Eagles fall to GCC in non-section play

The Centurions move on to a revenge game against Frazier by knocking off defending Class 1A champions.

The Serra Catholic volleyball team learned a lot about itself in a 3-1 loss to Greensburg Central Catholic Tuesday night.

After losing the first two sets to the strong Centurions (8-1), the Eagles (6-3) battled back and won the third set 25-23 before dropping the fourth set and the match.

“We’re trying to learn,” Serra Catholic coach Keith Trahan said. “We’re replacing nine seniors from a WPIAL championship team. We’ve got Cassidy (Trahan) who’s playing really great. Beth (Pasternak) is playing really well, and we’re building around those two. We’ve got two freshmen, Ryleigh Carper and Sara Ridilla, who are really playing well.

“I’m glad we’ve fought back. We’re playing a tough schedule just like we always do. We did well at South Fayette, and it’s encouraging that we’re splitting with bigger teams. On paper, we’re ahead of where we should be.”

Cassidy Trahan led the charge for the Eagles, tallying 14 kills in the valiant effort, but GCC was just able to edge them out.

Ashlyn Black tallied 21 kills for the Centurions as Eva Denis added eight with two aces and Erin Grace had four kills.

“Kudos to them,” Trahan said. “(Black) is tremendous, Denis is tremendous; she’s so bouncy on the outside. They’re some of the best players around, and we’re very familiar with them.”

Trahan earned the first point of the night for the Eagles, but GCC rattled off six straight points of their own as Black came up with half of them. Zilola Giaramita and Evelyn Viehl also contributed as the Centurions worked out to an 11-6 advantage.

Denis came up with two straight kills before Maura Oslosky added another and GCC went up 14-6.

The Eagles went on a 5-3 run to try and keep themselves in the first set, but Black and Denis won two straight points to make it 20-11 and force a Serra Catholic timeout.

Out of the break, it was the Centurions that won three straight points and forced another timeout from Trahan. They quickly added two more points to cap the first set off at 25-11.

Black picked up where she left off at the beginning of the second set, earning another kill as GCC jumped out to a 5-1 lead. Trahan earned the next point with a clever push into space before posting another kill, but the Centurions pushed it to an 8-4 lead.

Denis made it 10-5 with a strong kill but Serra Catholic pulled it back to 11-7 after two straight errors from GCC. Grace ended that with her second kill of the set as the Centurions went on a 5-1 run that was ended by a Trahan kill.

With the score at 16-9, the Eagles scored on a tip and another Trahan kill, but Greensburg Central Catholic rattled off four straight points before a service error made it 2012. The Eagles then couldn’t put the ensuing serve in play and Jenna Zaccaria tipped one over the net to make it 22-12 in favor of GCC, forcing the first SC timeout of the second set.

Another service error for Serra ended the set at 25-14 in favor of Greensburg Central Catholic, giving the visitors a 2-0 advantage heading into the third frame.

The Centurions opened the third set with a 5-2 lead as Trahan scored both points for the Eagles.

Errors from GCC kept Serra Catholic in it, but Black continued to dominate and earned a few points until Serra fully mounted a comeback, taking a 13-12 advantage. Trahan tipped a ball for another point before an ace from Viehl and a kill from Black gave GCC a 1615 lead.

With the score tied at 17, Black came up with a deep kill and an ace to give her squad a 19-17 advantage, forcing a timeout from the Eagles.

Serra Catholic came out of the break with two emphatic points to tie and ended up taking a 21-20 lead. Trahan made it 22-20 with a clever push for another point, prompting a GCC timeout to try and come back to win the match.

The Centurions won the next two points to tie before a kill and an ace from SC 19 made it 24-22. An error made it 24-23 before a push from Trahan won the third set for Serra Catholic at 25-23.

The beginning of the fourth set went back and forth as the Centurions took a 4-2 lead early. Black scored five GCC points in a row before an error from Serra Catholic made the score 9-3.

The next 10 points were split evenly as the score was 14-8, but the Centurions won the next three points to force a timeout from Serra Catholic.

The Eagles won the next four points after the break to make it 1712 before a service error broke that run. The Centurions pushed their lead to 20-12 to force a timeout from the home squad and they kept adding to it when play resumed. It was 24-12 before the Eagles scored three straight points, but their fight ended when Black’s 21st kill of the match made the third set 25-15.

Moving forward, the Eagles will look to be more efficient on offense when they head to Bishop Canevin Thursday.