Extras

H.S. GIRLS VOLLEYBALL

By Van Rose vrose@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter

TUNKHANNOCK — As MMI Prep coach Bruce Young wrapped the championship medal around Brone Lobichusky’s neck on Wednesday night, a fan in the Lackawanna Trail cheering section shouted, “She killed us.”

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MMI Prep’s Diana Anthony (left) and Alyson Klush go for a dig in Wednesday’s championship match vs. Lackawanna Trail.

Pete G. Wilcox/The Times Leader

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MMI Prep’s Brone Lobichusky (20) loses her balance when teammate Dana Chippi (25) hits the ball over Lobichusky’s head during Wednesday’s title match against Lackawanna Trail.

Pete G. Wilcox/The Times Leader

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In a nutshell, that described Lobichusky’s performance in the biggest volleyball match of her life.

The 6-foot senior middle hitter smashed 25 kills and blocked 11 shots to lead the Preppers to a 3-2 victory over the Lions in the District 2 Class A title match at Tunkhannock High School. The scores were 25-20, 25-15, 14-25, 22-25, 15-6.

The victory gave MMI (13-7) its first district title since the boys basketball team accomplished the feat in 1973 and went on to win the state championship.

MMI advanced to the state playoffs. The Preppers will face the No. 1 seed from District 11 on Tuesday. Pottsville Nativity and Marian Catholic play tonight for the D11 championship.

“This is an absolutely amazing feeling,” said Lobichusky, who also had 13 digs. “It’s great to win our school’s first championship since 1973. Right now, I couldn’t feel better.”

The Preppers threatened to sweep the match by posting impressive victories in the first two games. Lackawanna Trail (12-6), however, posted a strong rally to capture Games 3 and 4.

The Lions even appeared to have taken away MMI’s spirit after taking a 17-7 lead in Game 4 before coasting home, 25-22.

But Lobichusky took matters into her own hands in Game 5. It was a classic case of one player beating six.

Lackawanna Trail took a 2-0 lead and increased it to 5-2 on a Courtney Bishop kill. MMI drew even at 5-5 on a block by Lobichusky, and from that point on she led the way.

The Preppers surged ahead 10-6 on three straight kills by Lobichusky. They widened the gap to 14-6 and sealed the deal on an unforced error.

“I was angry when we lost Game 4,” Lobichusky said. “There’s no excuse for the mistakes we made. There was no way we were going to lose Game 5. We knew we deserved to be here and we were determined to prove it.”

She attributed the Preppers’ losses in Games 3 and 4 to being overanxious.

“We got so excited about winning the first two games that I think we lost our focus,” Lobichusky said. “At the end of Game 4, we finally got it through out heads that it was now or never.”

Lobichusky notched a kill from the back row in Game 2, hitting an underhanded shot with her back to the net that dropped in front of the Lions defenders. Later in the game, she had a block that gave MMI a commanding 23-15 lead.

“Brone definitely played a solid game,” Young said. “But we had several other girls that played well. Everyone made an important contribution.”

Lainie Titus had 26 assists and seven service points for the Preppers, while Diana Anthony had 16 digs and five service points. Shannon Wenner pitched in with seven service points, including three straight in Game 5.

Abington Heights 3, Delaware Valley 1

Abington Heights was crowned the District 2 Class 3A champion after defeating Delaware Valley 26-24, 20-25, 31-27, 25-21. The third time was the charm for the Comets, who lost the previous two years in the finals to the Warriors.

Maggie Furehan led the Comets with 17 kills, nine points, and eight digs.

Meghan Fraley notched 35 assists and seven points while Nichole Heil had 11 digs and five points. Liz Jamison ended with 13 points, seven kills and five aces.

Delaware Valley suffered a blow when standout Chelsea Malzahn (13 kills) was injured in the second game.

Kristin Karas tallied 12 kills, seven service points and two blocks for the Warriors while Nicole Illanosky had 10 kills. Melissa Nieves added 20 digs and 13 service points.