Burns Leads Clarion Back to D9 Volleyball Title Game for First Time Since 2015

Chris Rossetti

Chris Rossetti

Published November 2, 2018 4:20 am
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CLARION, Pa. (D9Sports) — Sshhhhh … don’t tell Korrin Burns freshman aren’t supposed to play like this.

(Photo: Korrin Burns of Clarion earned Hager Paving Player of the Game honors)

Relisten to the audio broadcast of the match.

Burns turned in perhaps her finest performance of an already stellar rookie campaign when she slammed down 18 kills, dug 25 balls and added three aces to lead Clarion back to the District 9 Class 1A volleyball title game for the first time in three years with a 3-1 (25-22, 23-25, 25-17, 25-23) win over rival A-C Valley.

“We really had great passes, it was all flowing very well,” Burns said. “We were focused, and it just worked very well tonight.”

The victory for Clarion ends a two-year title-game absence for the second-seeded Lady Cats, who hadn’t been to the title game since winnning it all in thrilling come-from-behind fashion, 3-2, over A-C Valley in 2015.

“It is really important,” Burns said of reaching the title game. “This is our coming back. We are going far.”

Watch all of Burns’ thoughts on the victory.

MATCH HAD RAZOR THIN MARGIN

Outside of the third set that saw Clarion control throughout for the 25-17 win behind four kills from Burns and two from Dorothy Kalinowski, who finished with nine kills and two blocks, the match had a very thin line of advantage for either squad.

The first set saw six lead changes and eight ties — with many of those coming late in the set — before Clarion scored the final three points on two A-C Valley errors and a Burns’ kill to grab the 25-22 all-important first win.

Maddie Schill had six of her 10 kills — she also added six digs — in the opening set with Burns contribution five kills.

Not to be outdone, A-C Valley, which lost two of its three sets in the regular season to Clarion in extra points, pulled out the second-set victory in exciting fashion.

After leading nearly the entire set, including at one point 15-9 following a Kylee Eaton kill, the Lady Falcons found themselves down 20-19 when Burns put the exclamation points on a 3-0 Clarion run with her second kill of the mini-spurt.

The teams then traded points with Olivia Boocks, who tied Eaton for the team lead with 12 kills, getting the A-C Valley point and a hitting error putting Clarion back in front, 21-20.

Andrea Meals then tied the set at 21, and Eaton, who added seven blocks and 12 digs, came up with back-to-back blocks to give A-C Valley a 23-21 lead.

A Burns kill got Clarion back within one, 23-22, and a reception error on A-C Valley tied the set at 23.

But following a Lady Falcons timeout, Burns served into the net, and then a carry was called on Clarion’s Brenna Campbell allowing A-C Valley to tie the match at one set apiece.

Meah Ielase (No. 22) and Kylee Eaton of A-C Valley celebrate a point Thursday

Meah Ielase (No. 22) and Kylee Eaton of A-C Valley celebrate a point Thursday

In the third set, Clarion built a 4-0 lead thanks to two kills by Burns and one from Hailey Sintobin, who finished with five kills and a block, and never trailed on the way to the 25-17 victory.

The Lady Cats then looked posed to pull away in the fourth set building a 20-12 lead on the back of four kills from Burns and three from Kalinowski.

A-C Valley, though, stormed back thanks to Eaton (4 kills) and Boocks (3 kills) to get within a point, 24-23, after Boocks’ third straight kill that was only separated by a Burns kill.

But a kill attempt by Eaton at 24-23, went into the net giving Clarion the match.

ADDITIONAL LEADERS

Brenna Campbell had 43 set assists, eight digs and a block for Clarion with KK Girvin adding 18 digs and Kait Constantino 11 digs, an ace and a kill.

Boocks completed a fantastic performance and a great career with a 31-dig effort to go with her 12 kills, while Emily Wetzel had 31 set assists and 19 digs for the Lady Falcons. Also for A-C Valley, Andrea Meals added five kills, nine digs and a block.

UP NEXT

Clarion will take on Ridgway in the title game at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3, at St. Marys High School. The Lady Cats are seeking their 12th D9 1A title since 2001 and their first since 2015.

The game will be broadcast on exploreClarion.com with an approximate air time of 12:40 p.m. for an approximate start time of 1 p.m. The match will start no earlier than 1 p.m. but could start latter depending on how long the D9 Class 3A title game between Bradford and DuBois lasts.

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