The Ladycat Volleyball team are Section Champions!

October 13 it was confirmed that Beaver Area won the sectional championship for volleyball and now the team knows what is to come: all eyes on them in the WPIAL championships.

The team is currently ranked eighth in the Pennsylvania Division AA rankings and are ranked second in the WPIAL only behind their biggest rivals, the Freeport Yellowjackets.

The varsity team is currently on a 16 game long winning streak which brings their game record to an amazing 16-0.

The Bobcats are yet to lose a set let alone a game.

With a steady schedule of two matches a week the Bobcats face—and beat—two separate teams every week.

October 3 the Ladycats faced the Shenango Wildcats, and then just two days later they won their match against the Riverside Panthers October 5.

Shenango and Riverside were both road games for the Bobcats.

Against the Panthers, senior outside hitter Chloe List had a season-high 26 kills and 11 digs. Sophomore middle hitter Kailyn Connelly had 9 kills, and junior Zoe Ringer recorded a season-high 41 assists. Sophomore Aubrey Bumblis had 22 digs, and junior Sophia Sharpless had 10 digs and 2 aces. Lastly, middle hitter sophomore Lanie Malobabich had 5 kills.

The final scores were, 25-10, 25-13, and 25-10.

In the following week, the Bobcats had matchups against Beaver Falls October 10 and Neshannock October 12.

It’s no surprise the volleyball team dominated their opponents on both dates easily.

At their final home game of the season they played a great game of volleyball against the Laurel Trojans October 17.

Seniors Gianna Massamino, Ella Birmingham, and List were all honored with their senior night which reflected on their high school volleyball careers and accomplishments.

During the game, List had 12 kills, 13 digs, and 2 aces. Outside hitter sophomore Jaedyn Brown had 10 kills, 6 digs, and 4 aces. Connelly had 9 kills and 2 blocks, and Ringer had 34 assists and 8 digs. Bumblis had 11 digs while Birmingham had 3 digs and an ace. Lastly, Malobabich had 7 kills.

The final scores were 25-13, 25-9, 25-9.

To end their regular season the Bobcats faced Ellwood City October 19 to ink their 16-0 season in the record book with a 3-0 set win.

The Bobcats now shift all their hard work towards the hunt for a WPIAL championship. The WPIAL playoffs officially start today.

Head coach Ms. Suze Pollins explained, “We are ranked second right now [in the WPIAL]. We play either Yough or South Park Wednesday October 25 at home at 7:30 p.m. It’s going to be good. Our season is going very well, obviously, and I think we will go far.”

Yough and South Park play each other today and the winner faces the Bobcats. South Park is seeded higher and suspected to win.

Check in the next issue of the BASD ECHO for coverage of the volleyball WPIAL championships!