Behind Obenrader, North Clarion Tops Union to Move into D9 1A Volleyball Quarterfinals

Chris Rossetti

Published November 2, 2016 4:20 am

Behind Obenrader, North Clarion Tops Union to Move into D9 1A Volleyball Quarterfinals

FRILLS CORNERS, Pa. (D9Sports) — Tori Obenrader has been the offensive leader for North Clarion all season.

(Photo of North Clarion’s Tori Obenrader (24) and Megan Baumcratz (4) high-fiving prior to the She-Wolves 3-1 win over Union Tuesday in the District 9 1A playoffs)

That wasn’t about to change now that it’s playoff time.

Obenrader had a match-high 20 kills to lead the sixth-seeded She-Wolves to a 3-1 (25-15, 23-25, 25-13, 25-20) win over visiting Union, the 11th seed.

“She did great tonight,” North Clarion head coach Heather Bish said. “Offensively, we were definitely stronger in the middle of the court. Cassie (Wagner) was having an off night tonight, which kind of hurt a little bit. But Tori picked up the slack. She really did well. She really took control of the game and helped the girls out, I think, not only in the game (with kills and everything) but communication with the girls, making sure everybody stayed up and knew we were going to win the game.”

Obenrader was strong throughout the match and had six kills in the second set and six more in the third. She was especially good at the start of the third set when her five kills and along with a block helped the She-Wolves grab an 18-6 lead in the game’s crucial set after Union had rallied from a first-set loss to gain momentum by winning the second set.

Obenrader and senior outside hitter Abby Karg, who had five kills and five digs talked about the win after the match.

Here is a look at how each set played out.

FIRST SET
Union grabbed an early 12-5 lead on the strength of three kills from Frankee Remmick and two from Taylor Adams, but following a timeout, North Clarion went on a 10-1 run that saw Wagner record two blocks and a kill to take a 15-13 lead. Union tied the set at 15, but a service error by the Golden Damsels gave North Clarion the lead for good. It started a stretch that saw Union commit seven errors down the stretch that coupled with a pair of Obenrader kills helped North Clarion gain the 25-15 victory.

SECOND SET
North Clarion jumped out to an early 4-2 lead thanks to a kill and block from Gena Caldwell, but an Adams kill tied the set at four for Union. From that point on the set went back and forth for the next few points with an Obenrader kill tying it at eight. A couple of North Clarion error and an ace from Remmick put Union ahead 11-8, but a pair of Wagner kills helped the She-Wolves got back up 13-12. North Clarion then got the lead to 15-13 on an Obenrader kills before Union rolled off six of the next seven points thanks in part to two kills by Adam to go up 19-16. It was again North Clarion’s turn to rally after timeout with four straight points, including a pair of Obenrader kills, putting the She-Wolves back in from 20-19. This time it was a Union timeout that changed momentum with the Golden Damsels scoring four straight points out of the break including two kills by Remmick to gain a 23-20 advantage. North Clarion didn’t go away, though, scoring three straight points to tie the set at 23. But two Adams’ kills gave Union the 25-23 victory.

THIRD SET
Thanks to Obenrader’s strong play from the outset of the set, North Clarion scored 18 of the first 24 points and never really looked back with Union enver getting closer than nine points in the set with the She-Wolves winning 25-13.

FOURTH SET
North Clarion used a quick start to build an early 7-4 lead thanks in part to two Obenrader kills and a block by the junior. Union, though, fought back behind some North Clarion errors — the She-Wolves allowed Union a run of seven straight points because of errors — and a pair of kills by Adams to tie the set at 12. The set was still tied at 14, when an Obenrader kill followed by two Union errors, a kill by Karg, two aces by Obenrader and another Union error pushed North Clarion to a 21-14 advantage. Union tried to fight back getting to within 22-19 after a kill by Hannah Atzeni and two aces from Marli Hawk. But that three errors in the next four points by the Golden Damsels gave North Clarion the set, 25-20, and the match.

THE STATS
UNION: Adams 15 kills; Remmick 11 kills, 10 digs; Atzeni 29 set assists, Hawk 6 digs, 2 aces.
NORTH CLARION: Obenrader 20 kills, 4 digs, 2 aces; Wagner 10 kills, 5 digs, 2 blocks; Karg 5 kills, 5 digs, Makenzie Bauer 3 digs.

THEY SAID IT
“It’s pretty big. We knew we had a pretty good team coming into it. We knew we were going to play Union, who is a good defensive team. To get this win going into A-C Valley is really going to help by girls.” — North Clarion head coach Heather Bish

WHAT’S NEXT
North Clarion, which improved to 12-3 on the year, will take on third-seeded A-C Valley at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at A-C Valley. Union finishes the season 9-8.

OTHER DISTRICT 9 PLAYOFF ACTION FROM TUESDAY

(10) JOHNSONBURG 3, (7) CRANBERRY 2

SENECA, Pa. — Tenth-seeded Johnsonburg rallied from a 2-1 deficit to pull the mild upset over seventh-seeded Cranberry, 3-2 (17-25, 28-26, 21-25, 25-17, 15-8), on the Berries home court.

Nicole Myers, Jensen Furlong and Skylar Sherry combined for 42 kills for the Ramettes (9-8), the lone road to get a win Tuesday.

Myers led the way with 16 kills, while Furlong had 14 kills and Sherry 13 kills and six digs.

Brianna Quiggle led a strong defensive effort for Johnsonburg with 25 digs, while Haylee Cherry added seven digs and two aces while serving out the last seven points of the match including both aces.

Emily Cardoni (13 set assists), Emily Dillinger (8 set assists) and Rylee Casilio (15 set assists) ran the offense.

Lauren Conkle led Cranberry (10-7) with 10 kills and six blocks. Malliah Schreck added nine kills and 15 digs, while Natalie Barcinas had five kills and 16 digs and Bree Swartzfager three kills and 15 digs.

Ellie Kahle paced the Cranberry defense with 38 digs, and Erin Merryman had an assists/digs double-double with 22 set assists and 11 digs.

Johnsonburg will take on second-seeded Clarion, the six-time defending champion, in the quarterfinals at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Clarion.

(8) SMETHPORT 3, (9) CURWENSVILLE 0

SMETHPORT, Pa. — Behind the play of Katie Treat and Abbey Woodard, eighth-seeded Smethport moved into the District 9 1A volleyball quarterfinals with a 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 28-26) win over visiting Curwensville, the ninth seed.

Treat led the Lady Hubbers (11-6) with 20 kills, seven digs, seven aces and two blocks, while Woodard added 14 kills, five digs, two blocks, two aces and a set assist.

Faith Button led a strong defensive effort from Smethport with 16 digs, while Emily Treat added four kills and an ace.

Meagan DeLuca ran the offense with 23 set assists and a kill.

Smethport will face top-seeded Elk County Catholic at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at ECC.

(4) OTTO-ELDRED 3, (13) PORT ALLEGANY 0

DUKE CENTER, Pa. — Thanks to 10 kills, six blocks and four aces from Camryn Thomas, fourth-seeded Otto-Eldred rolled to a 3-0 (25-9, 25-21, 25-16) win over 13th seeded and visiting Port Allegany in the opening round of the District 9 Class 1A volleyball playoffs.

Ali Cousins added five kills, nine digs and four aces for the Lady Terrors (19-2), who will host Coudersport at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals, while Harlee Van Scoter chipped in three kills and five blocks.

Emily Smith led the Otto offense with 27 set assists.

Port Allegany (8-9) got four kills from Hannah Lathrop, 10 digs from Morgan Greeley and 12 set assists from Mira Terrette.

(5) COUDERSPORT 3, (12) RIDGWAY 0

COUDERSPORT, Pa. — Thanks to eight kills and four aces from Kiara Perkins, fifth-seeded Coudersport beat 12th-seeded Ridgway, 3-0 (25-12, 25-18, 25-8) in the opening round of the District 9 Class 1A girls’ volleyball playoffs at Coudy.

Haley Keck ran the offense for the Lady Falcons (17-2) with 27 set assists while also recording four aces.

Ridgway finishes the season 8-9 while Coudersport takes on fourth-seeded Otto-Eldred, a 3-0 winner over Port Allegany, in the quarterfinals at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Otto. The Lady Terrors are responsible for both of Coudersport’s losses this season.