Mars girls volleyball wins 5-set thriller over Freeport, caps unbeaten season in WPIAL section
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Mars vs Freeport in a girls volleyball game Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Freeport Middle School. (Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Mars vs Freeport in a girls volleyball game Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Freeport Middle School. (Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Mars vs Freeport in a girls volleyball game Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Freeport Middle School. (Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Mars vs Freeport in a girls volleyball game Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Freeport Middle School. (Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Mars vs Freeport in a girls volleyball game Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Freeport Middle School. (Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Mars vs Freeport in a girls volleyball game Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Freeport Middle School. (Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Mars vs Freeport in a girls volleyball game Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Freeport Middle School. (Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Mars vs Freeport in a girls volleyball game Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Freeport Middle School. (Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Mars vs Freeport in a girls volleyball game Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Freeport Middle School. (Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Mars vs Freeport in a girls volleyball game Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Freeport Middle School. (Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Mars celebrates a point against Freeport in a girls volleyball game Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Freeport Middle School. (Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Mars (9) Gabi Weidemann taps the ball over Freeport (7) Payton Woods in a girls volleyball game Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Freeport Middle School. (Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Mars (9) Gabi Weidemann digs the ball against Freeport in a girls volleyball game Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Freeport Middle School. (Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Mars (12) Lily Javor spikes on Freeport (24) Caylee Zembrzuski in a girls volleyball game Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Freeport Middle School. (Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Mars celebrates a point against Freeport in a girls volleyball game Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Freeport Middle School. (Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Freeport celebrates a game two win against Mars in a girls volleyball game Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Freeport Middle School. (Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Freeport (1) Nina Pagano digs the ball against Mars in a girls volleyball game Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Freeport Middle School. (Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
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Mars (14) Hailey Duker digs the ball against Freeport in a girls volleyball game Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, at Freeport Middle School. (Justin Guido/Special to the Eagle)
BUFFALO TWP — Entering the WPIAL Class 3A playoffs with momentum was far from the only motivation Mars had when it took the court against Freeport’s girls volleyball team Thursday night.
A win for the Planets would cap an undefeated effort in Section 2 play, and they responded accordingly.
Mars edged a gritty Yellowjackets squad 3-2 to finish the regular season 14-4 overall and 10-0 in section games.
“It means a lot to go unbeaten, especially when we had to beat a great team like Freeport,” Mars coach Tami Caraway said.
“We really didn’t get CeCe (Christy) going at the net until the fifth set, and that allowed us to get better swings from our players on the outside.”
Christy tallied three kills early in that final set, helping the Planets build a 7-2 lead. She tallied the last kill of the night to cap a victory by set scores of 25-20, 20-25, 22-25, 25-20 and 15-11.
Mars swept the first meeting between the teams in September.
The Yellowjackets’ hopes of claiming at least a share of a section title for the 20th straight season were dashed with Tuesday’s loss to Hampton, but coach Tom Phillips could not criticize his team’s effort Thursday.
“We’re dealing with a lot of injuries, lost our starting libero, Peyton Cene, to a knee injury during warmups tonight,” he said. “But we had a number of players step up and play very well. It’s the kind of effort we’ve been waiting for.”
And it is the kind of effort that put Mars in an unfamiliar position in section play this season — on its heels.
Led by senior outside hitter Alaina Whitlinger, the ’Jackets won the second and third set to take a 2-1 lead. But Mars built an 18-10 lead in the fourth set and remained strong on the attack and defensively for the duration of the match.
Mars’ Gabi Weidemann continued her strong season of setting the table for the Planets’ deep group of hitters, dishing out 57 assists.
“She’s only a freshman but has made a big change for us,” said Rylee Wooldridge, who dropped 14 kills on the Yellowjackets. “Winning this game gives us even more confidence for the playoffs.”
Lily Javor also had 14 kills for the Planets and Christy 11.
Whitlinger paced Freeport with 13 kills and Leah Schreckengost added 12.
Freeport (10-3, 7-3) will open the playoffs needing reserves to produce.
“We’ll go with what we got,” Phillips said. “It’s next man up.”
