohs are first-team
WVC all-scholastic middle hitter Angie Forte and setter Donna Pikerowski and
second-team WVC all-scholastic players Megan McDonough and Angie Parrotta.
   
Davis knows what his team is capable of, and doesn’t expect it to be
bothered by any outside pressures.
   
“We’ve been in these situations before, and we’ve come through before,”
said the Tunkhannock coach.
   
“We told the girls, `It’s all a mental ballgame from here on in.’ I told
the kids to believe in themselves, and think about what they have to do.”
   
CLASS AAA