The Warriors let a two-set lead slip away, losing 15-13 in the fifth set to the No. 8 ranked Hempfield Spartans.
“It’s a heartbreaker. Every point counts, every game counts. We had a chance to put them away but let them off the hook a little bit,” said P-T coach Jim Schall.
The 3-2 loss ended the first round of Section 2-3A play for the No. 6 ranked Warriors; P-T stands at 3-2 in their section and 7-3 overall.
Schall applauded his team for their early success against Hempfield (6-3, 3-2). P-T won the first two sets 25-20, 25-19 before losing 27-25, 25-22 and 15-13.
“We had really good defense and we blocked them. After that, they went away from some of the guys who were blocking… we just couldn’t stop a couple of their hitters.”
6-foot-5 junior Nick Laskey led his team in blocks and threw down impressive kills to boost the Warriors’ momentum. Other key leaders include junior Billy Spena and senior Nick Sandrock who interchanged as libero.
“I thought Billy in the first game did great and Nick [Sandrock] had been sick and missed a couple days, so I used Billy and he did well,” Schall said. Spena played as libero in the first and fourth set, and Sandrock swapped in the second and third.
Spena, repping two different jerseys for both back row and libero, thrived in the mid-game flip.
“Making the change between being from left side to right side is a lot different, but overall, I’ve been in this situation before in club volleyball, and I just knew I could do it,” Spena said.
The five-day break the Warriors experienced from their previous game against undefeated Latrobe to Hempfield will be much different now. P-T has a quick turnaround, traveling to North Allegheny on April 16.
“It’s an exhibition match. We want to compete well with them and work hard against them,” Schall said.
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