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Volleyball Team Blanks McCaskey

BY MONA STEINHAUER

The volleyball team wrapped up the regular season with four games over seven days and came away with just one win, a 3-0 shutout over McCaskey on October 14.

The Comets defeated McCaskey 3-1 in their first half meeting but did one better this time around, winning 25-11, 25-14, 25-13. Cassidy McCollum had a strong night, killing eight balls on eight attempts and serving up four aces.

Kylie Mattern also served up four aces and matched Lezlie Nguyen with one block. Emma Saylor directed the offense with 18 assists and Sophia Millhouse recorded 10 digs as the Comets earned its second league win of the season.

“This was a good opportunity to try some new tactics,” said head coach Tim Joyce. “We used our normal lineup in the first set, a senior heavy lineup in set two and an entirely sophomore lineup in the final set. All three executed very well.”

One night later, Manor hosted Manheim Township but couldn’t stop the Streaks in a 3-0 loss (25-14, 25-22, 25-19).

“We used all 13 varsity players, trying to get something going, but couldn’t find the right combination,” said Joyce. “I felt we played our best ball defensively.”

McCollum recorded six kills. Mattern served up five aces and Jill Kloc added one block. Millhouse again led with a dozen digs and Emma Saylor distributed 11 assists.

In their first-round meeting with Cedar Crest, the Comets fell short 3-2. Last Monday the Falcons prevailed again, dropping the hosts in another 3-2 battle.

Manor rebounded from a 25-8 first set loss with a 27-25 thriller only to see the visitors recover for a second win, 25-15. Again, the Comets responded, this time winning 25-16, but they couldn’t pull out the final set, falling short 15-11.

“We were happy with our performance but the whole night was about momentum swings, and we just didn’t have it for a couple of key moments, and it cost us,” Joyce said.

McCollum collected a gamehigh 14 kills with Maggie Garvey putting down six. Eliana Knaub racked up 11 aces and dished out 26 assists and Millhouse patrolled the baseline for 24 digs.

The Comets capped their season with a second straight 3-2 defeat, this time to Warwick (23-25, 11-25, 29-27, 25-20, 10-15). McCollum (14 kills, 4 aces), Saylor (28 assists), Nguyen (2 blocks) and Millhouse (17 digs) were the stat leaders as the Comets finished at 2-12 overall. for more photos see www.townlively.com

GIRLS’ SOCCER

The lady booters, in the first game of the L-L League girls’ soccer playoff quarterfinal doubleheader at Manheim Central, Saturday, October 16, opened post-season play in commanding fashion, dispatching Elco 4-1 after falling behind 1-0 on a penalty kick. Two minutes after Elco, the seven-time Section Three champ, converted the PK, Lauren Stoner evened the score. After that, it was all Carly Keene who completed the team’s first hat trick of the season, scoring once in the first half and providing a pair of second half tallies to pull away.

“It’s been ten years since we won a league playoff game,” lauded head coach Keith Renner. “I think we dominated play, and as we wore them down, the goals started happening. It was a great team win and puts us in a confident mindset for the semifinals.”

That confidence showed in the semifinal round, played Oct. 19 at Manheim Central, as the Comets blanked Ephrata 3-0 to advance to the finals for the first time since 2011.

Izzy Kligge’s 22-yard free kick in the 22nd minute fell just under the crossbar and gave Manor its first goal of the game. Keene took control after that, scoring in the 29th minute and again with 47 seconds left to play. Defensively the Comets buckled down and stopped a Mountaineer squad that tallied a league-high 58 goals.

FIELD HOCKEY

No stranger to the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs, the field hockey team opened post-season action with a solid 3-0 result at Garden Spot, the top team in Section Three, on Saturday, October 16. Isabelle Thatcher spearheaded the attack with two goals, scoring with 6:06 left in the first and again with 5:01 left in the second.

The third quarter featured more mid-field play and neither team capitalized. The Comets pushed through for their final goal of the morning when Riley Robinson collected a rebound off the pads of Bryna Kelly and found the back of the cage with 3:23 left in the game.

“The girls worked very hard this week and during the game to implement our game plan,” said head coach Rachel Suter. “We were focusing on what Garden Spot does well and worked on ways to work around their strengths. I was pleased with our ability to capitalize on opportunities.”

Last Tuesday, Oct. 19, the Comets worked a 2-0 semifinals shutout over Ephrata at Donegal to reach the finals. Tristan Groff opened the scoring, taking a pass from Avery Bradburn off a corner and converting just five minutes in. They made it 2zip in the third when Liv Cox sent a Malayna Kahl pass to the back of the cage. Keeper CC Charles made the shutout stand with five saves.

TENNIS

Saturday, October 16, Catherine Rabatin and Manheim Township’s Avery Palandjian met for the second time in one week. And for the second time in a row, Rabatin rose to the top, this time the top seed won 6-0, 2-6, 6-3, to defend her District Three Class 3A gold medal at Hershey Racquet Club.

Rabatin opened district play on Saturday with a 6-0, 6-1 win over Central York’s Rachel Haupt and then topped Mechanicsburg’s Taryn Zerby 6-1, 6-0.

Saturday, she defeated Kayla Kurtz, of Manheim Township, 6-1, 6-0 before securing her third straight district gold.

CROSS COUNTRY

The harrier teams turned in solid performances at the L-L League Championships last Tuesday in Ephrata and in doing so extended their season. The boys, with a seventhplace team finish, qualified for districts as did Abby Ames and Mackenzie Nafziger.

Kaleb Kabakjian (23rd) and JT Hetrick (26th) led the pack while Aiden Gerlach (60th), Isaac Braegelman (71st) and Carter Vinson (102nd) rounded out the top five. Gabriel Sullivan, Ethan Sauder, and Joshua Richter also competed.

“We knew going in that the boys had a chance to qualify for districts,” said co-head coach Tom Ecker. “We got a flawless effort to reach that goal.

“Abby was in 15th place at the mile and ran a hard-fought final two miles to move into 10th place,” noted Ecker. “Mackenzie was a bit further back but a challenging pace over the last mile left her with one of her best times for the year and a 60th place finish.”

Ana Martin, Bethany Hetrick, Emma Cassel, Zoe King and Madison Montalvo also contributed to Manor’s 14th place finish. for more photos see www.townlively.com

GOLF

Keegan Dings was Manor’s lone representative in the PIAA Golf Championships held last Tuesday at Heritage Hills Golf Resort in York. The senior carded an 87.

“That score did not reflect how she played,” said head coach Tom Reustle. “I can’t tell you how many putts lipped out. It could have been a 79 just as easy. I was proud of the way she hung in there and finished the best she could. She typically shoots in the low 80’s. Getting to states was a great end to her senior year.”

Penn Manor’s Avery Bradburn fights to score a goal against Garden Spot goalie Bryna Kelly and defender Emma Swatski in the opening round of the L-L League playoffs at Garden Spot, October 16.