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COVINGTON TWP. — Delaware Valley displayed its versatility Wednesday while sweeping Wyoming Valley West in the District 2 Class 4A girls volleyball championship match.

The Warriors showed the ability to move the ball around the court while beating the Spartans, 25-14, 25-14, 25-17, for their eighth straight district championship in the opener of a doubleheader at North Pocono High School.

Delaware Valley was able to use more weapons at the net while keeping the ball away from Wyoming Valley Conference blocks leader Grace Giza, Valley West’s senior middle hitter.

“This is the third year in a row playing them in this game,” Valley West coach R.J. Tomascik said. “And, at least we get to see them in the season. I was really hoping for a better performance from our group.

“It really came down to basics with passing and serve receiving. That’s what killed us and kept us from running the offense that we normally do.”

Brooke Williams had 12 kills, Centa Quinn added seven and Elizabeth Bobo had five for Delaware Valley.

“Almost every player out there is dangerous, whether its front row or back row,” Tomascik said of Delaware Valley. “It’s not one person. The whole team is dangerous.”

Giza had 12 kills and four blocks for Valley West, which got 14 assists from Tessa Johns.

“Wyoming Valley West relies a lot on Grace,” Delaware Valley coach Bridget Crawford said. “Our main objective is to get them out of system so she can’t get the ball.”

Both teams had already been eliminated from what started out as a District 2-11 subregional in Class 4A, so they went into the match knowing it was the season finale.

Delaware Valley, which lost only to WVC champion Holy Redeemer in the regular season, established control from the start.

The Warriors jumped out to leads of 7-1 and 11-3 in the first game. They scored the first five points and led 11-1 early in the second game.

Valley West, which was 15-2 in the WVC, made the third game more interesting. The Spartans led by as much as 13-9 in a game that was tied six times.

Delaware Valley closed with a 12-2 run to secure the title.

Quinn had 13 service points, including four aces, while Bobo had 12 points, including three aces. Hannah Lee added 10 points.

Blue Ridge 3, MMI Prep 1

MMI Prep took the first game of the nightcap, but was unable to prevent Blue Ridge from capturing a fourth straight District 2 Class A title.

Abby Hartman had 19 kills and 10 service points while Miranda Woosman had 42 assists and eight points to lead Blue Ridge to the 22-25, 27-25, 25-20, 25-15 win.

“I can’t argue with anything that my girls have done,” MMI coach Shawn S. Evans said after his team’s third straight finals appearance. “They played hard. They never gave up.

“Every time you thought they were down and out, they kept chipping away at that lead.”

The championship match performance follows up a season in which the Preppers went 8-9 as the only Class A team competing in the WVC with 2A, 3A and 4A opponents.

Gabby Kupsho had seven kills, 14 service points and four digs for MMI. Lauryn Banyas had six kills, 18 assists and 11 points. Maddy Perchak had seven kills and 12 service points. Summer Evanko had four kills and 13 points.

“Lauryn Banyas brought all these girls out her freshman year,” Evans said. “She recruited in the classrooms and got these girls to come out and play volleyball. Not one of these girls had played volleyball before that.”

The MMI roster for the district final featured nine seniors and two juniors, but Evans said the freshman class brought 13 more players into the program, providing hope for the future.

Jerni Schell had 33 digs and five aces for Blue Ridge, which advances to the state tournament. Mackenzie Cook and Alexa Stanley each had 13 points.

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By Tom Robinson

For Times Leader

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