Published Wednesday, Nov. 12, 1997
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PIAA VOLLEYBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS PREVIEW
LAST WEEK'S GAME STORY
* * * Farrell High girsl return for 17th time * * * Steelerettes hope to add 6th title Saturday Herald Sports Writer At this time of the year, thoughts turn to the impending holidays, unless you're Farrell High School girls volleyball coach Harriett Morrison. For her, mid-November just would not seem the same if she wasn't accompanying her Steelerettes to the state championships. ``I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't had the opportunity,'' Morrison admitted. ``It's been so many years in a row, i would've been a real void in my coaching career if I did not have the opportunity to go. When the annual event commences at 9 a.m. Friday at Shippensburg University, Morrison (408-44 in 25 years) will be making the trip for the 17th consecutive season, a number only Norwin can equal. Farrell (17-1) enters the tourney as the Northwest Regional titlist and WPIAL runner-up. Its lone stumbling block has been Shannock Valley, but Morrison feels confident about the club's mental makeup. ``I think they know what they have to do in order to accomplish what they need to accomplish,'' Morrison said. ``Nothing I say would affect them. They know when they've played poorly, and now they know they have to step it up another notch. ``They got together as a group and decided to work together, to do the things we've asked them all year: pass, serve and communicate,'' Morrison added. The Steelerettes are led by 5-foot-3 outside-hitter Lucretia Samuels, the club's captain. ``She's exemplified great leadership,'' Morrison praised. ``She's put forth 1,000 percent at all the pratices and all the games. She's small, but mighty and has just done a wonderful job for our team. She's played four years of good volleyball. She's a good, sound volleyball player.'' Co-captain Kisha Pegues, a 5-7 senior middle-blocker, has been troubled by a painful knee ailment, but Morrison said, ``We're hoping she comes through. She, too, along with 'Cre, has played four years _ she was starting varsity as a freshman. She has a lot of athletic ability, she's a very strong athletic person. Hopefully, she'll come through in the end.'' Morrison also will be counting upon a pair of juniors in 5-9 middle-blocker Nicole Scott and 5-10 outside-hitter Sharanda Stinson, each of whom earned all-state honors last year; 5-4 senior backcourt specialist Gina Falvo, ``who's gonna play a key role serving and for our back-court defense,'' according to Morrison, and 5-7 junior setter Dorothy Smith. Farrell begins pool play with Northeast Regional runner-up DeLone Catholic, then meets Southwest Regional runner-up and perennial French Creek Valley Conference power Maplewood at 11 a.m., and District 3 top seed Northeastern at 1 p.m. The top two teams from each pool advance to Saturday's 9 a.m. semifinals. The finals are scheduled for noon. Of the pool-play competition, Morrison assessed:
Tenth-year coach Mark Risko has led the club to four Section 5 championships and a pair of co-championships, and this year's edition is 20-0 and claimed the school's initial Southwest Regional crown. ``One thing that really gave us the edge this year was going as far as we did last year,'' Risko recalled. ``We were the runners-up to Richland in the state finals. Actually, it was a heartbreaker at the end. We were up 13-11 and ended up losing 15-13 in the third game, but the kids really played together as a team. And this year, with that experience, with everybody coming back, they're a lot more mature and stronger mnetally and physically.'' Shannock Valley meets Reading-Holy Name, Conneaut Lake and Reading-Central Catholic in its pool. In a tourney at Penn Hills earlier this season, Farrell split with Shannock Valley in pool play, then lost to the Spartans in the finals. In the WPIAL finals, Farrell fell to Shannock Valley, 15-7, 15-11. Morrison feels the equation for success is simple. ``Make fewer mistakes than the other teams,'' she assessed, adding in regard to Shannock Valley specifically, ``Our No. 3, 4 and 5 players are better than their players, but it all depends on who makes the least number of mistakes. ``I know in my heart, if they play within their capabilities, I know they'll do a good job,'' Morrison concluded. Notes: Farrell has won five (1982, '87, '89, '93 and '94) state titles, 14 WPIAL championships (1981-87, '89, '90, '92-96), 11 Midwestern Athletic Conference crowns, and 19 Section banners. |