Bears fall to Whitehall in volleyball

Despite putting up a tough fight, the Pleasant Valley volleyball team’s season came to an end Wednesday.

Whitehall captured the District 11 Class 4A opening round match, 25-21, 23-25, 25-15, 25-22.

As the scores indicate, however, the Zephyrs victory didn’t come easy as Pleasant Valley played one of its best matches of the season.

“We finally started to come together. It’s a shame it took this long,” said Pleasant Valley coach John Gesiskie. “All year we have been without our (anticipated) starting lineup due to injuries, but we fought really hard tonight.” .

Whitehall jumped out to a 16-10 lead in the opening game, before Pleasant Valley senior Renee Mapa delivered three huge points during a 6-0 run that tied the score at 16-16.

The next volley lasted minutes as the teams exchanged kill-after-kill and dig-after-dig until Whitehall finally found some empty space and took the lead 17-16.

But the Bears continued to battle and when Desi Powell powered down a kill, they led 20-19.

It was Pleasant Valley’s final lead of the set, however, as a Chloe Levan four-point service run eventually closed the Whitehall win.

After a slow start in game two, the Bears fought back as Katie Frankunas served six straight points to tie things at 8-8.

The game remained tight the rest of the way. Mapa came up big late in the game for Pleasant Valley, using her height and throwing down powerful kills to put PV ahead 24-23. Frankunas then hit a beautiful touch shot to give the Bears the 25-23 win.

“All season we have affected by injuries and it was hard for the girls trust whoever was playing behind them,” said Gesiskie. “Volleyball is game where everyone has to have each other’s backs.

“We really showed that tonight and I’m proud of them.”

Whitehall bounced right back from the loss as Aly Peters slammed three kills to put her team ahead 12-6.

Amelia Ballard and Kristin Spengler eventually cleaned up on the lopsided win, scoring consecutive kills as Whitehall won, 25-15.

Pleasant Valley wasn’t finished, however, as Powell and Mapa propelled them to a 13-9 lead. Frankunas’ serving extended the advantage to 16-9.

But the Zephyrs rallied and eventually clinched the match with a 25-22 win.

NEXT ROUND ... In the Class 4A tournament format, the opening round games are played on the court of the quarterfinal round hosts and the winner of the opening round match then immediately plays a quarterfinal round game. After beating the Bears, Whitehall fell 3-1 to Liberty in the quarters.

FINAL RECORD ... Pleasant Valley finishes it season with an 11-6 record.