Bethlehem Catholic can’t hold on against Spring Grove
Five-set matches have not been kind to Bethlehem Catholic this year.
In the regular season, the Golden Hawks were 0-3 when matches went the distance.
But after taking a commanding 2-0 lead in the PIAA Class 3A semifinal against Spring Grove, the Golden Hawks appeared well on their way to avoiding the dreaded fifth set and advance to a second-straight final.
The Rockets, champions out of District 3, had other ideas, as they battled back to capture the next two sets, pushing the defending champion Golden Hawks to a do-or-die set.
Becahi could not get back on track in the fifth, ultimately falling 3-2 [20-25, 23-25, 25-20, 25-13, 15-12] at Exeter Township High School on Tuesday.
“It’s happened a few times this year. We win the first two sets and we get comfortable; thinking we have it in the bag,” Becahi coach Kelly Brown said. “We try to stay positive and upbeat, but I think this time we shut down.”
Early on, the Golden Hawks appeared prime to run away with the win and advance to Saturday’s championship. Star player MacKenzy Ruggiero put down numerous balls, culminating in a team-high 23 kills.
After losing a close second set, Spring Grove coach Liz Zeigler remained confident because the team has mounted come backs many times this year — including one in the quarterfinals against Pope John Paul II.
“We’ve done it before and we do very well coming together,” Zeigler said. “Tonight it was do or die, and we figured it out. I’m very proud of my team.”
The Rockets claimed the third set then went up 9-3 in the fourth. That’s when Brown called a much-needed time out, as her Golden Hawks appeared rattled.
From there, twin sisters Hailey and Navaeh Wolfe took over for the Rockets on both offense and defense.
Against Becahi, Navaeh Wolfe registered her 1,000th career dig, while Hailey Wolfe reached 1,000 career kills last Saturday in the quarterfinals.
The Golden Hawks simply did not have an answer for the Wolfe sisters in the later stages of the semifinals, which ended up being the difference.
“We didn’t know a lot about the sisters until yesterday. We saw the team get the ball to them more in the third through fifth sets and couldn’t get the double block on them,” said Brown.
“One of the big things we talked about was getting to this point again this year, and I can’t take anything away from my team. I think we’d be OK with this loss if we knew we gave 150%; I just don’t think that was the case tonight.”
Becahi received strong individual efforts as Jodi Hewitt (8 kills, 18 digs), Kyla Rodriguez (7 kills), Olivia Harris (16 digs), and Vanessa Speciale (45 assists) contributed heavily.
Despite the stinging loss, senior Ruggiero was more upset about her impressive career coming to an end.
“I don’t get to play with my teammates and my best friends again. They’re such amazing people who have created so many opportunities for our team,” Ruggiero said. “It has been an incredible journey. I wish we could’ve gone further, I just think we let this one go tonight.”
Becahi closes out its season with a record of 18-5, while Spring Grove remains unbeaten at 25-0 and will take on District 7 runner-up Hampton in Saturday’s final.