Obenrader and Wagner Lead North Clarion Volleyball Past DCC

Chris Rossetti

Chris Rossetti

Published September 27, 2016 4:19 am
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DUBOIS, Pa. — Behind the hitting of Tori Obenrader and Cassie Wagner, North Clarion shook off a first-set loss to get a 3-1 (20-25, 25-13, 25-20, 25-17) road victory at DuBois Central Catholic Monday night.

Obenrader delivered a match-high 16 kills to go with four blocks and six digs, while Wagner had 12 kills, two blocks and 10 digs.

And while the duo was strong all night, they made their presence felt in the crucial second and third sets after DCC took Set One 25-20.

Wagner had four kills within the first eight points of the second set helping the She-Wolves to a 10-1 lead in the set. Wagner finished the set with six kills.

Obenrader, who had four kills in the second set, added three more in the third including scoring the first point during a set-turning 9-2 run that turned a 10-8 deficit into a 17-12 lead.

Wagner and Obenrader talked about their performance after the match.

As was noted in the post-match interview, while Wagner and Obenrader were leading the way for North Clarion, they were hardly alone.

Nine different She-Wolves recorded kills, including five from Megan Baumcratz and three each from Paige Sherbine, Abby Karg and Gena Caldwell.

Karg also had a great game defensively with 18 digs with Mackenzie Bauer adding six.

Sherbine and Sydney Greenawalt ran the offense with 26 set assists led by 14 from Greenawalt and 12 from Sherbine.

But while North Clarion got stronger as the match wore on, it was DCC that came out strong in the first set.

Paced by a pair of kills from Gabby Caruso, the Lady Cardinals won the opening set 25-20.

The set was tied at 11 before a 9-1 DCC run opened it up.

A kill from Ashley Wruble started the run and was followed by an ace from Macey Hanes. Four straight North Clarion errors then pushed the Lady Cardinals advantage to 17-11, and only a back-row violation on DCC kept the run from being 10-0.

Down 24-17, North Clarion rallied to score three straight points, including a pair of Wagner kills, but a kill from Alyssa Bittner put the set away.

After the strong second-set showing, North Clarion took advantage of four DCC mistakes, kills by Avari Schwabenbauer and Caldwell and a block by Caldwell and Obenrader to open up an early 7-3 lead in Set Three.

DCC, though, rallied to take the 10-8 lead thanks to blocks from Keri Hollenbaugh and Caruso, an ace from Libby Maurer and a kill by Bittner.

Obenrader and the She-Wolves, though, proved to be too much with Obenrader accounting for six of North Clarion’s final 17 points, and five of the final seven with five kills and an ace in the 25-20 victory.

After a close start to the fourth set that saw North Clarion up just 4-3, the She-Wolves turned it on going on a 6-1 run that was highlighted by kills and a block from Obenrader, a kill from Baumcratz and an ace from Greenawalt. To go up 10-4.

From there, the lead grew to 24-9 with North Clarion coach Heather Bish subbing liberally.

DCC tried to make it a match by rolling off eight straight points thanks to kills from Shayleigh Gulvas and Carolyn Sette and an ace from Breanna Engle, who served throughout the 8-0 run. But Engle’s ninth serve went into the net giving the match to North Clarion.

Bittner led DCC with five kills, while Caruso and Maurer each had three. Maurer added five digs and Caruso two blocks.

The win was the fourth straight for North Clarion, which is now 4-2.

DCC dropped to 3-4 with the loss.

DCC is right back at it when it hosts Punxsutawney Tuesday, while North Clarion is off until Thursday when it hosts Clarion-Limestone.

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