St. Francis needs 3 games to defeat Neuqua Valley

The St. Francis girls volleyball team's strategy is to always keep the opposition guessing, and the Spartans succeeded in doing that Tuesday.

With big hitters Molly Haggerty with 17 kills and Camryn Malloy with 16 leading the way, the top-seeded Spartans overcame fourth-seeded Neuqua Valley 25-17, 21-25, 25-18 in the semifinals of the East Aurora sectional.

"We moved our hitters around a lot," Delaney Malloy said. "We kept switching so that the other team never knew where they were."

"Besides the switching and the great hitting, our passing picked up in that third set," setter Daniele Messa said. "After losing the second set we kept our composure and made our adjustments."

"We ran people out of different positions," said St. Francis coach Peg Kopec. "We became more adaptable as the game went on. Our defense picked up as well. And our serving was good all night."

This season the Spartans (35-3), who have won 11 state titles, moved back to Class 4A for the first time since 2006, and they felt they had something to prove in this tournament against the other top-tier volleyball teams.

"We showed tonight that we can hang with the tougher competition," Delaney Malloy said. "We worked hard for this moment to play with the 4A teams."

Messa had 31 assists and the dig leaders were Camryn Malloy and Becca Fernandez with 10 apiece.

In the first set Neuqua Valley (29-9) jumped out to a 7-3 lead before the Spartans settled down and went on a 7-point run to take the lead they would not relinquish.

In Game 2 the Wildcats went out in front early, and though they were tied several times, they never trailed on the way to a 25-21 win.

"I thought we played with a lot of conviction in that second set," said Neuqua Valley coach Kelly Simon. "We didn't get too high or too low but stayed even throughout. We forced them to make some errors."

Game 3 was all St. Francis as the Spartans went ahead 8-7 and never looked back, leading by as many as 9.

"Our team showed a lot of perseverance," Kopec said. "They played with a lot of composure and confidence and that's what you have to have. This is a very talented and diverse team and they're playing well. This ranks with the best teams we've ever had."

"St. Francis just outplayed us in the first and third games," Simon said. "We couldn't stop their big hitters, especially Haggerty, who is unbelievable."

The Wildcats were led by Claire Grove with 10 kills and Kora Kauling and Sarah Daneliak, who put down 7 apiece. Daneliak added 4 blocks and Kauling handed out 22 assists. Grove had 11 digs and Nora Meehan had 10.

For the Wildcats, the 29 victories on the season were their most ever and their regional championship was their first.

"To go three games with St. Francis in the sectional semifinal makes me very proud of our team," Simon said. "Our girls go out and show a true team effort every time. We've played through injuries and we did well in all of our in-season tournaments."